Fireplace: Flex 32SS Ethanol Fireplace with EcoSmart XL500 burner
Heat output: 3.35 kW, 5L capacity, 304-grade stainless steel
Room: Open-plan living and kitchen, 9m × 7.5m, 3m ceilings (approx. 202.5 m³)
Builder: @demorenogroup7
Location: Murrumbeena, VIC 3163
Completed: 2026
Set in a Murrumbeena home built in 1920, this project softens the line between old and new - a curved ethanol fireplace feature wall and floating tiled hearth, sitting comfortably alongside original leadlight windows and high ceilings.
The Vision
The client wanted all three: ambience, heating, and a design statement.
Gas never made the shortlist - as the client put it, gas fireplaces "simply looked fake". Bioethanol offered the ambience of a real flame without the flue, the gas connection, or any compromise on where the fire could go.
Design Features
The Flex 32SS Single Sided Ethanol Fireplace is set within a gently curved wall - a soft radius that gives the fire an organic presence against the crisp lines of the home's original detailing.
The curve isn't a one-off gesture; it runs through the whole fit-out. The kitchen carries a matching curved rangehood, and the curve is picked up again in the entrance doors and the radiused edge of the Taj Mahal Quartzite benchtop
There's no off-the-shelf way to build a wall like this. Demo & Reno formed the radius by wetting 13mm fire-rated plasterboard and shaping it, slowly, a process that can't be rushed.
Below is a floating hearth bench that runs the full length of the wall, clad in a sandy glazed ceramic subway tile laid in a vertical stack bond. The bench carries the eye from the fireplace through to the TV zone and doubles as a display shelf. That same subway tile, in the same stack bond, reappears as the laundry splashback on the other side of the wall.
Specification Notes
Demo & Reno Group delivered the full renovation; Chama Design's role was product specification and technical guidance for the fire feature.
This zone measures roughly 202.5 m³, comfortably above the minimum room volume UL 1370 sets for a burner of this output, which exists to ensure adequate air exchange during operation rather than to size the room for heat.
Heating capacity is a separate question, and it was answered honestly. At 3.35 kW, the Flex 32SS is a complementary heat source in a room this size, just enough to take the edge off.
The Flex 32SS is a fixed device, covered by the ACCC's Safety Standard- but that standard governs the appliance, not the installation.
Clearances, substrate and ventilation fall to the manufacturer's requirements and the building provisions. We gave the builder all three before framing began.
That's the difference between buying a bioethanol fireplace online and specifying one properly: the clearance and ventilation questions get answered before the wall exists, not after.
Living With It
The XL500 burner runs on clean bioethanol, no flue, no chimney, no smoke, no ash. Just as important, it's easy to live with.
"Foolproof and so easy to use. I don't need anyone to assist me in getting the fire started - and having a fire going when guests arrive adds such a nice homely touch."
- Homeowner, Murrumbeena
Asked how she'd describe it to someone who hasn't seen it, the client kept it simple: "It's a fireplace without the mess."
Ready to transform your space with a custom fire feature?
Contact us to explore how we can create your perfect gathering place.
