I live tv-free and we just arrange the furniture in a conversation cluster. We have two sofas that face each other with a coffee table in the center. We hang lots of art. A focal point is nice, but I don't think you can force it. I would skip the faux fire place and concentrate on good furniture arrangement.

You can also buy electric fireplaces that look quite realistic, and come with a faux hearth. Take a look at Home Depot, etc.

I am of the opinion that art makes the best focal point. I have written about this several times on my blog: http://bandanamom.blogspot.com/search/label/art

In order for it to be the focal point it either needs to be large or there needs to be a pretty strong grouping. It doesn't have to be expensive though - there are tons of inexpensive options.

What about a piano?

I totally agree with GirlInATower. We have been TV-free for years, and just group the seating to face each other, rather than a box. The conversation is the focus, isn't it?

I rent a house, and while I don't live a television-free lifestyle, I do own a gel fuel fireplace. I have a gel fuel fireplace because I like fireplaces and the house I am renting didn't have one and I didn't want to be deprived of this feature.

I don't think you necessarily need a focal point like a fireplace, but if you want one - then a gel fuel fireplace may work for you.

I really like my gel fuel fireplace - more than I thought I would before I bought it. The good points are that it is a real fire - the flames are real and many gel fuel formulations have a crackling and popping sound like a real fire. Another good point is that it is relatively little mess - you open a can and light the gel. You can stop the fire at any time by putting the lid back on the can (with tongs) - you don't have to wait for the fire to die down and worry if you need to leave or go to sleep like you would a woodburning fire. Gel fuel fireplaces are easy to maintain - not ashes or soot or creosote. Finally, they are easy to move - they are like a piece of furniture that you can take to your next place or move to a different room. From my perspective, they are fairly safe for something that is on fire - you need to take as much care as you would for a burning candle in my opinion. The fire is contained in a metal can, behind cement faux logs and encased in a metal firebox. You can also simply burn candles in the firebox, the way you would in a wood burning fireplace.

On the negative side, gel fuel is very expensive and doesn't give off much heat. If you don't shake the gel before using, there can be an odor (I think the sensitivity to the odor varies among different people). Unless you get a very expensive gel fireplace, they don't look exactly the same as a woodburning fireplace. The firebox tends to be smaller and less deep than a real woodburning fireplace and the faux logs aren't particularly convincing, but they aren't completely bad looking when the fire is burning.

I think the fireplace pictured is on the small side - before buying, I would recommend that you take note of the dimensions of the fireplace and get one that is in scale with your furniture and the size of the room.

I love my gel fireplace and I love relaxing with a fire going and a glass of wine or cocoa in the evening. If I had a woodburning fireplace, I would probably get a gel conversion kit for it because I find it is so much easier to manage with gel fuel.

Having had this problem in previous cookie cutter apartments, I bought an electric fireplace for our living room. I think part of the key to making it work (whether you get a gel or electric fireplace) is to buy one that doesn't scream "faux fireplace." Ours is the "Heritage Leaf Burnished Walnut" fireplace by Symphony Fireplaces. We bought it at a place in NYC that's now out of business, but it's available online too. In person, the fireplace is substantial and really looks like it's part of the apartment. It also gives off heat, which is a nice feature.

I don't think you need to construct a "focal point". As others have suggested, just arrange the seating so that it faces each other rather than a point in the room.

So place the sofa wherever seems best, then put a couple of chairs across from it. You'll find the room will come together quite naturally once you've done this. There should be a table or surface of some sort accessible to every seat and a good amount of lighting (ceiling light is not enough). Find interesting art for the walls, add plants or flowers, an area rug to define the seating area, accessories, etc. and tada--a room and no need to buy a possibly cheesy-looking fake fireplace.

I don't have a TV either, and my apartment does have a built in faux mantel, but I don't use that as a focal point either. Instead I've put out a rug and seating so that the sofa/seating area is really the focal point. It's what you see when you first enter, and it's where you want to go. I put up art and vases of flowers around the room, and it doesn't need anything else really. Just have the furniture facing around a coffee table so that the center of the room is the focal point, where everyone will want to gather. Another thought is to think of it more as a library or something. What would you do in any room that didn't have a TV? Make cozy reading nooks, line the walls with shelves of books and your favorite things, etc.

I agree with arranging the furniture and pulling in favorite items, etc. If you really want a focal point, another option, other than a fireplace is using one of those kits they sell now that let you map out a great collage on the wall of your favorite artwork.

I agree with the others. I have no TV and use the conversation area as the focal point. My couch and two chairs face each other in a triangle with a coffee table in the middle. I have a small room, it's cozy and works well.

Many leases and ownership agreements prohibit adding gel fireplaces. And often, your homeowners insurance will increase. I'd skip the fake fireplace and go with art.

Um, if I'm not mistaken, windows still count as focal points, no?

You can also do a mantel without using an electric or gel insert.

Aside from these two ideas, an armoire, sideboard or bookcase can serve as the anchor of a room.

And yes, a great piece of art works too, if the scale works.

We also have never had a television--i dont like them to be he focal point of rooms or homes.
And we go with art and conversationally arranged furniture.

But--we also have an amazing record player from the 60s that is like a large piece of furniture, and I would say that is a focal point instead! People who come over really look forward to using it and we often have get togethers centered around everyone playing one side of a record. So if you have anything unique like that, use it and flaunt it!

Good luck

If you don't have a TV or a fireplace - there may already be another focal point in the room already such as windows to a view or sliding doors to a deck?

If not, create your own focal point:
- a wall of bookshelves
- a vintage china cabinet filled with objects and books
- a credenza with a large mirror or a large piece of artwork hung above
- a grouping of artwork hung on a single wall
- a decorative rug or heirloom quilt hung on the wall as artwork with a bench below

I had never heard of a gel fireplace, but this doesn't look half bad! I think it works, though other ideas expressed here (large-scale art, piano, conversation grouping, etc.) would also work for a focal point.

I think if you create a well balanced room, you wont have need for a focal point. Art on the walls (or anywhere else that's visible, for that matter) will be the perfect focal points, when your little conversation cluster isn't all that interesting.

I lived without a TV in my main entertaining areas for years, and can assure you that you can find much more interesting things to look at. The issue with a fireplace is that, in the absence of other decorative items, eyes will always be glued to that spot, just like they were glued to the TV before. It's a much nicer experience when you can travel the room with your eyes, and always find something nice and interesting to rest your sight on.

does anyone have an electry fire place in an apartment?

I have an early 50's house where the south-facing front door opens directly into the SE corner of the 15' by 17' living room. Unfortunately about half the living room functions as a hallway (walk directly north then turn right to the real hallway which opens to the bedrooms; walk directly north then turn left to go to the dining and kitchen areas). The living room came with two built-in focal points: a huge south-facing window and two French doors directly opposite. To complicate things more, the previous owners had left behind a not so bad looking corner electric fireplace. I never could figure out where it was supposed to go as it fit neither the SW nor NW corner of the living room.

This all made for crazy until I figured out that the south-facing window should be the main focal point; there's really no view but there is all that light! I positioned two club chairs and coffee table facing it and kept the French doors shut all the time so that they acted more as a wall. This arrangement leaves the "hallway" from the front door to the bedrooms free, as well as the "hallway" from the front door to the dining and kitchen areas. At the end of the living room's "hallway" to the bedrooms I positioned the faux fireplace after removing its corner piece. At the end of the "hallway" from the bedrooms to the dining and kitchen areas I positioned an old 70's brass 'n glass etagere.

The west and east walls are not broken up by windows or doors so I use them as art galleries, hanging the flat screen TV on the east wall as simply another piece of art. It's easy enough to swing the chairs around to face the flat screen when it's movie time. I have a butler's table to use between the chairs.

In sum, most of the time I have a cozy conversation/art gallery corner in the central/SW section of the living room. When it's movie time, I swing the chairs around and have a cozy movie corner with a fireplace in the east/NE corner of the living room.

I guess the moral of the story is, sometimes more focal points work better than one!