Great Homes of the Gilded Age

Designed by Richard Morris Hunt, Breakers Mansion is a Renaissance Revival home in Newport, Rhode Island.
Photo by Ben Newton
The Gilded Age. The name, popularized by American author Mark Twain, conjures images of gold and jewels, lavish palaces, and wealth beyond imagination. And indeed, during the period we know as the Gilded Age (the late 1800s to the 1920s)

American business leaders amassed huge fortunes, becoming a suddenly-rich baron class with a fondness for ostentatious displays of their newfound wealth. Millionaires built palatial and often gaudy homes in New York City. Before long, even refined families like the Astors, who had been wealthy for generations, joined in the whirlwind of architectural excesses.

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Why pellet stoves are better than a regular wood burning stove

Although it is difficult to talk about design, home renovations and home and garden improvements without thinking about the money and ultimately the economy, many people are not letting the grey economy from keeping them from making some great purchases for their home.

Instead, the economy is making many people become innovative in the choices that they are making and it is encouraging them to not only go green but to also save some money along the way.

When it comes to heating, though, many home owners find that they are limited in what they can do. For the first point, most homes are run on some form of fossil fuel. This has meant high costs over the last several years with the rising cost of crude oil and it can be very frightening on how high a heating bill can get.

With the rising costs, many home owners are trying to find alternatives when it comes to heating their homes and one of those ways is with the purchase of a fireplace or a fireplace insert. Since most people don’t want the added aggravation of stocking wood or attaching a chimney, they have opted to use pellet stoves.

What makes a pellet stove so much better than a regular wood burning stove are several things.

They can use a variety of fuels: Pellet stoves were designed to use compressed wood chip pellets to heat your space but pellet stove owners have quickly realized that the pellet stoves not only burn pellets efficiently but they also burn corn, wheat husks and other biodegradable waste.
Smaller venting: Many wood burning stoves will require a chimney to be installed in your home but a pellet stove, depending on the model, will only require a 3” hole in an outside wall to provide adequate venting for your pellet stove.

You can purchase freestanding or insert: When it comes to pellet stoves, you have a lot of options. You can purchase freestanding pellet stoves or fireplace inserts to work with an existing fireplace. This leaves you with a lot of options and since the venting is small, you can easily add a pellet stove into your home decor quite easily.
Smaller Carbon Footprint: We are all becoming aware of the term “carbon footprint” and it is beginning to affect the decisions that we make. Generally, pellet stoves produce lower emissions and can leave a smaller footprint than a wood burning stove.
In the end, pellet stoves can provide you with an alternative heat source that can lower the amount that you spend on heating and they can be an attractive addition to any home decor.

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