BRAND SPOTLIGHT 02 - Stûv: When a Woodburner Becomes Part of the Architecture

Some stove manufacturers design appliances.

Stûv designs fire.

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And that's probably the easiest way to explain why the Belgian manufacturer feels so different from almost every other brand in our showroom.

If your idea of a woodburner is a traditional black box sitting inside a fireplace, Stûv may completely change your perception of what a wood-burning stove can look like.

Belgian design with a very different philosophy

Stûv's range includes freestanding woodburners, inset fires, double-sided models and large architectural fireplaces.

The emphasis is very much on clean lines, simplicity and allowing the fire itself to become the focal point.

We introduced Stûv to Southwest Woodburners after visiting Belgium and training with the company, and it's a range that really needs to be seen in person to appreciate it properly.

The engineering is clever, but it rarely shouts about it.

Instead, you see large expanses of glass, beautifully simple controls and appliances that almost disappear into the architecture around them.

The Stûv 16 – beautifully simple

One of our favourite introductions to the brand is the Stûv 16.

It's essentially an exercise in removing everything unnecessary.

The clean rectangular body frames the fire, while a single control regulates three air supplies. Stûv also uses double combustion to improve the burning of the wood and reduce the amount of ash produced.

The range is available in three widths and several configurations, including built-in versions and the wonderful Stûv 16 Cube.

The Cube is particularly striking because it works brilliantly in interiors where you don't necessarily want a conventional freestanding stove.

Put it on a long stone, concrete or steel bench and suddenly the fireplace becomes part of the room's architecture.

The Stûv 6-H

If the Stûv 16 is about horizontal simplicity, the Stûv 6-H takes things vertically.

It's a tall, elegant stove with a large view of the fire, making it particularly suited to contemporary spaces where the stove itself needs to make a statement without dominating the room.

This is one of the reasons we like having different manufacturers in our showroom. A traditional stove can look wonderful in the right setting, but occasionally the architecture calls for something completely different.

That's where Stûv comes into its own.

Then there's the Stûv 22…

For a completely different fireplace experience, there's the Stûv 22.

This isn't really a stove that you simply place into an existing fireplace.

It's an inset fire designed to become part of the building.

The Stûv 22 is available within the company's range of wood-burning inserts, alongside models including the Stûv 21, Stûv 16-in and microMega.

For extensions, major renovations and new-build projects, this opens up some fantastic possibilities. Instead of designing a fireplace and then finding a stove to put inside it, you can effectively design the entire feature around the fire.

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Why Stûv?

Stûv isn't necessarily the answer for everyone.

And that's exactly why we like it.

It's for the customer who walks into the showroom and says, "I want something different."

Perhaps you're renovating a contemporary property. Perhaps you're building an extension with huge areas of glass. Or perhaps you simply love clean European design and don't want a conventional stove.

That's when we start walking towards the Stûv section.

The brand proves that a woodburner can provide warmth and atmosphere without having to dictate a traditional interior style.

See Stûv in Dorset

Choosing a Stûv is as much about proportion and placement as it is about heat output, so we'd strongly recommend looking at the appliances in person and discussing the room with us.

Bring photographs. Bring plans. Bring measurements.

We've even had customers arrive with architects' drawings.

Because with Stûv, the conversation isn't simply "Which stove?"

It's often "What could we create here?"