Touchstone Sideline Electric Fireplaces

The Sideline is Touchstone's linear electric fireplace: a long, low firebox inside a black glass face that reads as one dark band across the wall rather than a box hung on it. This collection spans the standard, Elite and Elite Pro tiers along with the steel mesh and outdoor-rated versions, in sizes from compact to full-wall.

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What the Sideline Is

The Sideline is Touchstone's linear format: a long, low firebox set inside a black glass face, so the whole thing reads as one dark band across the wall rather than as a box hung on it. It is the shape that suits a media wall, because it sits comfortably under a television without competing with it. Every Sideline is electric, which means no gas line, no flue and no chimney, and each one plugs into a standard household outlet with hardwiring available on most models.

Standard, Elite, or Elite Pro

The difference between the tiers is the frame, not the fire. The standard Sideline puts a wide black glass border around the firebox. The Elite trims that border back, so at the same outside width you see a noticeably larger flame. The Elite Pro widens the viewing area again, uses a deeper firebox for more visual depth, and adds built-in crackling sound. All three share the same heater and the same app and voice control, so the choice is about how much of the face is fire and how much is frame.

There Is Also a Steel Mesh Version and an Outdoor One

Two variations sit outside that ladder. The Steel models swap the glass front for a mesh screen, which cuts the reflections a glass face throws back in a bright room and reads closer to an open fire. The outdoor-rated model is built for a covered patio and ships with no heater at all, because outdoors warmed air drifts away before it reaches anyone, so it is bought for the fire rather than for warmth.

Choose by the Wall, Not by the Flame

Within a size, moving up the range buys you more visible fire rather than more heat: the heater is the same 1,500 watts across the line. Between sizes, the flame does not always scale the way the frame does, so a wider model is often a wider glass face around a similar fire. Measure the wall first, decide how wide the black panel should read, then pick the tier for how much of that panel you want to be flame.

Most Need a 2x6 Wall

The recessed models are around 5 1/2 inches deep. A 2x4 stud wall gives you 3.5 inches of cavity and a 2x6 gives you 5.5, so these frame into a 2x6 wall, or into a framed enclosure built out for them. Every one also hangs on a surface bracket with no framing at all, which is why these turn up in rentals and finished basements as often as in new builds.

Where to Look Next

Touchstone Fireplaces is the full brand. Touchstone Forte Electric Fireplaces is the compact size if a linear band is wrong for your wall, and Touchstone 3-Sided Electric Fireplaces covers the models open on three faces. Beyond the brand, Linear Electric Fireplaces shows the same shape from every maker we carry, and Fireplaces for a TV Above is the page to start on if a television is going over it.

Frequently Asked Questions about Touchstone Sideline Electric Fireplaces

What is the difference between the Sideline and the Sideline Elite?

The frame, not the fire. The standard Sideline surrounds the firebox with a wide black glass border. The Elite trims that border back, so at the same outside width you see a noticeably larger flame. The Elite Pro widens the viewing area again, adds a deeper firebox for more visual depth, and includes built-in crackling sound. The heater is identical across all three, so moving up the range buys visible fire rather than warmth.

Does a wider Sideline give a bigger flame?

Not always, and this catches people out. On some pairs of sizes the firebox is shared and the extra width is black glass rather than extra fire. Check the flame viewing area on the product page rather than assuming it scales with the outside width. If you want more fire at a given width, moving up a tier does more for you than moving up a size.

What size wall opening does a Sideline need?

Frame to the rough opening on the product page, never to the fireplace's outside width, because the glass face overlaps the opening on every side. Depth is the constraint that rules models out: the recessed models are about 5 1/2 inches deep, a 2x4 wall gives 3.5 inches of cavity and a 2x6 gives 5.5, so a 2x6 wall or a framed enclosure built out for it is the standard. Line that enclosure with drywall and keep it out of a load-bearing wall.

Can a Sideline be installed without cutting into the wall?

Yes. Every model here also hangs on a wall bracket that screws into at least two studs, with no framing and no drywall work at all. It projects a few inches from the surface instead of sitting flush. That is the reason these are common in rentals, finished basements and any room where opening the wall is not on the table.

Do Sideline fireplaces work with Alexa and Google Home?

Most of them do. The smart models connect over WiFi to the Touchstone Fireplace app and pair with Alexa and Google Home, so the flame, the flame color and the heater can be set by voice or on a schedule. The simpler models, including the steel mesh versions, are remote-control only. The product page states which, so confirm there before planning a routine around one.

Can I put a TV above a Sideline fireplace?

It is the most common way these are installed, and the linear shape exists for it. The heat vents forward rather than straight up, which is what makes it workable. Every model publishes a minimum clearance from the top of the glass to the bottom of the television in its manual, and that figure has changed between manual revisions, so read the current one for your model rather than a number you saw elsewhere.