Touchstone Sideline 36-Inch Recessed Smart Electric Fireplace (#80014)

A Smart 36-Inch Electric Fireplace, Recessed or Wall Mounted

The Touchstone Sideline 36 is a smart electric fireplace that goes into the wall like a built-in. There is no chimney, no gas line and nothing to vent, and because the flame runs with or without heat it looks right in July as well as in January. It is the smallest Sideline that still reads as a full fireplace, which is what makes it suit a bedroom or a smaller living room.

Three Flame Colors Over Ten Ember Colors

The flame runs orange, blue, or orange and blue together, at five levels of brightness. Underneath it, the ember bed has ten color settings of its own and an auto-cycle that drifts between them. The fireplace remembers the last flame color you used. Crystal embers and a log set both come in the box, so you can choose which one sits under the flame rather than buying it separately.

Control It From the App, Alexa, Google Home or a Remote

The Touchstone Fireplace app puts the flame, the ember color, the heat and the timer on your phone, so you are not hunting for a remote down the side of the couch. It also answers to Alexa and Google Home if you would rather just say it out loud. None of that is compulsory. A handheld remote comes in the box, and the control panel on the fireplace itself does everything the app does, so it works like an ordinary fireplace for anyone who wants it to.

Two Heat Settings, and the Flame Runs Without Either

The heater has a low and a high setting and a timer that runs from 30 minutes to 8 hours. The flame effect is independent of it: run the fire cold through the summer and switch the heater on when the evenings turn. Heat comes out of the front of the unit rather than the top, which is what lets a television sit close above it.

Frame the Opening at 32 3/4 inches wide

Touchstone specifies a rough opening 32 3/4 inches wide, 20 1/2 high and 5 3/4 deep. The fireplace itself is 36 inches wide, 21 1/2 inches tall and 5 1/2 deep, so it clears a 2x6 wall with room to spare. Touchstone allows a television 8 inches above the top of the fireplace, which is closer than most electric fireplaces permit and is the figure to design the wall around.

Best for a Bedroom or a Smaller Living Room

The 36-inch suits a bedroom or a smaller living room, and the narrowest size that still reads as a full-height linear fireplace. All the Sideline sizes share one heater and one control set, so choosing between them is a question of how much glass the wall wants, not how much warmth you get.

Plan the Outlet, and Have a Second Pair of Hands

It plugs into an ordinary outlet, and an electrician can hardwire it instead if you would rather not see a cord. The fireplace weighs 35 lbs and arrives at 43 lbs boxed. Run it on its own 120-volt 15-amp circuit and keep other appliances off that circuit, which is what the manual asks for. Never use an extension cord or a power strip with an electric fireplace.