When it comes to staying warm, most any fireplace will do. But over the years, the fireplace has gone beyond mere functionality to become an important design element in a room. For inspiration, look to some of our area's grand antique homes where the fireplace plays a key role in the home's interior design.  Here are a few of our favorites that offer good reason to stay home and relax by the fire on a wintery day.

Two grand fireplaces warm the expansive living room in this circa 1907 Cornwall-on-Hudson Colonial that has been in the same family for over a century.

A floor-to-ceiling brick fireplace keeps everyone toasty in the Great Room at this 1860's farmhouse, the centerpiece of Maple Pond Farm in Mahopac.

Staying warm was serious business at the turn-of-the-last century when Six Gables was built by the founding father of Briarcliff Manor, Walter Law, who built the home for his son. The home features 9 fireplaces in total, each uniquely detailed.

A roaring fire creates a warm ambience in the living room at Glenhil, a graceful antique Colonial that sits high atop Quaker Hill in Pawling.