Sleek, practical and often surprisingly affordable, these units offered the appeal of a traditional fire without the heavy commitment of masonry construction. Home magazines at the time even suggested that few other additions could do more to boost everyday enjoyment — or resale value.
The trend lined up neatly with America’s postwar housing surge. Builders were putting up new homes at a rapid pace, and layouts were shifting toward more open, adaptable living spaces.
Prefab construction helped bring fireplaces into reach for far more households. Because most of these models were factory-built and lightweight, they could often be installed on almost any floor and in nearly any room, with minimal structural changes required.
Among the companies helping drive that change was the Wisconsin-based Preway Company, which also produced gas appliances and heating equipment. The brand introduced its metal, factory-built fireplaces in the late 1950s. These light steel units offered a clear alternative to traditional brick hearths, and could be installed with far less work — a practical fit for rapidly built suburban homes.
Preway’s freestanding and suspended models gained ground through the 1960s and 1970s. Cone-shaped hoods, pedestal bases and glossy enamel finishes gave them a strong mid-century look, and several shown below appear in red, black, copper and other period colors. Designed to sit out in the room rather than disappear into a wall, they turned the fireplace into a centerpiece while keeping installation relatively straightforward.
Of course, cost played a major role in the popularity of prefab fireplaces. A metal version might arrive “complete and ready to install,” sometimes priced around $150 to $200 — occasionally less than a hi-fi system or television. Packages typically included essentials such as screens and dampers, while optional features like gas inlets or barbecue grills added extra versatility. Compared to brick fireplaces, the process felt straightforward and predictable.
Performance improved as well. Traditional fireplaces had a reputation for tricky drafts and uneven heating, while pre-tested prefab units reduced much of that uncertainty. Insulated jackets and ventilated air space helped circulate warmth, and some designs were noted for producing significantly more heat than older builds.
Visually, a freestanding fireplace fit right into midcentury design language. Manufacturers experimented with sculptural forms, steel construction and confident color choices. Cone-shaped hoods rose from pedestal bases, compact round models radiated heat from all sides, and clean-lined rectangular versions slipped easily into modern interiors. Practical, but not at all subtle!
Below, we’ve gathered vintage photos and original descriptions showcasing prefab fireplace styles from the 1950s and 1960s, capturing a moment when innovation, convenience and modern design converged, turning a functional household feature into a defining element of the midcentury home.
DON’T MISS: Vintage brick fireplaces: Warm & wonderful home decor from the 1950s, 1960s and 1970s
Metal & other vintage prefab fireplaces came in a package (1957)
By Curtiss Anderson, Better Homes & Gardens (November 1957)
Lightweight prefabs can be added to almost any house — upstairs or down. They require no masonry, special reinforcing, or foundation.
Today, you can order a fireplace that will arrive in a package (F.O.B.) complete and ready to install. It will cost less than a hi-fi system. It may even cost less than a television set. Still, there’s no single luxury that adds more pleasure to living in your house, that provides a greater point of interest in a room, or that does more to boost the resale value of your house.
Most of the prefabs shown here sell for between $150 and $200 [1950s pricing]. But cost is not the only advantage. Prefabs are easier to add to new — or old — houses. You aren’t limited in the location of these lightweight units. They can go into almost any house, on any floor, in any room.
They require no masonry work, no special foundation or reinforcing of floors or walls. And they’re versatile even within a room. Prefabs can be free-standing, built-in, flush, or recessed in a wall.
The conventional fireplace is one of the trickiest building problems in a house. All too many simply produce smoke signals and fire hazards. The prefab, often including a package chimney, not only: operates more efficiently, but improves on most masonry chimneys.
Prefabs automatically avoid many of the mistakes in the brick-by-brick construction of an ordinary fireplace. A prefab is pre-tested: there’s no guesswork about drafts. downdrafts, and chimneys. As a result of this controlled pre-building, some prefabs can put out twice the heat of conventional fireplaces. The best-insulated units have ventilated air space between the fire chamber and the outer jacket.
Prefabs will connect to any good flue, going straight through the roof or even turning into a wall opening. Where the flue is not supplied with the package, you should be sure to obtain one that’s large enough. Undersized flues are the most common mistake in assembling any fireplace. (The flue should be at least eight percent of the size of the fireplace opening.) Prefab chimneys are available almost anywhere in the country.
Most prefab packages include some accessories, usually the fireplace screen, and irons, and dampers. There are numerous accessories that can be ordered from the manufacturer — like inset barbecue grills, gas inlets, and ash dumps.
Small wood burning prefab fireplace in a vintage 50s home
Tidy living room with light blue wall-mounted prefab fireplace (1956)
Vintage black metal preway fireplace (1950s)
This yellow & black retro living room hit so many modern design notes
Take a look at this vibrant lemon yellow and black retro living room, and you may feel like you just woke up and found yourself back in the seventies. Jammed with color and interest, the central feature in this space — seen here as it was decorated in 1971 — was the black freestanding metal preway fireplace set upon a low unfinished wood base.
Leading the eye to the fireplace was a large rectangular yellow and black needlepoint rug with a tight criss-cross pattern, which was reflected in the two fully-mirrored accent tables.
Opposite the fire were two modern chairs in the once super-popular cantilevered style, made with chrome and black leather. In between, planted on both long sides of the rug, sat two large modern lemon yellow leather couches in all their retro glory. (Needlepoint showed up here, too, on the square throw pillow designs.)
One side of the stove-style Preway fireplace had two hanging Boston ferns – sadly, without macrame plant hangers – and two oblong red woven rugs on the other. All this color and pattern played off the raw light wood paneling and flooring. For the most part, the symmetry of the room was only broken by the wall decor.
Artistic rounded freestanding fireplace (1963)
Black hooded fireplace in a boho living room (1962)
Family around orange-red metal prefab fireplace (1967)
Indoor/outdoor metal retro fireplace from the 1950s
Large vintage copper metal fireplace and hood (1956)
MCM red metal prefab preway fireplace
This yellow & black retro living room hit so many modern design notes
When you look at this vintage home decor from the sixties, you’ll see that the timbered finishes plus team USA colors combined to give this living room a unique feel — a little like modern style met Americana.
A redwood ceiling, a walnut-stained floor, and a strong color combination gave the living room a look that was as bright and welcoming as the fire in the freestanding copper fireplace.
Broad areas were covered with different patterns related mainly by the fact that they shared the same basic colors. On the oversize sofa went the simplest fabric — a blue and white flower-splashed cotton brocade — to keep the sofa’s large scale from dominating the room. Stenciled leather pillows added an interesting contrast in texture to the couch upholstery.
The window at the end of the room was curtained in a dusky blue semi-sheer fabric that, even when drawn, allowed some light to penetrate from the courtyard.
The vitality of the blues was increased by potent accents of red: wool upholstery on the armchairs, lacquered lamp bases, a leather sofa pillow, and the tray-top of the coffee table.
The rug was specially designed to incorporate the whole tricolor combination, with the design featuring blue octagons surrounded by white borders and red square insets — all with a 3D effect created by clever use of lighter colors of the primary colors.
The beautiful ceiling of grape stakes (lengths of California redwood split in half for training grapevines) fitted tightly side-by-side between the rafters made a rich, rugged, textured effect overhead.
Pink metal prefab fireplace hood (1961)
Retro cone fireplace from 1962
Round retro chimney in black from the late 1950s
Indoor/outdoor metal retro preway fireplace from the 1950s
Low dining table mounted under metallic fireplace hood (1970)
Freestanding prefab metal fireplace from 1957
Potbellied prefab in the center of the family kitchen shows the versatility of units. The round platform was specially built for the unit. Off the floor, there’s room for barbecue supplies on and under the mosaic-tile top. The casing is heavy-gauge steel with a graphite finish. Comes floor-mounted only. COST [in 1957]: about $200.
Light (only 75 pounds), still this prefab’s big enough to take logs up to 18 inches long. Ideal for a vacation cabin, the unit acts like a stove — radiating heat from all sides. The floor model has a top flue outlet for vertical installation of a stovepipe; the wall-hung unit has a rear outlet. Screen seals front. COST [in 1957]: about $70.
Larger than most, it’s also more adaptable than most — to Modern or Traditional settings. The unit has Underwriters’ Laboratories approval without insulation or clearance from any wall, floor, ceiling, or roof material, Package includes a chimney. COST [in 1957]: about $360
The simple rectangular prefab is well insulated. A hollow jacket allows continual circulation. COST [in 1957]: about $250 (less for the smaller model without hollow or insulated core).
This prefab’s complete, even includes a chimney. Unit is steel you can paint or paper. COST [in 1957]: about $340
Against the wall or freestanding, this unit would be in scale. Stands 3 feet high with a bottom span of 34 inches. Comes in black, turquoise, or red. COST [in 1957]: about $185.
Cone-shaped steel hood sits on a spun-steel pedestal. A high, wide arch of the hood gives maximum fire exposure. Unit comes in a variety of colors (russet, white, red, copper) and bases (steel legs, rubber casters). COST [in 1957]: from about $100 to $300 (varies with size).
