Whether you’re looking for a fireplace, a fire pit or a charcoal or gas barbecue grill, Thousand Oaks Fireside in Thousand Oaks will not only have what you need, but they’ll also have the highest quality brands in stock.
“We're known as a luxury store, so we sell high-end products,” says manager, Tom Malinowski.
As soon as you walk into the store, you’ll experience the exceptional customer service in which they’ve become known for over the past 11 years in business.
“We're not out to sell our customers something that we want to sell them,” he says. “We want to hear what their needs are, and one of the first questions we ask is what they want to burn—gas or wood—or if they even want an electric fireplace. We then delve into what size and shape they need and find out if they’re trying to heat a space or they're just using it for decoration. We then pare it down to what their best choice would be.”
He and his team feel that every customer is important, whether they’re buying a small tool set or creating a $50,000 barbecue island.
“We have a very good reputation and get a lot of repeat and referral business.”
With most people gravitating away from wood-burning fireplaces because of the mess and the smell, gas fireplaces have drastically increased in popularity over the years. But, he says, there are always those diehards who love the crackle and pop and real wood smell, so they have the merchandise to cater to them too.
The new hot and in-demand products are electric fireplaces.
“If you want to add a fireplace in the bathroom or a bedroom, it's very easy to just cut a hole in the wall and put in an electric fireplace rather than running a chimney and doing major construction,” says Tom.
The reason people love having fireplaces and fire pits, he says, is that they’re a way of creating a space to gather. Indoors, it’s nice to sit around a fire and chat, while outside a fire pit or barbecue grill allows homeowners to create an outdoor entertainment space.
“You're basically adding livable space to your house,” he says.
Entire elaborate outdoor kitchens, he says, are more popular than ever, and Thousand Oaks Fireside often works with contractors and interior designers on higher end homes to provide pizza ovens, grills, refrigeration and more.
“As we know, everybody gravitates towards the kitchen in a home and it’s the same outside,” says Tom. “They make everything for an outdoor kitchen today. We either work with contractors as far as sizing everything for the kitchen or we actually build the islands ourselves.”
When many people think of a fireplace, they may picture a square or rectangular box, but many of the fireplaces you’ll find at Thousand Oaks Fireside are true works of art.
“Fireplaces have gotten very decorative and the focus is not just on function anymore,” he says. “They have become part of the interior design of the home. They now have to blend in with the existing décor and even the outdoor kitchens and barbecue islands have to match the design of the house.”
In addition to fireplaces, fireplace accessories and barbecue grills, the store also carries mailboxes.
“We have a whole room full of mailboxes of different types and materials that people can choose from,” he says.
Thousand Oaks Fireside is part of a three store chain that includes Encino Fireplace Shop in Encino and the Floyd S. Lee Fireplace & BBQ in Pasadena. To find out more about what they can offer for your home, visit ThousandOaksFireside.com.