The wood-burning fireplace at EYEBAR in Houston, TX isn’t used much for its original purpose these days, but aesthetically it adds a homey touch, along with the home-baked cookies, espresso, faux-fur pillows on the sofa and the 16-inch, 150-oz candle that is usually kept burning in the fireplace itself by owner Dr. Sheena Garner.

This modern fixture at Family Vision Center in Westminster, CO demonstrates that a fireplace can work in a sleek, contemporary optical, with its brick and tiles in contrasting ivory and slate gray matching the rest of the office.

Befitting a practice located at an elevation of over 5,300 feet, the team at Family Vision Center in Westminster, CO run their gas fireplace almost every day when the weather turns. “[Patients] adore it. Sometimes they don’t want to leave the chair for their exams,” says office manager/optician Heather Aites.

At their 18th St. location in Philadelphia—a stunning, historic building dating to 1847—Innervision Fine Eyewear have not one but two original wood-burning fireplaces.

The antique Victorian Italianate fixtures at Innervision Fine Eyewear in Philadelphia are only fired up for special occasions, but owner Clifton Balter says customers love them. “Very often they’re the topic of conversation in person and in online reviews.”

The grand fireplace now standing proudly in the optical at Spring Hill Eyecare in Spring Hill, TN once warmed the 1860s farmhouse that used to occupy the site.

The gas-fueled fireplace at Spring Hill Eyecare in Spring Hill, TN, is used throughout the year, though practice administrator Melanie Jenkins says its primary role is aesthetic, making a perfect fit with the business’ overall design.

The fireplace provides a focal point for Christmas decorations at Spring Hill Eyecare in Spring Hill, TN.

In Vidalia, GA, Yancey Eye Center’s discreet inset stove offers further proof that an optometric office with an open, sleek and modern feel can still be enhanced by a fireplace.

The long, low fireplace at Yancey Eye Center in Vidalia, GA is an integral part of the practice’s relaxing seating area and blends nicely with the overall visual palette, which includes stone and walnut throughout.