Ask the designer

Interior designer Karen Hughes director of Emerald Interior Design in Dublin (www.emeraldinteriordesign.ie), answers your questions. Email: [e-mail]

Q LAST year we installed a wood-burning stove in an existing fireplace — but due to the limited space, whenever the door is opened, embers fall out onto the carpet – what should I do?

A. I think you might need to look at whether your stove meets the safety requirements that should be adhered to during installation. For instance, the area of “non-combustible material around the stove” (ie the hearth) should be at least 6” deeper than the stove door – so if the door is 12” deep, the hearth should be 18”, and so on. If it’s not possible to redress this, you will need to either replace the hearth or lay a stone, marble or tile trim to bring it up to standard.