Top picks.

These picks come out of our Bellville showroom and out of the installations we do every week across Cape Town, the West Coast and the Cape Winelands. We choose them on three things: how they hold heat, how they cope with coastal air, and how easy they are to live with once the installer has packed up. Nothing appears here because a supplier pushed it.

Fireplaces are judged on firebox construction, glass seal quality and real-world heat output for the room size we see most often (40–90 m²). Braais are judged on steel grade and thickness — 304-grade stainless steel is the benchmark on an exposed patio, and anything thinner than 2 mm warps within a few seasons. Gas appliances are judged on burner reliability and whether a certificate of compliance can be issued without reworking the installation. Air conditioning is judged on quiet running and inverter efficiency, because most units end up in a bedroom.

Every price below excludes VAT unless the item is marked otherwise, and installation is quoted separately: R5 500 for a standard single-storey fit and R8 000 for a double-storey fit, each including one core drill. Delivery is R500 within 20 km of our Bellville showroom and R10 per additional kilometre. If you are weighing two options against each other, send us the room dimensions and a photo of the wall — we will tell you honestly which of these picks suits the space, and when none of them do.