If the sound of crackling fire, smell of burning wood and view of dancing flames are important to you then you should probably have a traditional fireplace in your home. If you are interested in a safe efficient way to help heat your home, then you would be better served with a wood stove.
A fireplace is a firebox with a chimney going out the roof. By design, it draws air through the firebox over the fire and out the top of the chimney taking the smoke with it as it goes. One of the problems is it also takes the heat up the chimney with it. Yes, some of the heat is radiated into the room, but much of the heat from the fire and from the furnace is pulled up and out the chimney. A wood stove, on the other hand, is a closed box with metal flue to remove the smoke. Some of the heat created by the burning wood is lost but the stove is much more efficient and is a great heat source. Woodheat.org is a great site to learn more about the advantages of a wood stove.
Stoves are much more attractive than in the past and a design can be found to complement most decors.
Contemporary mountain, my favorite style…..