About places to light a fire : Bob is right on the money about central heat and fireplaces ... and Jackie: get a reputable sweep to check out that unused chimney. Trouble could loom!
I always loved fireplaces until I spent a year in the Sierra Nevada where the entire heat for the house was a wood stove. It had doors that opened so I could enjoy the "fireplace" aspect. The Vermont Castings stove gave great heat, was easy to bank so the morning fire was easy to build up and I had no complaints about its efficiency but after a year of dealing with the wood dust a woodstove causes, splitting wood and paying for cords of wood -- three to get through a year -- it lost its charm.
If the heat around here goes off I have a neighbor who has a passive solar house and my son's house is a late 1700s center chimney Colonial with working fireplaces in every room! So I can do without a fireplace and all the mess, thank you very much!
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