The wood fireplace goes back thousands of years. In the late 17th century the architectural, constructural developments shapped the fireplaces to what it is known today.
My husband and I live in a 100 year old (very cold) farm house. Heating it has been a chore. We have a furnace that heats most of the house, over the years there have been several additions made to the home... sans heating ducts. We started out with a freestanding gas stove, it was too small. then we went to wood, my husband loves to chop wood, so he thought. That was too much work, too dirty and took to long to warm up. Now we are looking into a larger gas stove... heat at the click of a button, love! Or geothermal heating, which is an investment but good for the earth and worth the money when you see the return in a few years.
