We went with a gas fireplace for many reason. First, I can't stand the "fireplace" smell many houses have. In our climate you really need the fireplace on an interior wall with a very high chimney to avoid that, and that didn't work with the house plan. Second, I have asthma. I've noticed in homes, hotels, etc., with wood burning fireplaces or woodstoves my asthma acts up. Fine particles enter the room. DH and I stayed at one place where every time my BIL started the fireplace I'd have to head outside (no one else had the issue, it's the asthma). Third, my DH is not "Mr. Neat". If we had a wood burning fireplace or woodstove I would be forever cleaning up little bits of wood he would track all over the house or fighting with him about it. The place he lived when we met had a wood stove and he just accepted the bits of wood, dirt, etc., around the stove for the winter. Sorry, not me.

I have 2 gas fireplaces in my house. LOVE them! I love being able to have a fire anytime with a click of a button. I use it all the time. In stark contrast to when my fireplaces were wood burning, I may have had a fire 1 or 2 times per year.

I agree I should convert my fireplace, not I have to convince DH. I heard it is quite expensive and also I would like to know what kind and what feature I should purchase, If you can give me some features to look for it would be appreciated.

I don't know how to convert but I do love the first fire of the year. Something about the smell on a cold winter's day. In my other house I had a wood-burning fireplace and had a wood-burning insert to save on the heat going up the chiminey. We also installed in another room, a gas stove. I am with you in as much as I love the wood, I now prefer the gas. When I am craving the smell, DH makes a fire outside in the firepit.
We just went through a log cabin home that had a wood- burning stove right smack in the middle of the house. I could never imagine lighting it. And now where we live some insurance companies won't insure if you have wood.

I am in the opposite corner. I LOVE a wood burning fire place. We moved out of our last home 3 years ago while building our new home (it's DIY so it's taking a while) and the thing I miss the most is a nice warm crackling fire. I can't wait to get in this house and crank up the fireplace. We had a fire every single day during the winter in the old house. It actually became our primary heat source! The furnace was on a programmable thermostat and made the house tosty warm before I got up in the morning, but the fireplace did almost all the rest of the heating for us.

There is a fireplace forum.

Here is a link that might be useful: Fireplace forum

We have bought several homes where the gas fireplace was really fake looking. It obviously wasnt a deal breaker. We had a neighbor who had gas logs installed in a working fireplace, OMG, it was the most beautiful gas fireplace I had ever seen. It was so real. I know they paid a fortune for it, but it was worth it. Meanwhile back at our home, I bought a fireside cd, to give me the crackling sounds and I got a fireside candle from yankee candle to get the "smell".

I don't know anything about converting either but we love our Heat n Glo fireplaces.

This is the indoor one:
Escape Series

I think out outdoor one is a Dakota but wasn't 100% sure.
Dakota

I love a wood fireplace. Nothing beats the real thing.

If environmental concerns are an issue for you, burning wood is essentially carbon-neutral, while burning gas is obviously not.

Another wood fireplace lover here. That being said, we're in the process of having a wood-burning insert installed in our fireplace (Pacific Energy Vista). At the rising costs of fuel it just makes sense. We're planning on using it as an alternate heat source, to keep the oil barons at bay!
The warmth, feel, and visual effect of a wood fireplace can't be beat. Now it will be behind glass, but we'll still get to watch it, while watching our oil bills drop. It's also good exercise ;o) You don't get exercise from flipping a switch or pushing a button on a remote LOL. And with the carbon footprint being minimal using a wood burning appliance I know we're doing our share for the earth.

I love our three wood burning fireplaces. I have had gas fireplaces in the past and prefer the real thing. We live in the country, have naturally fallen trees on our land, and put them to good use in our fireplaces.

I prefer wood. We have gas in our wood burning fireplace which comes in handy if you don't want to fuss with getting the logs started. We never have a smoke or wood smell in the house. I know we are very careful about warming up the flu before we get the wood going to get a good updraft. That may be why we never have a fireplace smell.

Love, love, love the gas fireplaces--I have two! Had wood burning previously and used it 2 or 3 times a year. We went with (I think) a Portland Willamette log set in one fireplace and had a preexisting gas insert in the other. Both put out tremendous heat, and we use them all of the time because they are so easy. We kept being told by salespeople that we had to put doors on the upstairs fireplace to control heat loss when the fireplace wasn't in use, but we haven't found it to be a problem without them at all! The log set is the most realistic of all of those we looked at.

I absolutely vote for a gas fireplace. We added ours to our FR and haven't regretted it. DH wanted a wood fireplace because he feels they look better due to the change in the flames, etc. I didn't want a wood burning FP due to my allergies and I didn't think my DH would enjoy hauling wood in, etc. I knew we wouldn't use a woodburning FP nearly as much as the gas. For us, gas was the right choice!

Have you considered getting an insert for your fireplace? Not sure where you live, but I am in WA and it gets pretty cold in the winter. Our house came with a wood stove insert and we replaced it this year with a pellet stove. It's our main source of heating as Gas is not avail in our area and using the Power is wayyyy too expensive!