State of the art technology is direct vent. It is very safe and energy efficient. It does not affect indoor air quality because the system is sealed, so it does not use indoor air to feed the combustion and it exhausts only to the outdoors. It is capable of producing serious heat. The appearance of the flame is a matter of opinion. We are happy with ours, but if you're really wedded to big dancing flames, you might be disappointed. The only way to decide what is right for you is to go to a dealer who has about a dozen systems on display, so you can see what they look like. The other thing to consider is that the competence and honesty of the installer is of the utmost importance. These are complicated installations that require care and attention to detail. the challenge is finding someone who is really trustworthy. You need to ask around and get recommendations from people who have dealt with the installer you are considering.

How have you liked your GreenSmart. looking at the same model for a new home

We got this one: Town and Country " GDV42" gas burning fireplace. The quote is for 5k installed. It is not in yet. We chose it because we liked the looks of the flames the best. When it is on, it looks very real. We have three other real fpl in the house, this is in our most formal room and i wanted it to be easy. One thing I noticed is that they look most fake when they are off and you can see the glass. A good trick is to buy a nice, large fireplace screen (I found an old beehive one) to keep in front of it, so that when it is off you dont see shiny glass.... I also recall that some burned tooooo hot. Never occurred to me they could be too hot, but the guy said if you want only supplemental heat, make sure you get one that has good flames even on low.

Hi folks--thanks for all the responses. Casey, I assume you are talking about ebay? Yes, you're right the raised hearth presents issues--but I am going to try to make it work because I love the look and we need seating any place we can squeeze it in. I hear you on the TV height--hearth will be sittable but low and the fireplace smallish so hopefully it will all work--but I need to draw it up. Will start looking for magazines--I have an enormous stash of kitchen ones but they are not a lot of help. As far as historical accuracy--this house is a hodgepodge anyway (and was not terribly architecturally significant to begin with) so I am looking mainly for inspiration. However I don't want to do anything totally inapppropriate--except for the raised hearth :) thank you for the link to the decorating site and esp. for the headsup about TOH! I thought they were still in Texas doing that green bungalow. thanks again and if anyone has any books/mags in particular to recommend I'd still love to hear about them--Holly