Warm Winter Wood Stoves

Posted by Trevy Thomas Dec 6, 2008

I have been a fireplace lover all my life. It's what we had in my childhood home, and what I came to think of as the superior choice in my adult houses. Once, I rented a tiny house that came with a tinier wood stove. While it wasn't my preference, I was grateful to have some means of burning wood in that particularly cold winter. Once I realized I had to order wood that was only 13-inches long, and figured out the tricky technique for finagling the flue, I developed a certain respect for it. But when I purchased a house after that, it was an old one that came with a proper fireplace. While I had to rely on the radiators for real heat, I was back to my preference for fireplaces. It could have something to do with a fondness for wine drinking and listening to music while gazing into an open hearth.

I've since moved again to a house that had a fireplace, but I learned to despise it. Nothing we did here would allow us to have a proper fire without smoking out the inhabitants. Many specialists later, we learned that the fireplace opening was not the proper size for the chimney and that there was no way to have a fire in it without looking at it through a smoke screen. The only solution? Insert a wood stove.

This was the first time I could actually choose the fire source, so I did my research and came up with a beautiful Jotul wood stove with a white finish. I have finally been converted. Not only do I get to enjoy the fire view through the screened open door, but the warmth is unbeatable, the fire easier to keep going (and more economical), and best of all, I've finally found one that is even more aesthetically pleasing than a traditional fireplace. So I'm back to wine and music, but it's warm enough here to enjoy it all in shorts.