Wood burner or fireplace?

[egginacup]

I’m doing up my little Victorian terrace and have uncovered a hideous old 1930s fireplace in the front room. I’d love to get a wood burner but they are pretty pricey, probably over £2k all in. My other option is to get a reclaimed or reproduction fireplace and get the chimney checked, which I reckon would be cheaper.

Do you think a wood burner is worth the investment, would it add more value than a fireplace? Personally I’d prefer a wood burner but can only really justify the expense if I know I’ll get it back when I sell, probably in a couple of years.

we had the same dilemma, but as we have efficient heating and are only at home during the evenings and sporadic weekends we opted for an open fire as a) whatever was there would only ever be used as a novelty probably fewer than 10 times a year and £2k is a lot to spend on that and b) it looked more fitting

As an aside the cold air down chimney argument is flawed - open fireplaces have a damper (a little door between fire place and chimney) closing it off when not in use