Log burner - alight or not for summer viewings

[Lavenderfowl]

I’m in the very rural north so a log burner is an essential part of heating mix, but how do I present it for viewings? Alight even on nice days, or just clean and tidy, or fairy lights (?!) inside it…

It’s beautifully atmospheric having it lit in the cooler months but not sure what to do at this time of year (not that it’s particularly warm atm!)

TIA.

Wouldn’t bother

It will make it too warm and stuffy for viewings. I would give it a good clean. Fill up the log basket etc and maybe put a nice arrangement in front of it.

It's quite cold atm so I would.

Off and clean.

If I went round a house with a fire burning in the summer I'd think the owners were nuts!

Off and clean I think, so long as it isn't chilly indoors.

I once looked round a very warm house. It seemed otherwise ok, but I was so sweaty I just wanted to escape! Didn't put an offer in.

It would make me think the house was hard to heat. I viewed a house recently and the owners had just cleaned it and I clocked it as being there

If you have it burning in the summer, I would think the house was prone to being especially cold and drafty.

Just clean with a small amount of wood at the ready. Might be worth spending a few minutes making sure you pick the most aesthetically pleasing pieces and stack them nicely, but that is it.

I would think something was wrong with the house if I saw a log burner on in the middle of June. I know it's currently a bit grey, and perhaps colder than an average summer, but still I'd assume you were attempting to deal with a damp issue or something like that.

No i wouldn't, I'd wonder why you need it going in the summer!

Clean it well inc the glass, sweep out ash, polish the hearth. Lay a fire ready with attractive logs but son't light it. Have a log basket with pretty logs next to it.

For the summer I put the most attractive logs in mine, larger than I would burn.
i did find some large silver ceramic fir cones in a charity shop and they go in one.
I wouldn’t light it in the summer for house viewing.

Thanks everyone that’s all really helpful, I think some decorative logs is the way to go!