We came across a site that recently ran a survey with Populus of 2000+ people into which features would make a property more (or less) desirable to buy and it turned out that wood burners and original fireplaces were really highly desired.

Fireplaces and log burners are hot

"Wood burners are designed to bring a cosy countryside feel to any home – urban or rural – so it’s perhaps not surprising that 50% of all respondents said it would make a property more attractive to them, compared with 12% who disagreed. The appeal of a wood burner is fairly even across genders and age ranges.

A related feature that has long divided house buyers – especially property developers – is the period fireplace. The benefits of weighing up an attractive classic feature against freeing up usable wall space seems to be at the heart of the dilemma, but what do the general public think?

Almost half (46%) of respondents are in favour of a property keeping its original period (typically Victorian or Edwardian) fireplaces, with 13% taking the opposite view and the rest not minding either way. That sounds like a fairly convincing win for the pro-period fireplace argument.

It’s worth noting that it’s not necessarily the older generation who like this period feature – 44% of 18-24s were positively for it compared with 36% of 65+ for whom perhaps the charm has slighty faded."

So if you are planning on selling your house one day, you might well get your money back! Another great reason to get a wood burner installed!