Fireplace inserts are pretty effective. Pretty ones are pricey. Tent stoves are smaller and cheaper, could work similarly, and run on wood scraps, corrugated cardboard, or newspapers. My brother built his own fireplace insert out of a 40 gallon water heater tank, figuring that the further it stuck out of the fireplace, the more effcient it would be in heating the room. Efficient? Yes. Attractive? Not so much. But a smaller version of this, with a 3-6" galvanized flue stuck up the chimney, might be more efficient and be easier to fuel than an open fireplace. haven't tried it, beyond the water heater fiasco.