Honestly. It seems weird. Would you have them on two different walls?

Burning anything indoors can increase fire danger, degrade indoor air quality and make it harder to air seal your home.

Yeah, weird. Both have pros and cons. Pick one and don't even think about the other option.

Are you thinking you can use both in the same fireplace?

I am planning (or at least considering) both types as well... but they won't be in the same room. I like the flexibility of fuel sources with having both types. I can't imagine having them in the same room though.

Before wood-burners became passe' here, I would put in one conventional and two or three natural gas units per home.

harder to air seal your home

Put your hand in front of the grille on a natural gas fireplace and you can feel the cold air wafting in 24/7 every heating season. Yet, three or four per house is standard here at the high end. Sigh.

We built a full masonry fireplace but had it converted to gas. That way we have the best of both worlds.

In our next house we are doing a wood burning furnace in the basement (in addition to traditional gas forced air) and a gas fireplace in the great room.

We have a masonry FP in our family room that we originally thought we wanted to be wood burning. We had gas run to it in order to have a gas starter. So glad we did bc we changed our mind and put in gas logs. We do have a wood burning FP on the porch. It also has a gas starter, but we burn wood in it.

Why not a gas starter wood-burning fireplace? I'd imagine you could keep the gas on with fake logs. It'd be worth exploring with the builder and FP people.

What what about something like a Quadrafite 7100? They are wood burning fireplaces that actually heat your house. We put one in our great room and it will be used as a heat source on cold days. I know someone who burns theirs all winter as a primary heat source.

I never saw much point in gas fireplaces. The flames are artificial looking and weak. However, with an electric blower, a gas fireplace can heat a large room easily(den/family room/great room) better than the forced air units.

My family(when I lived with parents) subscribed to the mantra that wood heats twice. Once when cutting/stacking and second when burned in a stove/fireplace. That is fine if you have a free(or very inexpensive) supply of wood. If you have to buy wood, the cost can quickly pass gas, if used for actual heating. Plus, the work in loading logs, cleaning the ashes and so on.

We bought a new house in 1978 that had two brick wood burning fireplaces(same chimney with 2 flues) on the north end of the house. One in the downstairs family room, the other in the living room above. On Friday nights, we could build a fire in the family room(basement) fireplace, close the damper almost all the way, and the entire north end of the house(both floors) stayed toasty enough we turned the furnace down(whole family liked sleeping cool/cold).

Gas is convenient, wood is natural. Nothing like sitting with a wood fire(inside or out). If you like being warmed twice, that is.

As far as having both types, I see no reason not to do so. There are no laws against having both, just extra expense. And, both will work even if the electricity is out.

I would put in a wood burning fireplace with a gas starter, knowing that if the wood becomes a nuisance, you can always add gas logs. This gives you flexibility.

Have a wood burning masonry fireplace in the kitchen/hearth room and gas in the great room. Like having the choice. The wood burning has an open hearth, we usually like to tuck oysters up in the coals and have an oyster roast without having to stand outside in the cold. The gas burner is in a more formal room with nicer floors that I would not dream of tracking wood and ash debris through...

There are no rules! But since you asked, I'd say, Yes!

Thank you all for the great feedback. It gave me a lot of food for thought.

Well, it is a "great" room . . .

That needs a grate fireplace.

Or two. :-)

We bought an existing house with 3 wood burning fireplaces with gas starters. They work well. I was told by the chimney sweep who inspected and cleaned the flues that they were not designed for a really large roaring fire ... since we live in So. CA and don't use them as a main heat source, this isn't a problem.

The gas flames do a great job getting the wood burning quickly, with no need to deal with kindling and newspaper to get the fire going.

Your architect need to check with your local codes office about what is allowed these days. There are many locations that do not allow a traditional wood burning fireplace in a new build due to air quality issues both indoors and out. They pollute both. They decrease energy efficiency as well. In a cold climate, with the new air sealing and insulation requirements, you will likely be required to choose an insert that uses externally supplied air for combustion and burns hotter in order to decrease pollution.

I've designed many houses with both wood burning and gas fireplaces but not both in the same room.

I think it is a Grreat idea! Why?? Because I have been around one for many years! South County, St Louis built homes in the 60's that had wood/gas fireplaces. I think it is no longer allowed but not certain. These are so convienent. Sometimes you wand a roaring warm to the bones wood fire. Sometimes nobody wants 'clean-up' duty.... The smell of a wood fire is all heaven. Having NOT to cleanup a mess is also heaven. Best of both worlds.