Some of it looks like overkill. The best ones are where the firewood is packed inside the fireplace, whether it's functional or purely aesthetic that looks the best.

Not a good idea .Can you spell TERMITES? as these will soon be swarming in your living room.

Termites, spiders, etc.
Not to mention it's always a cool idea to stack you home with hundreds of extra combustibles.
. Makes for a nice steady bonfire. Ever so fun for the neighbors.

Yeah, I love the way it looks and would totally go for it but I just can't imagine it's a good idea. Bugs, dirt, mold. Not worth the dramatic statement.

Ugh... I'm just envisioning a TON of dust that'll be very difficult to clean from those surfaces.

don't

We've been getting a ton of bugs even from the small stack we bring in on days we are actively burning a fire. I moved out of an apartment with those invasive stinkbugs, and have found them in our wood pile. I'm terrified of letting them get inside our house.

So I'm a don't. No matter how pretty it is.

Ugh. I look at that and think SPIDERS! I've moved wood from woodpiles and been surprised by big spiders many times.

I don't even let our outdoor woodpile come anywhere near the house.

None of these are elevated...in order to avoid rodents setting up camp, whether indoors or out, stacks should always be elevated. A few bricks and a slab of wood can do it.

We use (generic) duraflame logs so the stacked logs are really for decor but they have been treated, are few in number and are elevated so over the last 6 years weve had no problem- except for the need for occasional dusting!

a small stack on the hearth seems fine...but some of these are excessive. not to mention, all the bugs and dirt and filth that would come in with all that. and honestly, are you ever going to use that much firewood? (i'm talking to you, photo number 1)

Two words - GAS LOGS. :)

Termites aren't (yet) an issue in extreme winter climates (e.g., northern New England), but yes, mosquitoes and other bugs hatch indoors from firewood. Another issue is the wood itself: If it's indoors too long, it overdries and burns faster. That may not be a problem for those who use wood for occasional fireplace ambience. Our primary heat source is a woodstove, and the quality of the wood matters. We keep firewood in or near a covered outdoor area and bring in only one day's supply at a time.

If your going to stack wood as a design feature, you should take the bark off because that's were most of the bugs are. Once the logs are cleaned up, there's no reason to think they can't last a long time like any other wood in your home.

Hmm. I like the look quite a bit, but as a practical matter it seems, well, not great. You'd have to strip the bark (as noted by others) to keep the logs from spreading dirt/ bugs/ mold/ whatever in your house, which is a lot of work for something you're going to set on fire. And if you don't strip the bark - what a nightmare. Maybe this can work as a design feature on a covered porch, maybe being held inside a cute firewood holder or bookcase. I guess if you're just doing it for effect, then strip the bark and stack away?

All the design loving firefighters out there just had massive coronaries.

Don't. Keep the woodpile outside. Just bring in what you need for the day. If you're just stacking a few logs in the fireplace, that's fine. But why create a cleaning nightmare for yourself for no good reason?

We have a lovely little woodshed outside. We can split logs and create kindling outdoors without worrying about the mess. I'd never attempt to do that indoors, and bringing wood back outside to split seems ridiculous.

Stacking firewood in the actual fireplace just seems to say to me "I am uselessly decorative" or -- worse -- "My owner hasn't thought this through." It may be my small-space dwelling biases talking, but I really struggle with why one would desire either of these outcomes.

Would I ever go out in to the woods and cut my own decorator logs? no! If I had the right place for them in my home, would I purchase some that were dried, fogged, and virtually guaranteed to be pest-free? Sure! I like the look quite a bit.

When I was buying my house, the inspector found carpenter ants in the workshop. He said they were nesting in fireplace wood stacked against the shop. Like termites, carpenter ants eat wood. He recommended that we never store wood right up against the house. I would think bringing wood into the house that isn't going to be burned right away is not a good idea, no matter how great it looks.

Holy Don't. Ants, termites, spiders, fire hazards, dust - yuck.

Agree with Kathryn1123 - I've replaced joists because of termite/powder post beetle damage (in the northeast), and now I'm careful. Firewood should never be stored against the house/deck/other wooden structure -- I built log racks in the yard, and only move it onto the porch when it gets cold. We have an open metal rack by the fireplace that holds a day or two's worth.

No one who ACTUALLY uses raw wood in such large volume would EVER keep cords of it directly in the living space. I grew up in Maine, where we had two wood stoves in our house as our primary heating source. As Gillianne astutely mentioned, the wood becomes too cured and burns less effectively. And do you really want earwigs (eew!) and spiders crawling all around your living room?

This is a lovely example of urban designers appropriating an aesthetic without any sense of the reality (and very serious complications) behind it. This trend is the pinnacle of ridiculousness.

Don't. I don't think it looks good, bugs or no bugs.

I love the look of reclaimed wood for flooring, wall treatments, on the ceiling, as shelves, as a side table, etc. I think it looks rustic and beautiful and it is great for juxtaposing with lots of other finishes. But I think, as a design element, this is too literal.

I can understand the massive indoor firewood stacks if you don't have a good place to store your wood outside, especially if you rely on a wood fireplace or stove for your main heat during a cold winter, but... spiders, bugs, dirt and debris... ick! I'd save that as a last resort.

My parents' main wood stack is on their deck on a raised holder, pulled away from the house and covered by a tarp. They keep their wood for the day in a plastic tub near the stove. By the end of the week that tub has a thick floor of bark, dirt, twigs, and so forth. They usually find the spiders when they pick up the log to put it in the fireplace - more than one log has gone flying across the living room at a large eight-legged discovery!

Looks great if the pieces are all the sme length and stacked neatly. Not practical unless kiln dried, barkless, and protected by an overhang from at least some of the dust. (Then vacuum the outer surfaces like any textured feature wall.)

But I prefer my gas log. (You could conceivably saw a bunch of firewood into 2 inch thick slices, glue them onto a closet door or something flat painted black (for "shadow") and get a visual effect like this without the actual piles...)

It's pretty, but spiders! Shiver!

A modest amount in northern climes during non-fireplace usage season = fine. And to finalize the look, I position some over-sized, stylized wood or metal lettering on the mantel that spells "SPIDERS," all crafty-like, and affix a trendy neon arrow nearby pointing to the stack.

\swish

I love spiders cause they eat the bad bugs, but how has no one said Carpenter Ants yet?? I had them in my house in Chicago and a friend in Michigan had them too. No No No to luring pests in the house!

Unless its off the floor, and the logs are super clean, with smooth barf, like white aspen logs, then no. Its a don't.

smooth bark** lol barf.

My first thought is "oooooohhhh, so pretty" followed closely by "ewwwwww, what about the bugs, dust and rodents that would live in there". Think I'll keep the romance alive by just looking at it in other peoples houses.

Hahaha, my very first reaction was "oh gawd, spider mania" and from the comments, it looks like many had the same reaction. Another concern of course would be moisture. If these were purely decorative then I guess you could take the effort to clean and treat the wood for moisture, but that just seems really silly and a waste of space to me.

Like house #4 we have an inset nook next to our fireplace. I didn't know why anyone would build-in an empty cubby - I would have NEVER thought to pile it up with wood, we put in shelves and use it as a bookshelf. The idea of spiders absolutely horrifies me... but I'm a city girl, what do I know?

The first picture looks great but in general I think it's kinda stupid. Anyone who actually uses their wood fireplace on a regular basis knows that all that wood is kind of dirty & it usually has bugs in it. Keeping a basket or tin bucket with a few logs on hand is okay because then you're maybe only bringing in 2-4 spiders at a time. But stacks like that give them a nice place to hatch their eggs! And then blamo! Spider city!

Yuck, definitely don't. It might look cool, but consider all the critters that will make their home in stacks of firewood... even if your place is spotless, they ride in from the forest as eggs and then hatch into your warm home. Firewood belongs outside!

Don't.

My next place has a non-functional fireplace (bah!) I guess I will... stick candles inside it, maybe? I do burn my candles.

Don't. Looks great! But the impossible dusting and bugs. Yuck.

Do. not. go overboard. Most of these guys clearly did. Maybe stack firewood in one column or row, not all 16? I will admit, I considered filling up my fireplace with wood, but [1] spiders and [2] it is totally non-functional. We already have enough spiders. Yikes.

I LOVE the look, but would never consider storing firewood in my home due to extreme fear of fire. Also, bugs. Also, spiders. Also, mold.

I think everyone else has said it before me, but my two cents: All I think when I see these piles of wood in photos is how many horrific spider encounters one must have in real life. I couldn't deal with that.

It feels dumb for me to post my reaction to this because everyone else already got it dead on. I like the look, but I like it in the pictures, not in my house. You keep all the bugs.

I created my own look of this. In the space where the fire would go in my fake fireplace, I got a piece of plywood, painted it brown and then glued on inch thick pieces of wood. To make it LOOK like stacked wood. it looks very nice.

Definite don't in Texas and surrounding states. Spiders are more than "ick" factor down here - they're a health hazard. Brown Recluse spiders love dark spaces and wood piles. If authorities regularly warn us to check shoes, etc., why on earth would I bring their favorite habitat into my home for "decorative" effect? *shiver* And then there's the scorpions . . .

Bugs, spiders, scorpions, snakes, rats, mice, etc. NO!!!!

Gas logs might not be as romantic as wood, but they are much easier and less scary.

I've always loved the look of stacked logs, but I really never considered the "bug" issue. Andrew Martin makes a fun wallpaper that looks like a bunch of stacked timbers. It could be a fun alternative if you like that sort of look. http://www.andrewmartin.co.uk/wallpaper/wallpaperdesigns.php?page=wallpaper&wptid=2&wfpcid=19&isdesign=1

two words. Mice. Earwigs.

I grew up in a northern Maine home where wood heat was the *only* heat. We would always have a pile of wood in the house simply because it was too damned cold to go outside every time you needed it.

I like the look, and the bug and dirt issue isn't really that bad. The trees in Maine at least have been cut in the winter, so the snow is covering the dirt. We usually had a few ants, maybe a spider, and mice... But that's what a cat is for. And if you live in the country, you'll have these things anyway.

I agree. Don't.
Even if you did have a small stack of wood in the house, you'd never stack it in a white cubby, like all of the ones in the pictures. It would look messy in no time.

I say it's a "do!" I've done it in my own home for 6 months now and haven't noticed any creepy crawlers. My version is much smaller - I wanted to dress up my non-working, shallow fireplace by stacking wood inside. Here' my post on it: http://www.gohausgo.com/2011/10/the-outside-in/

Totally don't. I am so creeped out when husband asks me to go get firewood from the wood pile behind the garage. I cannot fathom wanting to bring any of that inside.

Even if it was "new" or pretty wood, I can't imagine bringing in more than a few pieces at a time to use.

I would say "do" but ofcourse this depends on where you live. I personally don't keep firewood around just for fun but actually burn it. If you want it just for looks, you can choose dry wood without mould etc on it.

cats like it too, good place to scratch their nails.