No Logs Required.(The Good Life; HOME)(Buyers guide)(Brief article)

Byline: Joanna Heath

With the cold weather rolling in, nothing seems more appealing than curling up in front of a toasty fire. But cozy doesn't have to mean kitschy. With these ultracontemporary gas fireplaces, the style-conscious have good reason to stay inside until spring.

The best of the bunch double as cutting-edge works of art. The futuristic-looking Napoleon Tureen features a single towering flame emerging as if by magic from a toughened ceramic bowl filled with river rocks, reflected in sleek satin chrome (from $2,924; napoleonfireplaces.com).

The funky EcoSmart Retro Fire not only looks cool but ups your green-chic credentials by using denatured ethanol, a renewable and clean-burning fuel, and has the added benefit of not requiring a flue ...