If you're a big fantasy fan, you've probably got a few tasteful decorations around the house (swords mounted above the fireplace, Lord of the Ring posters on the walls, shelves of D&D books, wizard-shaped candles on the mantel... tasteful, right?). But you don't have to stop there. You can decorate the outside of the house with fantasy flair too.
This dragon, which looks like it's perched on a crystal ball, is more than just a sculpture: it's a functional chimney pot.
For those of you who aren't in the know, a chimney pot is a short pipe mounted at the top of your chimney to increase ventilation to the fireplace below. This addition can also reduce the amount of smoke. If you ever burn wood fires, it's a good investment, and if you're a fantasy fan, why not announce it to the neighborhood with this cute dragon poised atop your roof?
The most common gas fireplaces are the inserts that plug into your existing hearth, and they usually have a glass window that allows you to peer inside to watch the crackling flames. Well, if you're planning a free-standing unit (perhaps you don't have a fireplace in your house to fit an insert), you could get something that totally eliminates the glass. The flames are open, thus providing the realism of a real fire (of course this might not be the wisest product for a house with small children).
Are you a fan of outdoor fireplaces? Like the idea of having one of your own? A chiminea is an easy way to have a fire right on your deck or back patio without going through the hassle of having an outdoor brick-and-mortar fireplace built. 
Since my family always has the gas fireplace on during the winter, it's pretty common to see mittens, hats, shoes, and other outdoor accouterments lined up on the ledge below the blower. Anytime we go out in the snow or rain to walk the dog (and she insists on multiple walkings a day), we seem to come back wet this time a year. That's why this mitten-drying rack caught my eye.
If you have a wood-burning stove or use your wood fireplace a lot, you've probably got a stack of cut wood piled up behind the house. Some people just keep their wood elevated on a couple of cross-logs and throw a tarp over it all to keep it dry, but you could buy a decorative wood rack, which would be much less of an eye sore. (Necessity? Maybe not. Good purchase? I suppose it depends how much time you spend looking at your wood pile.)
The snow is flying, even out here in the temperate Seattle area, and there's nothing like some cold weather to get you thinking about heat. And if you're the homeowner responsible for paying the bills, those thoughts doubtlessly lead to how expensive it is to heat your house. Well, if you're willing to do a little work (keeping a stove loaded and maintained), you might consider a wood burning stove, or even something like this PelPro corn burning stove (it can also burn pellets).
It's not too early to start thinking about an outdoor fire pit for your spring and summer entertaining (and if you're lucky enough to live in warm climate, you might even be doing some entertaining on the deck right now). 
These handsome pinecone fire starters could make a fun gift idea for anybody with a wood stove or a fireplace they use often. Much easier to use than the old match, newspaper, and kindling method, the firestarters simply get placed amongst the logs, lit, and voila... a nice cozy fire will be crackling soon.
I've started to see more and more glass fireplaces that mount to the wall as opposed to inside a converted hearth, but I haven't seen too many models as handsome as this one. The Planika GF-02 is small enough to sit right on your table top. 
By nature a fireplace is a focal point for whatever room its in. The eye is drawn to it when a guest first enters, so why not make it something special?