DIY masonry heater with oven. Very practical. These stoves will burn for several days with no fire tending. The builder had no previous brick laying experience.
Click for free building instructions with drawings.
The Masonry Heater Association of North America (lots of great pics and plans on masonry heaters and ovens, and they teach workshops)
Masonry heaters are exceptionally efficient, and do provide heat over a long period. Usually they are fired up only once or twice a day, with a very hot fire that burns quickly, with nearly all of the heat from the fire absorbed into the masonry of the heater.
You can read a review of an excellent book about masonry heaters that I wrote and see several examples of them as well, at http://greenhomebuilding.com/articles/masonryheaters.htm