I have a fireplace, but would really like to have a simple wood stove in its place.  Since the height of the opening is only about 26 inches, I could use an insert, but I want a stove.  So after some gogle-foo, I found this example
I kinda figured I would have to rebuild the mantle etc in order to get the area to accept a stove.
The pictures in the above link look nice and just what I had in mind.  
Going to call someone before cooler weather sets in.
This winter I want to "cook" some coffee in an old percolator coffee pot I have.

I am going through the same dilemma. I have an insert and am replacing it with a free standing stove in October. For now I am going to place it outside the fireplace opening on a hearth pad and will probably either close up the existing fireplace or build an alcove for the stove. The further out that the stove is in the room, the more usable heat you will get. I will post pics as things move forward.

vermont castings has some nice set ups

I had a big stove in the fireplace for years.  In the olden days, Consolidated Dutchwest was a leading maker of stoves.  They have since bought, or were bought by, Vermont Castings.  I had the large CD stove, and they sold a kit to use the stove in a fireplace.  It was a section of stainless steel flexible oval tubing that was locked into a stainless plate.  The damper plate was removed, and the stainless plate installed with J bolts.  The stainless tube was routed through the plate and locked in with screws.  The stainless tube terminated in a rectangular box which acted as a 90* elbow to accept a section of stove pipe from the back of the stove.  The stove rested on the hearth, either on legs, or in my case, flat on the hearth.  This allowed the stove to radiate from four surfaces, the top, front and sides.  The stove had a catalytic combustor on the top, and a polished cookplate.  It was a good system, but feeding a stove is a lot of work.

Be careful installing a wood stove in an alcove!

I am in the process of doing the same thing!

I just had our engineered fireplace taken out and we're putting in an Englander 30-NC it it's place.  The 30 will sit about 1/3 inside the alcove and the rest outside of it.  What we didn't want was the stove to sit all the way out front, and the stovepipe going up outside the fireplace chimney then into the wall - it would have taken up too much of the living room.

This way we have the pipe going straight up with most of the stove outside the alcove.  Our alcove threshold will be at 6' which gives us about 30" above the stove.  We will be using man made stones to line the alcove and walls.  There will be Durock with a 1 1/4" air space against the walls and studs.

Good luck!