The problem I have with the Xantech approach is that you would have to have a learning remote just to be able to turn the fireplace on and off.

I found a simple alternative that took advantage of the client already having remotes that he could use for this, but I thought it was kind of costly.

They had nine drapes run by SM Automatic controllers, and they had remote controls all over the house for these drapes. Every SM Automatic remote has 12 sets of open and close buttons, so it was the simplest thing in the world to use a separate SM Automatic drape controller PC Board, connect its 110V output to a latching relay (I'll explain that if you want), and have the latching relay close the contact to turn the fireplace on or off.

It was expensive because the controller and the latching relay both were not cheap, and they needed to be assembled in an electrical box with a power cord on one end and a low voltage connection on the other end. They had two fireplaces to control, both controllers went in one box, and I did not profit greatly, nor lose my shirt, at $1100 for the whole assembly.