If you have plenty of money to "burn", then go for it.
Sorry, I just had to say that.
Most fireplaces that I have either owned or observed produce quite a bit of soot especialy during the lighting process. The damper is never set just right for all levels of flame. So even it the flue is wide open, each time you add a log or stoke up that fire, smoke/soot will belch forward up the face of the fireplace and onto your mantel or plasma.
Additionally, some building codes require specific distances between the opening of the firebox and the nearest combutible material. Not that you have to pay attention to code, but these rules came from practical industry experience. I know that the underside of my mantel gets very hot when I have a big fire going.