We heat our two-level, 2,700 sf house with one large wood stove on the 1st floor (8" round stovepipe; takes fairly large splits, but not as large as those used in outdoor wood furnaces). The stove is located at one end of the 1st floor, and the fairly open stairwell to the second floor is located about 2/3 of the way toward the other end of the house.
The way we run the stove in moderately cold weather, temps typically vary from about 70 F in the family room where to stove is located to about 60-65 F in the rooms that are farthest from the stove. Air circulates throughout the house without any vents or fans. In very cold weather (0 F), it can be difficult to get the distant rooms up to a comfortable temperature. We have electric baseboards that we can use as back-up, but we really limit use of those. We use them the most during spring and fall, when it is cool enough to need heat, but too warm to keep a fire going all day.
We're fairly tolerant of temperature variations, so it works well for us. It also helps to know that we're saving probably $2k a year on electricity. For people who have to have every corner of the house exactly 68 F all the time, it probably isn't going to work very well.
I load the stove and choke down the air intake before I go to bed at night. When I get up 8 hours later, there usually are plenty of coals left so I can just throw a couple of logs on, open up the air, and the fire is going well within a few minutes. I burn good quality hardwood (mostly oak). I probably couldn't do that with the conifers and soft hardwoods that are prevalent in Canada and the western US. Of course, the house is chilly when I get up, ranging anywhere from 63 F on mild mornings to 55 F on below-zero mornings.
I cut, haul, and split my own wood, which is a major time commitment and requires me to be pretty physically fit. I view it as a win-win: I save money on electricity, and I save more money by not having a gym membership. I burn around 5 cords a year. It sounds like a lot, and when you are splitting it all by hand, it is a lot. We keep a fire going almost continuously from late October to early April, which is why we consume so much wood.
Other people have mentioned the mess - this is definitely something to be aware of before you commit to heating with an indoor wood stove. The area around the stove is going to get dirty from all the dust and dirt that falls off the wood as you are putting it in the stove, and from the ashes that you inevitably will spill when you empty the ash pan. We keep a broom and dustpan by the stove and sweep up dust/dirt a couple of times a day.
Don't forget that you are going to have to have your chimney cleaned (or do it yourself) at least once a year. Charcoal/creosote build-up is inevitable after just a few weeks of use, so be sure you know how to manage your fire such that you don't have a chimney fire.