If I get the guts, I'll take a picture of ours and post it. It's just so messy--the scaffolding really doesn't add much. Seriously, though, we have a stone hearth and I want a window seat, but I don't want to continue the window seat out of stone for these reasons:

1. We're already headed toward too rustic. It's easy to get that way when you have massive stones in your LR.
2. I like the contrast of textures that a wood window seat and pretty cushions would add.
3. Most important, you can have storage in a wood window seat, none in a stone one. That alone is reason enough, imo. Plus, honestly, the stone hearth, even w/ pillows isn't as cushy as you'd want it to be.

I recently was in a beautiful mid-century modern home (all original) that had extended the stone hearth all the way along a bank of windows. It was slate, I believe, and open at the bottom with cushions on top. It was quite lovely for a party, but definitely not a place to curl up with a book. It was a good use of the space below the large windows without obstructing the view. I don't have pics, sorry.

This isn't a window seat, but could be. Thought it might give you an idea of a non-rustic look.

{{!gwi}}

love those pictures five...

Sorry, not crazy about the idea for the same reasons druid mentioned. Personally, I'd prefer something soft and inviting for a window seat.
Also, since the fireplace would be extending out from the wall, wouldn't the cap under the windows be even deeper that the cap on the hearth?

BTW, thanks for that first inspiration pic! I now know what color I want my window seat cushion! :~)

Here is a mock-up hubby drew on a 3d sketch program.

Druid, I'd love to see a pic of yours. I agree with all your points. I think the wood seat would look better. I also REALLY want and need the storage. Hubby is planning on asking builder if we can do open "cubbies" underneath the seat that we could slide baskets into, but obviously a wood cabinet base would provide storage easier.

The inspiration pics are from Houzz. That place is a serious time waster. I can spend hours there drooling and have gotten TONS of inspiration from houses there.

Here is what we did in our family room. We built window seats on either side of our TV. The stone matches the stone on our fireplace and there is storage underneath. You would have to get your stone mason to cut the stone about 1/2" thick. The top is heavy but not to heavy to open. I keep christmas decorations there so I only go in it a couple times a year.

close up

I wouldn't do it, because I think it could limit your furniture arrangment options. Once you create window seats there in stone, you aren't likely to want to put a chair and table in front of it, or the end table for a couch, etc.

What you might consider instead is having wooden ones built in the same finish as the mantel. They could even be built to be removable if you would like. I think the wood would seem much cozier than the stone, and would compliment the mantel.

For me, building the tv into the stone would not be an option. Too permanent, and I would not want two black holes side by side under the mantel. Plus, at some point if you decide you want the tv and furniture arrangements to change, what would you do with the opening? But that is just me.

For me, what makes a room interesting is not repeating the texture of the focal point of the room but to let it stand alone and add different textures. I think adding more stone would actually take away from the focal point. Secondly stone is a cold product and sitting on a bench with it behind my calves would not be pleasant. I'm not fond of the idea of a t.v. in that area, would it be safe if the fireplace was working? Artistically and from a decorating point of view the t.v. and the wood box just take away from the beauty of the fireplace. I would do built ins on the left with a place for the t.v. and a wood crib on the right with more built ins. Let us know what you decide.

Love your inspiration picture! What a great place for family time. You're going to be spending some serious money on this and it won't be easy to modify once done. So my suggestion (which might already be your plan!) is that once your research is done, gather your inspiration pics and various ideas, make a prioritized wish list and contact a designer or architect to help you pull the details and aesthetics together. A lot of builders really aren't good with design, so I would stick with a designer whose work you've seen and like. This could help you avoid common pitfalls and expensive mistakes, costly or disappointing in the long run. Even when you think you've exhausted all the possibilities, you might also still get new ideas not thought of yet. A good designer could add a special touch or unique idea that you wouldn't get otherwise. Moreover, they would make sure your own ideas are sound and balancing out well visually.

Good luck! Please post your after shots.

I recently did a story on a rustic red kitchen that was open to dining room on one end and den on the far end. To the left of the stone FP is a neat built-in bench, really almost a twin bed. The hearth is continued into that space. It's a family "camp." The hearth is concrete and has storage below for firewood.

I'd have to agree with the above posters, benches/window seat are not all that comfortable unless you're laying down on one.

Here is a link that might be useful: last picture

We have a corner stone FP, and built a seat to one side of it. We use it ALL the time, especially in the winter to sit and warm up, and it's great for when company comes over. For some reason, the stone isn't uncomfortable at all to sit on.

Here's a picture of it when we first built the FP.

I looked at your picture again and saw that you want the TV next to the FP in stone. I agree with Les. Not only because it's impractical and permanent, but I'd never put an electronic next to a FP, not even on the mantel if you plan on building a nice fire.

And it does look like two black holes. When I first saw the picture I thought it was a FP with a wood stacking box next to it. Now that would be pretty. lol.

On the other side of our FP above is where we have our TV, and it looks nice there, plus we can enjoy the fire while watching TV.

I wouldn't build a spot in the fireplace for the TV, either. There are so many homes out there now with built-in spots for the TV where the new flat TV's won't fit. With the way electronics rapidly change, who knows what TVs will look like in 10 years.

Thanks for all your suggestions. Back to the drawing board we go. As frustrating as this process is, I am so grateful to all of you for potentially saving us from mistakes we could regret down the road. I think I (you!) have convinced DH not to do the full stone, and he has realized that maybe the TV INSIDE the stone surround is not the best idea either. Though he is absolutely morally opposed to putting the TV OVER the FP. I think we may be back to the orig layout, which has our current 9ft entertainment center in the middle of the wall flanked by two windows (one of which at least will be a window seat, whether they both can be depends on the fireplace placement). Then we will probably do the FP, still with a stone surround and hearth, diagonally in the inside corner. Ugh. As exciting as this entire process is, we are both feeling a LOT of stress as we try to make decisions that will work now and long term for our growing family.

Spring-Meadow, we do have an architect that is drawing up our plans. However, while he DOES offer great insight at times, he seems to be more than content to just take our ideas and put then down on paper. Our builder recommended him as someone he has worked with for years, and while he is thorough, he does not seem to have a TON of creative design experience. Though he has done an outstanding job with the challenging structural issues with our house, and his price has been more than reasonable given the number of hours he has spent on our project and what most architects can demand on new construction. Unfortunately, cost is a major factor for us. While we ARE fortunate enough to even be considering this dream build, we are already seriously pushing the budget and working hard to make this a practically useful without going overboard.

Why not do it like your first inspiration pic--the fireplace in the middle; the tv to the left and a window seat to the right?

Are you now thinking of not going all the way up with the stone? I see you latest mock-up and I would not do the
window seats either. I think I would leave the space for a
chair on either side of the FP. The wall on the left is a
good place tv. My FR is similar to your layput, except I
don't have windows flanking the FP, however our stone
goes all the way up and our tv in on the wall on the left side.

Kristin - I'd personally love to do it like the first pic but hubby is not as sure. he is more inclined to keep the entertainment center we already have - this in black -

and put the fireplace in the corner. Cliff and Joann - I think in hubby's eyes, the more stone the better :) We will be using the same stone we are using outside on the base of our house, so I guess the total amt will be largely based upon the cost. Hubby is adamant we go all the way around the house (he hates when people just stone the front and not the sides/back), so depending on how much money is left in the stone budget, we may go up to the ceiling or not. It is a 9ft ceiling in the LR.

Here is the mock-up with the corner fp. Sorry for the funky lighting. The program puts in the sunlight depending on the time of day and I can't figure out how to get rid of that. basically, it would be the entertainment center shown above (in black) with two windows and a black wooden built-in window seat underneath each. The stone FP would be in the corner (not brown stone - but whatever we use outside the house) and prolly a black wood mantle to tie in with the entertainment center. It's hard to get the total idea from this pic, but at least you can see the layout.

We have the black entertainment center now and it is flanked by two windows (with no window seats underneath) but they are cherry stained wood trimmed, not white, as we will likely have in the new house (unfortunately). I'm not sure how I feel about the black and white. We'd really prefer to do stained trim, but we can't afford the added 10K to upgrade to wood-clad windows.

I think you'll like having the FP in the corner. It leaves a lot of wall room for the TV and other furniture.

Will you be building a wood burning FP? If so, then I'd definitely add a bench to the side of it like we have with our's above. It's come in so handy and it really adds that architectural detail to the room. And make sure your hearth is deep enough because you'll have a little mess each time you build a fire. :)

It doesn't have to look rustic depending on the stone you use.

We also have matching stone on the outside of the house.

Just make sure you get a GOOD stone mason though. My dh took off work for a week and watched them like a hawk when they did our FP. lol.

Oh, when all was built, we had enough stone to build an outside grill! We had to pay the mason extra though, but it was worth it.

Like you, I'm not sure about all the black & white. It's not my taste but this is your house! You mentioned this is a LR yet the furniture shown looks more like a media room. Is the mock-up showing true style & layout of furniture?

Besides the amount of all the black, I'd be concerned whether the painter will do a good job of matching the window seat black to the unit's black color.
I'd do one of two options: I'd have the TV unit spray painted to match your trim (or complimentary color), then have window seats built to match the style of the unit and connected to it so it looks like one large built-in.
2nd option: Build the fireplace in the corner, set the unit between the windows and live with it for awhile. It's not that difficult to build in window seats at a later date.

BTW, I think you're going to have a problem fitting a window seat between the unit and fireplace. You'll have to change it's depth to accommodate where it meets the fireplace.

I like the FP on the wall between the two windows.
It will look gorgeous there. Can the wall to the left --
accomm0date the wall unit?

Here is our layout...the stone is Pennsylvania mica.
It has sparkles in the stone, giving it life.
We picked out our stone by riding around an industrial
park looking at buildings. Then we also found it on
a restaurant near us, and someone from the stoneyard
identified it. Our room has all windows and a french door on the right side.
The left side is our tv unit.
Notice the keystone in the center of
the opening and the placement of some of the large stones.

How wide will your FP be if you put it between the two windows? Our hearth is only about one foot deep, you could
make a deeper and higher hearth to accommodate some cushions for seating.

I'll get you another pic of the FP straight on...

Straight on, We only have 2 1/2 feet on either side of the FP,
as compared to your 5 foot on either side.

Do the 2 windows need to be on each side of the TV? IOW's are they part of the architecture on the exterior?

It'd be nice if you could eliminate them (especially for TV watching!) and make that whole wall the TV/fireplace wall.
Check out the other thread on the forum.........

Here is a link that might be useful: fireplace thread

In the latest mock up those windows on either side of the FP look like afterthoughts---like they are not the same size as the individual windows in the bank of windows at the right. I would definitely make those windows the same size---they may be and the program may just make them look smaller?

And, I would not let a piece of furniture like a wall unit dictate the "hard" architecture of a room or house. The fireplace will be there long after that wall unit has turned to dust . . . and after people have started looking at their watches for tv instead of large screens . . . :)

I definitely agree with kswl. I wouldn't match the mantel to your entertainment center. Besides, different colored wood in a room adds character. We have a great mixture of cherry, oak and hickory and I love it!

You could alway sell the EC down the road.

I feel your pain and confusion though, we went through the same thing when we built the room in the picture above.

fiveunderfive, I'm sitting here giggling b/c we have the SAME (Logan) entertainment center in black for our 55" TV. It's been great in this house. But for our build, I'm going with built-ins of some sort with the TV either next to or above the fireplace. We have decided to break up our entertainment center and put the two outer bookcases in a bedroom and the center console with a TV in a different room. This way we won't lose the use of it but can put white woodwork in the main spaces along with some kind of stone fireplace.

thanks for all the comments. Babs - good idea about using the EC broken apart in other rooms. We had initially thought we would just use it in the basement when we finish that out.

to those of you who would NOT match the mantle to the FP, would you match it to the wood trim? Floors (HW)? Something different?

Also, the budget is an issue here as well. The built-in window seats are figured into our cost estimate, as is a generous (I think) FP allowance, so it may not be too much more to add the entertainment center built in. BUT - that being said, we are already holding our breath waiting for the bank appraisal to come back. We have awesome credit and a decent income, but the appraiser mentioned looking for comps that have sold recently (not new builds, though I would hope she'd compare to those too if there are any). But we've seen older, outdated 5beds selling for a fraction 1/3 to 1/4 less than our estimate. Wish one of them would work for us, but they are not all that inticing on paper. Being such a large family, we have pretty unique needs too. We'll see how it pans out I guess.

ANSZ - the windows are NOT necessary. The larger bank on the back of the house faces south and into the woods. That is the view we really want. That side actually faces the neighbors house, though there is a decent band of evergreens and some large walnut trees there, and a good acre or more between the houses, so not really looking directly into them. Also, the house has a significant roof overhang, which is kind of a mixed blessing. We are worried about the house being "dark" and want the windows to provide as much natural light as possible, but that side won't be getting a lot of direct sun. But the downstairs is very open. I thin the dimension when you add in the walkway that runs from the front door to the back porch and the kitchen, it is about 34 x 19. Those windows end the long wall, so the architect recommended SOMETHING there to break up the wall. Also, given our large and growing family, we were planning on the window seats providing additional seating for family get-togethers without us needing to make the room larger.

KSWL - I THINK they are the same size, or certainly could/should be. The drawing program is pretty simplified, and I don't like how it protrays the "snapshots" that I post. It looks better on the mock-up inside the program, but even that is simplistic. The initial plan has them drawn the same, but it is a bank of two together only on the right side of the entertainment center, with the fireplace in the corner on the left, not flanking the EC. in that drawing, each individual window (both in the bank of two and bank of 3) are the same.