Widening the sides a little, so I can fit a full tile on each side of the fireplace (like the right side of this, left is off., which it might well be, in real life). Also, eliminating raised hearth step.

Tile run vertically - looks like bowling pins or wine bottles.

Better without the TV:

Are you set on using that specific tile? I love Fireclay, and that is a really nice shape, but IMO it's not quite right for an entire surround and wall in your room. I would probably use a traditional square or brick shape.

Maybe you could use that tile just around the firebox, and do the rest of the surround in white paneling? That would be a nice balance to your beautiful bookcases.

No, definitely not set, just really taken by it. Thanks for the suggestions jlc712, I'll try some out. I also want to try out a large hex tile. Not sure about the white paneling; do you mean just up to usual mantel height?

Don't forget when you are watching the TV it is no longer a big black square box. It produces a lot of colour and movement. I'm not sure how that would look against that all ready quite busy and wavy tile. You don't want to get seasick watching TV. Just something to consider.

I don't think you're doing the tile any favors by cutting if off short of the changes of plane. If you are going to do something like this, I would tile that whole angle, and get a slab for the hearth.

What pal said. Cover that entire wall. I like the horizontal orientation for the tile, and also like pal's idea of a slab for the hearth.

Sorry, didn't articulate well. Something like this, but it could all be on one plane instead of having the mantelpiece project--

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It would be kind of a shame to cover up that tile with a TV and mantel, I think.

I like it without the mantel and without the raised hearth. If you are going to mount a TV above the fireplace, the mantel (and anything you put on it) will be in the way - plus I do not think it goes with the tile. Also, it is not a good idea to change tile directions from the wall to the floor, so that the pattern continues. I like the vertical tiles on the wall, but not with horizontal tiles on the floor.
Lars

FYI, fireclay will finish tile sides for an extra charge.

I would not tile to the ceiling if you want to mount the TV there. I would do something like Jlc suggested with the white panel surround. And I'm a little concerned that the pattern may be too overwhelming and busy on an entire wall.

Also, if this is a woodburning FP, you don't want tile and grout on the hearth. We made that mistake....the soot and ashes got into the grout (light beige) and we never got it out. When we redid the FP we did a limestone slab.

I think the other option is this, particularly if you are putting the TV above. The tile height above can either = that of the width on each side, or the height between the bottom of the firebox and the floor.
However:

1) I think the TV will blend into grey tile more than it will a white wall when it is off.

2) I don't really agree that an entire plane of a single material is overwhelming. I think that it is sometimes more visually overwhelming to have changes and "edges" of different materials and colors chopping surfaces into different pieces.

blfenton - Seasick, liked the analogy, point taken. DH is a boater and I've been trying to push the nautical angle :)

pal - Slab for the hearth is a good idea. Thank you for the pictures and advice. Regarding the first picture, when the tile is taken to the ceiling, it takes away from the 'airiness' of the lights. I'm not sure how to say it, but there's something discordant with the contrast. (And I'm usually the first to suggest tiling to the ceiling). Perhaps with a lighter tile I'd feel this less, but I'm leaning towards darker colors.

Your second picture's dimensions feel much more natural. Whatever I do, I would like it to have nice, clean lines; keep me on track for this please when I stray!

jakabedy - We raised the ceiling in this room, and now it feels more narrow due to the height. This is another reason the horizontal orientation of the tile appeals to me.

jlc712 - Here's an attempt with the mantel you showed. Very far from simple lines, and too top heavy, but it does nicely 'house' the TV.

publickman - It would be great to get rid of the raised hearth, simply to add some more room. Here's the layout. Scale is way off because we don't have as much 'free space' as this makes it appear. We're far enough back (with the two sofas) that we don't think the mantel will be in the way (but we'll test this out), if we do add one. Thank you for the input on the tile direction.

joaniepoanie - We have a woodburning stove in another room which we use regularly. We haven't had a fire in this fireplace for a good 5 years now and are planning to convert it to gas logs. Great point about tile and light grout on the hearth!

Sorry, don't like the tile at all. Looks like it belongs as an accent tile in a bathroom.

I think this is a tile that less is more. I would use the tile as an inset with a more plain tile around it.

The Photoshop of the white mantel looks pretty good! I think a simplified version with less complicated molding, maybe no mantel, painted to match your trim, would look great. It highlights the tile.

I think, given the other end of the room, I would do something like this with a slate surround and plain paneling to go with the built-ins.

Yes, that is perfect!

Given the lovely builtins in the rest of your room, I like Pal's mockup the most. Or you could do a simpler (or smaller repeat) tile instead of the slate.

I also like the last mock up, because it mirrors the type of finish you have already introduced in another part of the room. And to be honest, I do not care for the tile because it is a classic harlequin shape and look that has never appealed to me personally. However, the tile looks very richly colored and I can see how a limited amount of it laid horizontally would give interest to that area. ( of course remember that I don't know what overall style the interior is, or the exterior, which would obviously inform any opinions of individual elements like tile!)

I like the last image with the tile just over the brick. I am actually in the middle of a similar project with probably the worlds ugliest fireplace. I ended up deciding on a vertical subway basic white tile. But above the mantle and flanking the sides will be wood trim. That much tile to the ceiling would have been way too overwhelming for me.

I think the scale of the tile itself is off on some of the mockups a bit. It's BIG tile and I don't know if you can just use a little bit of it without chopping it up too much.

If you use the tile on the floor instead of a slab, I might switch to something large like 12x12s there. (You can probably get custom sized tiles for that, although I doubt they'd go larger.)

That said, I'd like it to tie in to your built-ins with some kind of woodwork. Cuz they're awesome. :)

Fori, jlc712, I think you're on to something. I went to bed thinking about your suggestions and it may be a much better solution for the spot than the tile; i.e., all wood. I'm concerned about the proportions of Fori's example, so will spend time playing around with different configurations.

If you all can keep an eye out for any good examples for me, I'd appreciate it.

Gooster, kswl - You both have a knack for clean lines; please keep me on the right track!

beryl469, kippy - thank you for the input. (Any pictures of what you're doing, kippy?)

OK I know this is not simple, but perhaps with much cleaner lines (and omitting the lights), a greyish wood might be lots of fun. (Tile is just random). I wouldn't have the room for the actual TV doors.

Same, in lighter colors.

Do you object to tying in your existing woodwork with a new fireplace surround? Not sure what you're tryng to accomplish with the random woodwork in your latest post. It doesn't relate to anything in your room.

@oldbat -- I think you recall we went with tile and used picture frame molding. We also contemplated going to the ceiling with some sort of tile. The rest was painted wood our finish carpenter did to that match the rest of the new built ins. We had to ditch a traditional mantel as well. I
wish we could have found a slab for the hearth -- one day we may replace it with something else (like Pal recommended for you above); we
ended up using some marble tile that we have facing our french doors as renovation fatigue was hitting. Here's a photo from back then....

There is nothing particularly wrong with a number of the designs that you are coming up with except they completely ignore what's happening at the other end of the room. The new built-ins on the window wall are great: don't detract from them by going off in another direction in the same room.

I have photos, but I really don't want to share...lol But the fireplace has not been used in 50 years because it has such a poor design. They actually added it to the house about 25 years after the house was built, 1890s, in the 20's when they subdivided the orchard in to a housing tract. They took out a big window and built this thing in its place. It is not centered in the room, the mantle has half circles cut along the bottom skirt board and was not centered over the fireplace. The opening is off an inch or so as well and they filled the space between the mantle and the top of the window with more bricks and a skim coat. This was a big problem because bees got in that void and had a large hive. And at some point the morter cracked and it was leaning in. Thank goodness I said I hated it because it would have fallen down at any time. They did some kind of sloppy mud treatment over the firebox brick with 3 black 4x4 tiles on edge that reminded me of a cyclops. Most of the time, mom shoved a couch in front of the mess and called it good. But she wants to have a fire in it and my friend was selling an insert. So, until I get the chimney either rebuilt or relined it is purely "decorative" and the insert may end up with a fake electric log.

k9arlene - Good question. I'm trying to figure out what shape works in this corner, due to corner location, ceiling with multiple planes, and the cable lighting.

What we have on the other side of the room has shaker detail on the side panels, which I love, and which I was trying to incorporate. (We will be redoing the top trim work with crown).

Pal, thanks so much for liking the built-ins; we think they're great too and you're right about making sure the fireplace side is complementary. For some reason, your shape seems too wide (with the single square (lite?) up top). I need to switch over to sketchup and mock this up.

kippy - Wow, now I want to see pictures even more! A fireplace with a history. It sounds terrible and yet quite charming too.

Thanks Gooster, I'd forgotten about your lovely fireplace and tile. Do you have anything hanging in the upper rectangle (TV or picture?).

I think the panel detail can be whatever is compatible with the bookcases. It also depends on whether the TV goes above or not.

I REALLY like the idea of panelling of the same profile as the built ins around the fireplace.

I ALSO think you can incorporate a lovely, interesting, expensive tile along with the panelling: that's a classic look and it would let you do a statement and have a visually cohesive room.

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This one shows a statement tile with a coordinating statement tile on the floor, which I like, and I like that the example is in a more modest room. Driftwood and wild turquoise optional.

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Yes, now I see the shaker detail. Your bookcases are lovely, but the detail is so hidden, that the similar shaker detail on your mockup looks random. The overall appearance of the room seems more transitional, and shaker overload on the fp surround looks out of place. I agree with Pal that you want the room to have a cohesive look.

I was writing my post before I saw robo's. Love her suggestions.

If you use a tile of this sort you have to be careful that the area to be tiled is sized to get a good tile layout. The size and shape of this tile drive the size of the space for it rather than the tile being cut however to fit the space. For this space you would want something like this that includes a whole tile. I am not sure of the size but that's the general idea.

So you'd need a foot on either side of the fireplace to get that layout. The bricks look like 8" bricks (?) So the tile would extend another 50% on either side.

@oldbat2be: Thanks, I just wanted to show you how we took the builtins and made them repeat the cabinetry color and pick up the styles used elsewhere on the first floor. In your case, it would be your beautiful white built-ins. Our formal LR looks more like the type of builtin that Robo showed, with wood trim to frame the opening. The FR has tile. The upper panel is intended to set off a piece of art -- still to be bought! (Looking for the right original piece). The TV is in the built-ins to the left.

As you plan it out, be sure to plan in space for a chase to hold all the wiring. Since the fireplace chimney is behind the angled wall, you might need your woodwork to be pulled forward a bit (or maybe a hollow mantel that can hide wiring?) We have a TV over a fireplace, with a chimney behind, and the wall was built knowing that a chase would run through it. (Which means you'll need to know where your electronic components will be so the other end of the chase is nearby, and of course it needs an outlet nearby.) Also, the bracket to hold a big TV can be pretty hefty (although TVs are getting thinner and lighter), so you'll want to make sure the necessary support is there.

I agree with opinion that it isn't a good idea to change tile directions from the wall to the floor. Are you certain that you want this dark tiles around the fireplace, personally I think that better is something in brighter color.

I like Palimpsets design matching the builtins. However, I think you could make the fireplace corner much better balanced and give the eye a break....because it makes me want to adjust things, in every plan above.

What I think would balance is to make the 3 walls balance. Add a Roman pediment (even a big wall hanging of such, to give it some weight) above the doorway, so it reads as big as your fireplace setup. Bring it up to whatever height you wish, but keep them the same as you have the builtins elsewhere. Then where the TV is, bring it into scale with the doorway and its pediment, which reduces the space allotted to the TV. Be sure to mount the TV on a swivel mount to make it visible to those seated nearby. I don't know if you have two identical sofas in the room presently, but if so, bring them both together at right angles where those seated on both sofas are formed within the space opposite the wide entry to the room and the TV and the fireplace. Not sure of my angles here, but put them as a unit of entertainment anyway. And where there are the two doorways on opposite long walls of the space, even though they are not symmetrically located, make the area between at the FAR end of the room, a private conversational area with nice comfy chairs facing each other, and some big lamps and soft lighting. If you are remodeling, you might consider placing the two doors opposite one another, to give a symmetrical appearance to the room. Pull some furniture away from the walls, give things some breathing room. You might even consider achieving real balance by placing a huge corner builtin in the corner of the room opposite the corner fireplace, echoing the shape, and continuing with whatever molding for a cohesive unit that becomes truly architectural.
Love the possibilities this room offers.