Wall mount the TV on an arm that is articulating then a low cabinrt underneath to keep the height of the TV at the proper viewing height.. I need to see thr rest of the space and also your sectional size and shape.

@chocolatebunny123 no we are not currently in a master bedroom. We use the upstairs bedroom currently. The basement is currently finished as a large living area with bathroom and storage closet .We are just looking at doing some work to the basement to make it a formal bedroom with walk through bath and closet. Hope that helps the confusion. Your points make a lot of sense to me and are things I have been thinking about for the future. We see the value of a bedroom downstairs because we only have 2 right now, so adding a 3rd is important mostly because we need the space as we are growing our family, but also for resale. I would have not "taken over" the entire basement as a master suite but given how the layout currently is, it felt like the logical thing to do so I didn't have to redo the whole layout. I agree with your thoughts, I'm just not sure of any other options for us to add another bedroom

It looks like he prepped for future brick surround, that what the wall ties are usualy used for. Brick, will be used (or anything else for as long as it's not a combustible material) to meet the clearance around the firebox, after that, you can use anything you like to finish the rest of the wall.

As Joe said, cutting through the concrete wall is not a problem; we do that all the time when customers decide to finish a basement and want to add a door or a window. That said if you are located in a 4 seasonal region and you're dealing with frost... you will have to frost-proof your existing footing, which will involve extra work, you will need an engineer to provide you with a frost-protected detail on how properly protect your footing from frost to prevent "heave" and that additional work will bring the cost up. Windows are much easier to install and involve less work, cut the hole, prep the opening, and install the window. As insulation goes we put studs walls against it, the only place insulation is being cut 10' on center where you have to provide vertical firestops. Good luck.