I can't help you there, but I had two fireplaces in my last house; one in the living room and one in the dining room. We ended using the DR fireplace maybe 3 times a year. Thanksgiving, Christmas, and New Years. The rest of the time it was this huge white elephant. We got tired of being cold every time we lit the fireplace in the living room so we ended up installing a wood stove insert inside it. What a difference! After that house we vowed to never have a fireplace ever again! But we did love the airtight insert, so when we built our present home we just designed it for a woodstove, and I have absolutely no regrets. Should we ever build another home, and if we go with a fireplace design, it will be an airtight stove that just looks like a fireplace, but is actually a heat source since there's nothing like a wood fire.

How deep is your pool? Do you want to swim laps or just cool off and "play"? If that rock structure in upper left is meant to be jumped off, I'd think a shallow ledge nearby would cause major accidents if jumped on. For us, we made a long bench which we rarely use (probably because the pool is one depth with no deep end so "resting" is not necessary), however LOVE having a shallow tanning ledge. Make it big enough to fit the number and size of chairs if using furniture.

Really nice house. You could remove (but not discard) the existing mantel and live a while without, taking the time to consider all your fireplace options, including a more bulky but less wide mantel that is a part of a fireplace surround. (The current mantel could be reused as support for shelving or a new mantel.) Would not paint or widen the existing built ins Would not paint the wood around the cased door opening to the entry unless you do decide to put white (or wall colored) built ins on that wall incorporating the tv behind where the floor lamp now stands (third pic). If you do keep the built ins beside the fireplace their current wood look, then definitely leave the baseboard the treated wood to match the built ins. If you paint the current built ins white, then paint the window trim white, too; however, otherwise, if the current built ins are going to stay wood as is, you could decide to paint the window trim white only if you're not going to add drapes that would cover most of the window frame anyway. Would definitely paint the trim at the top of the wall the wall color since ceiling white could visually shrink the height of the room. As you consider wall colors, in addition to considering blue or gray, you might consider a wall color that is a tan (but without pink or yellow hue) such as the lightest color in the stone in the fireplace -- and keep the ceiling white. If you paint the new built-ins surrounding the tv either white or a light wall color, you should seriously consider updating the ceiling fan with one that is silver metal and tinted semi-clear plastic/vinyl blades. As to the front porch, does any part of the floor of the existing stoop extend beyond the front wall of the house or do the steps start as you walk out the door (as the sloped rails suggest)? Something you might consider is building a treated lumber deck over the steps from the front wall of the house to the sidewalk from a point midway between the door to the right front corner of the house, with wooden steps leading from the side of that deck to the sidewalk and having it built with posts extending above the deck for the railing and to build to in order to add a porch roof later.

Just a few things off the top of my head for possible costs: Building permits needed in your area? Survey and/or easement needed? Excavation Need any tiling or drainage work? Driveway Utilities Construction insurance to cover yourself if the new build burns or gets taken out by a tornado For me, these things alone are costing $25,000 and we have our own excavation equipment, and the land was gifted to us. So $25,000 and we haven't even started on the home yet. I think $200/sf is high if you're doing it yourself. Our cost/ finished sf is around $120, and we're not doing anything ourselves. Just low end finishes, simple roof lines, standard tubs, no fireplace, etc. Just pretty basic. Get ready for the concrete expense. Our 30x60 basement, walkout, 30x40 garage, sidewalks and 20' driveway landing is just under $70,000. Good luck!