Have you considered putting it on the bottom wall of the living room, so it "backs up" to the bathtub? You'd be able to see the workings as you walk into the room, and able to see the time from the living room and breakfast room.

My grandfather's grandfather clock is in my dad's foyer and we see the workings from both sides, love that.

Millwork, well, as you know I'm not a designer, but I don't think it has to match the kitchen, and personally I like buiiltins in that situation to harmonize with the stone, not make two focal points on one wall. In fact, what about stone surround with shelves inside?

There are other ways to harmonize the built-ins in the living room and kitchen. Our living room built-ins are at the opposite end of the room from the kitchen cabinets. The former owners used rough hewn cream colored stone on the fireplace surround and incorporated some of it on the opposite wall housing the cook top. The built-in entertainment center was done with the same millwork and door fronts as the kitchen cabinets. They were also stained the same color, medium tan color.

When we hired a cabinet maker to update the entertainment center to fit our TV components he was able to replicate the door fronts and millwork in the kitchen but couldn't match the custom stain. We ended up painting the living room built-ins the same cream color as a the fireplace surround stone. To give the built-in added depth we had a subtle glaze rubbed in that was a similar color to the kitchen cabinets. They effect is very harmonious without being matchy matchy. We've gotten lots of compliments on it.

I hadn't considered the fireplace damaging the clock -- that's a no-go, too big a risk. That closes the door on question number one: No, the clock won't sit by the fireplace. Thus, yes, we will have built-ins on both sides of the fireplace.

I agree that the finishings in the picture are lackluster and somewhat mismatched, but it's still a good photograph of the layout.

Obviously I want the same trimwork throughout the whole house ... and I've settled my mind on a light wood tone in the kitchen ... but I'm not sure about whether the built-ins should be the same wood tone or white.

The clock "backed up to" the bathtub ... at first glance, I think no. I'm thinking I'll have a loveseat against that wall (plus sofa in front of the fireplace and recliner opposite the loveseat), and with a loveseat in that spot I'm not sure a clock can fit too. Where I'd really like to put the clock is straight ahead of the foyer so it'd be a focal point from the front door ... but to do that I'd have to cut back on the windows AND keep the angled counter top (barely visible in the above pictures) instead of squaring it off like I want.

Stones around with shelves inside ... okay, I'm intrigued, but I don't really follow. I'm thinking stone in the middle, wood on the sides -- something generally along these lines:

Anyway, I'm not really grasping the idea of shelves within stone. Do you have any pictures?

I like the idea of coordinating colors between the two rooms -- I definitely plan to use the same wall color in the great room and breakfast room. The kitchen won't actually have much wall.

Your design issue is a good one, albeit challenging, given your range of comments. In response, first, and foremost, keep in mind that your situation is asymmetrical, and symmetrical about the fireplace. So the photos above are really not applicable. That asymmetry is made more profound by your desire to use stone on the fireplace, while the cabinetry will obviously be wood. Stone, by its nature, tends to be very visually dominant. A prominent hearth and/or mantel will only make the fireplace more dominant.

If it was my house I would begin by dropping a soffit and wall from the ceiling to create a "niche" on either side of the fireplace, and create the opportunity for a true "built-in" cabinet of one design or another, rather than the "applied" cabinets in your top photo which don't look built-in, but rather "pushed against" the wall. I would also make the style and finish of the cabinet(s) match those (or be very, very similar) visible in the kitchen for a greater sense of unity throughout the overall space.

Finally, even though the space to the right of the fireplace is much smaller than the one to the left, I would definitely place something there so that the space doesn't appear to simply be overlooked or forgotten. Said differently, when one looks at the entire wall, one hopes to see an entire and harmonious design solution, not a piece-meal one.

Hope this helps. Good luck with your project.

I was imagining something like my cousin's house growing up I always liked it, the TV was in one nook. No pictures of it, but I saw these. I couldn't find one around a fireplace, though.

This next one is more like bookcases slid into place, but I like the look; so many of the pictures look like kitchen cabinetry was slapped on either side of the fireplace without much forethought, whereas I think this look is a bit more integrated but still uses classic cabinetry:

This next one may be more contemporary than what you are considering:

This next one is interesting: the stone carries across and the shelves are in front. Can you tell I like stone as a feature, not as a small accent?

Also, if you continue the stone around the MBR doorway, it makes it like a "secret passage", very handsome. My father's house has a stone wall with fireplace, hearth extending to the wall, and to one side the heart becomes one of two step up through a doorway in the stone wall, to a library. I always loved the look.

The pictures you have posted show a symmetrical fireplace elevation centered under a symmetrical vaulted ceiling. But the floor plan shows an asymmetrical layout, asymmetrical fireplace elevation, and something that suggests high windows set into a shed dormer-- It's hard to tell.

These two looks are very different, give a totally different feeling to the room, and even influence the acoustics. Either way can work, but asymmetrical balance is more difficult to achieve-- you need a very good eye for proportion and scale.

i would make the built ins in the gr and kitchen match however i do have "mismatched" cabinetry in the bathrooms the the sinks are placed in cabinets are stained and the other cabinetry is white and i like it a lot we also have some stained and some painted doors, any door leaving the great room or entryway is solid wood and stained with porcelain knobs all other doors are white with crystal knobs

Large walls of stone are visually very dominating in the interiors and can easily overwhelm small and medium sized rooms. In addition, they can also be very dark which is not always desirable in interiors, especially in smaller spaces. When stone walls really have no connection to exterior stone walls they often look very contrived and appear to be simply applied veneer when the rest of the interior space is painted gypsum board. Everyone has different taste, of course, but generally speaking, large expanses of stone veneer on the interior in spaces which are otherwise finished with painted gypsum board may not be the best design idea unless one lives in the Colorado mountains.

If it was my house I would begin by dropping a soffit and wall from the
ceiling to create a "niche" on either side of the fireplace, and create
the opportunity for a true "built-in" cabinet of one design or another

Finally, even though the space to the right of the fireplace is much
smaller than the one to the left, I would definitely place something
there so that the space doesn't appear to simply be overlooked or
forgotten

Yes, these two statements definitely help -- thanks. I looked at a bunch more pictures, and I understand what you're saying about making this area look actually "built in" ... and while not so many people seem to do this, I do like it better.

Bpath, I appreciate the pictures, but after staring at them for a bit, I think that's too much stone for me; I think we're not seeing eye to eye on the idea of stone as an accent vs. a major player. Oddly enough, though I'd usually say, "Contemporary? That's nice in other people's houses, but I wouldn't want to look at it every day" ... but I do like that picture.

The pictures you have posted show a symmetrical fireplace elevation
centered under a symmetrical vaulted ceiling. But the floor plan shows
an asymmetrical layout, asymmetrical fireplace elevation, and something
that suggests high windows set into a shed dormer-- It's hard to tell.

Yeah, I noticed that, but few online images are asymmetrical! I like examples, but they seem to be few and far between.

i would make the built ins in the gr and kitchen match however i do
have "mismatched" cabinetry in the bathrooms the the sinks are placed
in cabinets are stained and the other cabinetry is white

The difference, of course, is that you can't see the bathrooms at the same time -- but you can see the kitchen and great room at the same time.

Thanks for your continued thoughts, all.