bump

Would you be able to move it onto the wall with the artwork? Removing the mantel is a good idea also.

Based on the price of the home the cost to fix this issue $$$ doesn't make sense. You'll be losing cabinets in a kitchen that is pretty small already. Look for a new house.

@BeverlyFLADeziner its in the county with lots of land. Not a lot of houses in our area, not looking for a big house. My thoughts were to even do a wrap around island that would still provide space.

So now that I have seen the outside, I think yes you could take the FP out rather easily. This might be a modular home, so the FP is not part of anything bearing.

Now that I have seen the lot, I would try tp make that work, although I probably have a layout for your LR that you can work with for the time being.

@BeverlyFLADeziner no there isn’t , that’s why I was trying to open it up to make it feel larger as one room

Is it possible to close one of the entrances into the kitchen/dining? I would wall in the dining room side of the fireplace, rearrange your dining area, and add shelving, cabinet, pantry storage if needed. This may also help rearrange the family room where now you could have place for your TV. I know everyone is about "open concept" but sometimes it just won't work with your layout.

@BeverlyFLADeziner yes I also thought it was a modular home! that’s my number one plan. Thanks!

Good luck!

While the stones aren't my favorites (it's just my personal taste; not a fan of pink tones), I think the fireplace adds a LOT of personality and charm to your space. I think it's going to lose a lot if you take out the fireplace. In my mind, it's kind of the best feature of the space. You'll also lose a lot of cabinet space.

Do you need an island for workspace? If so, I'd look at other options before removing the fireplace.

Love how the stove is positioned on the exposed stone

The fireplace looks more huge in the first picture, perhaps because of the photo angle.
It may be possible to reduce the size to a less dominant volume by eliminating the hearth and modernizing the look. If you eliminate the fireplace, you could have some useful built-ins on that wall. When selecting furniture, look for less bulky, less overstuffed seating than the current owner has.

@felizlady thats a good idea also to just reduce the size of the fireplace overall. It’s way oversized, maybe that’s why it looks awkward. Guess I have to figure out if that’s possible. Thank you

This is the second post I've read today about wanting to remove a gas fireplace. We installed one a few years ago and absolutely love it. I think if you replaced the living room and dining room carpeting with hardwood floors it would transform the space and you might actually like end up liking the fireplace. If the stone work isn't to your liking, there must be ways to change the look of that with some sort of a whitewash, but someone with some knowledge about that might want to chime in.

@PRN you’re absolutely right. I planned on redoing all the floors and maybe white wash the stone and see how things look. If anyone could comment how to make it smaller or repurpose it, that would be so helpful.

I think it's nice to have a fireplace as a focal. I wouldn't remove it. A lot of work and really what do you gain. I don't like the way the cabinets and counter wrap around it though. I would get rid of that. Move the refrigerator to that wall behind it filling the space with pantry cabinets. That would make a better work triangle. Then just cabinets where it came from giving you more counter space there. Is there a hallway both sides of what looks like a closet? That area seems strange to me. Can you draw up a floor plan of the home? You have a nice large living room.

The tv should be moved to the opposite wall. Then arrange seating facing it and the fireplace in an L. The most comfortable seating facing the tv.

I do think the wrap around cabinets add to the bulky look. If they were gone, it would look much better, I think, and allow for better site lines to the living area.

I think I'd spend my money changing the wall colors, flooring and lighting. The FP seems to be a non-issue, IMO, and might come in real handy if the electric goes out on you in winter. You already have two big openings on both sides of it. Painting so all the walls are unified and not so choppy will go a long way toward the open feeling. When it comes to lighting, upgrade the style of your builder grade fixtures, add LEDs under the cabinets and use 4000K LEDs in the other fixtures. I would move cabinets attached to the FP to the dining room wall where they have the art and chair in pic #3. You could cut them back to reduce their footprint if necessary. Might make a nice bar or china storage. If you have "pretties" to show off, you could replace the upper fronts with glass and light up the top cabs.

The most important thing you accomplish by removing the unsightly fireplace....is an open floor plan and a kitchen with lots more space you will need and use every day......you can unify the flooring as well .

My guess i that the real estate pics are making this space look much bigger...which makes it feel like there is plenty of room without removing the fireplace...

Hi Kopeck126 — This space has lovely potential, and your land opportunity looks fabulous! Are you considering an island to gain additional needed counter space, or is what exists really adequate for you? Personally, I’d keep the fireplace, but remove the odd bit of wall sticking out to the left (and the bit of hearth that sticks out too), and the cabinets (upper and lower) sticking out on the right (as well as any wall that may extend out to that side of the stonework as well).

To gain cohesion throughout and really make your space feel much more open (while leaving the fireplace intact), I’d love to see every inch of tile and carpet removed, and pretty hardwoods added throughout (or there are some really fabulous laminates if price is a consideration — I know it is for us). Then — and I know this is sacrilegious to many — I’d paint EVERY square inch of everything the same nice creamy white color in the kitchen, dining area, living room and hallway. This would include walls, ALL moldings (crown, baseboard, window and door trim), and (here’s where many are going to take exception to my recommendations) all kitchen cabinets and doors throughout … really, everything. Eggshell on the walls and satin or gloss on all woodwork. It would be nice if the mantel were a bit lower, and ran from end to end across the stonework — perhaps made from a beautiful piece of wood (to complement your new flooring) with a live edge. Although we don’t have a large flat panel TV, I know many homes do. If you have one, it could be mounted over the mantel.

If you want to go further toward upgrading the kitchen a bit, you might consider replacing or refinishing the countertops and the backsplashes. If you're a handy DIY type, there are some highly affordable way to do this with spectacular results — with tutorials available online.

A fresh, clean, creamy set of rooms (really, a plain vanilla box) will give you the background upon which to overlay your personal style with furnishings, light fixtures, artwork, accessories, and textiles. Basically, I’m recommending that you start with a blank canvas and make it your own.

@susanholland17 yes to everything! Everything you said is exactly my plan, pure white walls and cabinets, grey flooring with black accents. I was thinking of removing the fireplace to make it feel more open but we are going to try to see if we can trim it back anyway to make it slimmer or just whitewash it for the time being. We are also going to remove all the cabinets from the back wall. Thank you for all the input!

@btydrvn its actually more roomier then the pictures but it’s still a bit big. thanks for the input!

@decoenthusiaste i agree with everything. Thank you for the input!!

Sounds wonderful — please post photos when you’re done! Best wishes for much success :)