I am struggling with design decisions for our new construction home, particularly with making the kitchen/great room feel cohesive. Our home (in progress) will be an Acadian style red brick house with a wide wrapping porch, and my design aesthetic tiptoes between transitional and new-traditional. I would like it to look like we could have respectfully renovated/updated a 100 year old home, if that makes any sense. For our kitchen, I was really drawn to the style and color of this cabinetry, with white quartz countertops with minimal gray veining and light hardwood floors. I want to make the transition from the wood tone cabinetry to white crown moulding not feel forced, and I think this kitchen design nailed it. Our wall color is going to be more of a greige/cool tone rather than the warmer tones here, and that color will continue across into the great room. The backsplash will be a simple white 3 x 6 subway tile, and I would like to have an inset area of an accent tile (herringbone-set white subway tile vs. another white tone mosaic - TBD) underneath the range hood. This is my starting inspiration (minus the lighting and waterfall countertop, which are awesome, but just not the feel I'll be aiming for).

Irvine Kitchen II · More Info

I think I want a relatively simple white fireplace surround with some type of inset tile vs. brick. The fireplace will stand out about 2 feet from the wall, and someday I would like to flank it with pretty built-ins. We are planning on a wood burning fireplace with a gas log so that it does not have to be glass-enclosed. My original dream was a brick archway to delineate between the kitchen and living/great room and carry the exterior brick tones inside, but that will no longer be happening (thanks, budget). I was going to use the same brick from the archway to accent the fireplace. Now that the archway is off the table, would a white fireplace mantle with brick inlay (+/- brick hearth) look strange and out of place? Should I try to pull the white backsplash accent (subway tile or whatever other mosaic I come across) in to accent the fireplace? In my head, the hearth should be flush, but I could be convinced otherwise.

Any ideas you all could offer on this fireplace or overall design would be greatly appreciated!