Quite a house. Yes, the inspiration photo will work well. You'll need more substantial curtain rods. The Kaling curtains look custom (construction, installation, and color), but you can get a similar look from readymade with a length resewn by a dry cleaner who offers this service. Do you have a close up photo of the sconces over the fireplace? If you hate them, you can take them down, wrap them carefully, and store them in a box for the next owner. You can get an estimate now from a stone mason for a new fireplace, then install a new one when you are ready to remove the 1960's stone.

Sounds like you want to take your fireplace in the direction of focal point. Are you planning to put the TV over the fireplace? Are you gravitating to stone or tile? Your place looks sort of modern to me but dark also so maybe you want to do something light. I don't care for the shape of your firebox as I lean toward the more linear fireplaces. You can mask it with something like: https://www.yandex.com/images/search?url=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.prepostseo.com%2Ftmp_imgs%2F2911359171531452758.png&img_url=www.home-decorating-magazines.net%2Fwp-content%2Fuploads%2F2015%2F07%2Ffireplace-sitting-area-268x200.jpg&text=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.prepostseo.com%2Ftmp_imgs%2F2911359171531452758.png&rpt=imagelike Is your reaction to this, oh yuck, I was thinking stacked stone? Edit: Hopefully this link leads to the image I was trying to link to.

SuzyQ, I don't know I didn't think to look at RH consoles. I only looked at their large media cabinets. Thanks for the suggestion. Chiflipper, the cabinet guy did mention about having to go behind the wall to beef up the studs to hold the unit. I just think he wasn't comfortable with it because he hasn't done it before. And you are absolutely right about the upper kitchen cabinets! I never even thought about it that way. But, also my kids don't climb on the counters to pull on the kitchen cabinets. A mounted wall unit, if at the height I wanted, would be within reach of my kids and I would still have a fear of them pulling it down.

Thanks RL Relocation LLC, yes this is why we went with centre, because of the door and window. The reason why we went with centre also as opposed to the side was mostly so we didn’t over complicate the space. I was dead against a tv over the fireplace to start with, but too many people have disagreed with me and now I agree. We will be decorating the space nicely eventually and can adapt our decor accordingly. If we build in to the side we will not have room. We have a dining room, but it has a pool table in it at the moment, and we have another lounge room, but it is smaller, which we may put the pool table into so we can use the dining room as it was intended. But the living room space cannot be used like this at the moment, so it is what it is. It is all so frustrating and hard. My main question is, if we don’t go with the design suggested, a flat stone face, and instead for the timber ledge, are we really going to ruin the house by going ”too modern” as my builder has said?