Pal - where were you when we redid the second floor and I wound up with not just one, but TWO windows that are too close to the edge of a wall (making window treatments difficult). LOL, been there and done that, I hope to avoid the same mistake here. Crl - sadly, this room is already anti-furniture. By the numbers it should be fine. It is 11.5' wide and technically 16' long. But really it's only 11' long because the hearth at one end is 2' by 5', and there is a walkway thru it that is 3.5' wide at the other end ... So it winds up being a small space for furniture. I will probably post a layout here in the coming days. I have it on Visio but that isn't helping me arrange furniture. The good news is that we are starting from scratch, there is one armless chair I'd like to use in the room and that's it for furniture. So the sky's the limit (for everything but my budget of course). Thank you for the advice. I will stick with a similar aspect ratio for whatever panes go in the windows. I need to measure the outside of the house to see what will fit - out electrical service attaches to the house near the chimney so I need to be aware of that, too. There is only 34.5" between the edge of the fireplace and the wall today so the windows will be 2' wide or less (including trim). Diamond panes might be the solution.

Remodelfla, Just a question, where is your microwave or will you have one? I agree with bmorepanic about the structure of the plumbing being really important to the ability to have trash under the cabinet or not. Also, look for sinks that have the drain towards the back and to one side (Franke GNX110-28 comes to mind). If you have a 12" cabinet on one side of the sink, you can use that for trash cans. If you go down to an 18" DW, that can go up to an 18" cabinet for a large trash pullout. Regarding the height of the prep area, you can always adjust the height by using adjustable legs. I have included a link below, you will have to figure out how to integrate this into your baking center. This gives you flexibility in leveling the cabinet and also changing the height as you go along! Good luck! Here is a link that might be useful: Some example of levelers

Napoleon makes OK fireplaces, but their efficiencies are terrible. The P4 Energuide efficiencies of their Luxuria Series of linears range from a low of 38.8% to 52.5% Which means that in the case of the LV38N 61% of the gas you pay for is wasted and the best LV74N almost half is wasted. The Valor Linears range from 66 to 70% P4 Energuide efficiencies. The Heat Shift allows TVs and other heat sensitive items above the fireplace as well as combustible wall materials up to the fireplace opening. Here is the Heat Shift Video.

We have the same basic layout and we mounted the TV to the side wall and used a swing-out to aim the TV toward the sitting area. You will never get the optimum mounting height if you place the TV above the fireplace with mantle and that is the most important thing for comfort. Out fireplace is 65" and the TV is 55" (soon to be replaced).