My husband and I recently Added an 850 sqft addition off the back of our small 2 bdrm 1 bath house. In the addition there will be a living room, kitchen, pantry, and bathroom. Right now we are building the box for our gas fireplace to sit into. When i designed the layout i had intentions of having built-in window seats on both sides of the fireplace. Well now i can't decide if i want it or not. The reason i hesitate is because the windows are only 4ft away from the corner so if i put in a built in window seat it is sort of making it tight for a recliner or piece of furniture to see in that corner. I would post pics but im not sure how. Im actually having a lot of other dilemas with this fireplace such as trying to hide/ recess the tv above the fireplace... any tips would surly be appreciated.

Oh that's so funny, we have the exact same floorplan. I was not open to putting the TV on the wall opposite the windows b/c then you'd have to put a couch in front of the windows and face away from the backyard, plus block the view. Definitely not putting a TV in front of the windows so that only leaves the fireplace wall. And the built-ins were already there and they take up every single inch of that wall -- no drywall at all. Our windows go all along the family room wall and then all along two of the three walls on the breakfast nook bump out (the third wall has a door to the pantry) and then it's all connected and open to the kitchen. With the way our built-ins are set up, there wouldn't be enough room for the tv on either side regardless. I like the room in the above link that has the TV in built-ins to the side of the fireplace and doors are covering it so you don't have to have it in view all the time. Another thought is raising the hearth of the fireplace. What gets me is the staggered look of the tv next to the fireplace, but not at the same level. Wouldn't want the TV super low so raising the fireplace would allow them to be more even. I don't know...just a thought. Overall, I'm ok with our TV being over the fireplace. If I were designing it, I would probably have done it differently. The mantle is higher than standard so our TV is higher too. I'd make the mantle lower if I could have. Then the TV could be a little lower as well.

I have a neighbor who is building their house and they are evidently waiting until the last toothpick holder is firmly in place with doilies under it. They have yet to move in I think the sooner you are in the sooner you know that the lightswitch has been cross wired or a switch doesn't work. The electrician is still around so you can just leave a length of wire for him to trip over if he doesn't fix it immediately. My adorable husband has been the G.C. and it will be easier for him to just get up and be in the house to supervise the workmen. They sure need it. He makes them rip stuff out if they have screwed it up. The guy installing travertine decided to go in for creative madness and do a different tile layout on one side of the room, but very slowly. I've had houses built before--but I think the old time workmen who were proud of their work and didn't need constant supervision are gone. Some of these guys have evidently had limited apprenticeship or training. Other workers are amazing and patient. With a building boom its hard to get good workers. So we will move in before Halloween I'm pretty sure./ Leibrook--our closet is almost exactly the same size as yours. I will take photos when they are through painting. I am using Gloria's idea about measuring the clothes to influence the height of the poles, etc.

You can't realistically put the TV on the wall on the right. You'd have to move your furniture too far forward and back some of it up to the fireplace. Your only practical choices are over the TV (which I normally hate but might be OK here) or in the nook). How wide is that room along the fireplace wall, not counting any part of the bench nook? I doubt you have room for a full sofa facing the FP with end tables and all. You need a lot of room to enter or the space will feel extremely closed off. Maybe 2 parallel chairs, a chair and a half, or a loveseat. How tall is that bench? Is it even the right height for a seat? Also, do you have a pic showing the front windows? Those will be covered by a couch.