Thanks for the hint about the other forum, I was wondering which would have most hits. At first I was not sure what you meant by tiling the nook. Actually that spot where I have the question marks is going to be shelves but will have a door covering it. My question is should that door be just plain white wood or should it have trim around it. The mantle legs will stick out and the doors and fireplace are flush to the wall. I was thinking plain looks good but may look bland, but if I put the trim on them they may look too busy. I do think your idea of leaving the space open, tiling it all inside, then using that for the two accessories is actually an interesting idea that is certainly doable. Only problem is one side is narrower than the other due to the exhaust vent tube. It comes out on the right side of fireplace then up and out the back of wall. This makes the right side narrower than the left. By doing the doors on the outside, one will not see the difference until you actually open the door. But..... I could make the left side a little smaller to match the right, it is only about 2" smaller. Then I could do the openings like you suggested. We were considering putting the audio, etc equipment in another room and get that infared remote system to turn stuff on. But that is just more money that I would rather not spend. I think I should keep the equipment behind the little doors, although your idea is really tempting. Must present this to dh. Thanks again

I like it! You don't see it much anymore but it's not dated. It's classic !!

Not sure what wall tile you are referring to but neither of those look good with that floor. IMO keep the walls simple never more than one tile pattern in a space and in this case a 12 x24 plain porcelain tile for shower walls and the rest either the same or no tile you do know that the floor in the bathroom needs to be waterproof and IMO the same tile as on the shower walls since you have chosen no curb in the shower the whole space becomes a wet room.

It doesn't look like you necessarily need sconces. You could easily do artwork with a light over it, a mirror by itself, or try some candlesticks on the mantle. Here are the ideas we've provided you with visuals to go with it.