We're putting in a wood stove in our new build in place of the fireplace in the house plans. I was hesitant about getting a wood stove because I didn't want it to be on a platform and stick out like a sore thumb. We've decided that instead of minimizing it, we're embracing it. We're building a large alcove for the wood stove to sit in, which will be faced in a stacked stone veneer with a reclaimed heart pine beam mantle. This stove will serve as our primary heat source (we have a heat pump for backup), so we couldn't do an insert. Good luck!

I've been playing with the SW color visualizer tool and came up with a ton of different schemes, but this one is pointing me toward an overall house palette that I really like. It's very "beigey", it isn't at all trendy, but it's very warm, looks a lot like the clothes in my closet - jeans and earthy tops :) - and just might work. If I want to spice it up, I think I can add or swap a gray such as amazing gray or intellectual gray into the mix to bring it into the 21st century. (There's a good amount of gray in the fabric already.) I know that the colors that the app generates aren't exact, but it's a good road map. Waddyathink? :)

@BethH wow! That sea foam and gold chair is perfect with this couch. After unpacking the couch, it is a hunter green. Dark and luxurious. I am quite pleased and it isn’t far off at all from the photo. After seeing it, I don’t think we will go with a blue rug. Maybe gray or beige instead. I like the bright colors in the rugs some have suggested, especially when paired with about 8 fun pillows. But for the sake of my fiancé’s sanity, I will keep things neutral and chill with clean lines. That top photo with the green couch and wooden table seems spot on with my fiancé and I’s compromise on decor. I figure as our life becomes more calm (the baby getting older) the color scheme will become more eccentric. For now, though, the peaceful neutrals and deep green offer solace amid the craziness of a baby and a home under construction.

Here is the finished product. You all were very helpful as I began my dive into this project. Very good points for safety were made, and I took them all into consideration. As I continued my search for information I landed at Hearth dot com and got a lot of help with the detailing of this stove install. Some of you may have been to that site. They were great! DH and I started looking at stoves in February, right before Corona virus took off. Early March I had purchased a stove on sale because of the new EPA 2020 standards that were coming out. I got a Jotul 45, 1st version. They have since come out with version 2. Someone on Hearth dot com lived in my locale and told me about another stove for sale, so I took a look. Then my eye traveled around the corner and I spotted the Jotul. The one I was looking at was an Osborn and I think a little larger than we were considering, but I allmost bought it, until I saw the Jotul 45 around the corner. Then I realized the size was perfect for our basement stairway. It was about the size of a European washer, that I have in the basement. I am so glad I didn't get the Osborn, as I don't know if we could have made the stairway turn to get into the basement. I picked the stove up early March, wary of the contact with others. We had lined up a chimney sweep to install flexible insulated double walled stainless steel lining and insulated rigid chimney pipe up top, at the top of the brick chimney and out the roof. I think the whole run is 14' (edited to add, I think the run is closer to 20' now that I think about it). I have insulated stove pipe going from the stove to the brick chimney with liner. I have the stove sitting on a repurposed slab of soapstone, so that when the basement floor gets damp or water, it is above the wet and won't get rusty feet. The water is an issue about 2x/year due to old clay block foundation. We bought some 2-3 year old seasoned wood for this winter, and have cut one locust, and 2 ash trees down for the future. I love using our friends wood splitter. old unsafe chimney that only went 1/2 down the brick chase: New scheme: the "new Jack" was not put in: show room floor, my new Jotul 45 (1st version) I'll post more...as I have been having trouble getting more than 4 pics to load.