So where's the chicken remodel?

LOL jannie.

I was going to vote for design #3 and then I saw it was your current plan. It's the one that makes the best use of all your space.

LOL
You are condemning me to a sunken LR with a weirdly placed fireplace that my husband dreams of ripping down.

Someone else said just go all midcentury modern...ahhhhh, no...thanks, but no thanks.

marti8a, that was my first thought too!

What about kitchen of 2, dining room and living room of 3 (current)? With no sunken living room... Either way, I don't like the 2-sided fireplace you've got. Don't see it fitting well anywhere--maybe just substitute for a conventional fireplace along a living room wall?

Maybe that's it. The fireplace in the middle is such a space hog and makes it hard to do anything with the space to the left of it. Are you putting it there because the flue is already there?

Is the boxed x to the left a support beam? Is it sunken along the dotted line? I can see how you would want to change that.

I'll have to look at it again.

I can not read your plans. My eyes are tired tonight. BUT we did have a HUGE rock central fireplace, 6 foot by 5 foot by 5 foot tall, I HATED with a passion.The end involved a jack hammer. That sucker took me 10 days to beat out of the room and four days to clean up the mess in the whole house and two days for my husband to fix the roof and two floors since the chimney went up through the upper loft room too. It was worth every lick of effort I put into the project. It changed the feel of the whole house.

I say go for removing the fireplace. As far as sunken rooms I am not a fan of different levels unless there is no way to avoid them.

I'm lost. from your post I get that the 1st and 2nd pics are options for remodeling. pic #3 is as it is now.

where in pic 3 is the FP?

what is the big X /box on the shared wall of LR and DR?

Sorry for the confusion.

Currently, the box with the "x" and the "L" shaped around it is the infamous fireplace that acts like a divider. The L is a raised brick hearth (that causes an additional trip hazard...if the stepdown don't git ya, the bricks will).
{{!gwi}}

The stepdown is the diagonal line between the entry and living room and then the line between the living room and the dining room.

If we make it all one level, and tear down the fireplace, we would place a fireplace on a wall or go with the two sided if it makes sense.

CamG, I had thought of that too.

Maybe I should just update and call it a day. :)

aah, now I get it. yeah, I'd do away with a step down into a room. I'd be falling on a regular basis.

and I'd get rid of the FP especially with the other problems you have with it.

I'd go with pic 2 for a remodel. not sure about a 2 way FP where it's shown.

And the 2 boxes with Xs between LR and DR? I'd probably put an arch from one to the other giving a bit of definition between the LR and DR.