Not sure why you want a mantel. I think it will look odd. Also, the proper viewing height for the TV is eye level when you're sitting down. The barn wood wall is pretty, so I would look for a rustic or industrial media cabinet to set the TV on, and let the wall remain as it is. Aesthetically, I'd like to see the top of the TV be a bit lower than the stovepipe.

This is plenty for this wall. I don't think a mantel would add anything.

Maybe a bucket of kindling on the right.

An aesthetic cat in front of the stove.

I think you are trying to gild the lily. A mantel also makes the TV problematic in that it takes space away from the TV cabinet which should be at least 25% longer than your TV (about the length of your current table, at least). I show four different mantel versions below. The only one I find aesthetically pleasing is the last one, but it gives you no place for your components. (You could put a cabinet where I show the wood, but I don't think it would look good.)

One other option regarding the components would be an RF remote system which allows you to put the components somewhere else in the room, even in a closet, where they are controlled by radio frequency.

Thank you groveraxel. I do like your first picture the best. I did have someone start the design for this area of our cabin but she moved away before we started. She did tell me we should have floating shelves or something to draw the eye up. What's your opinion?

Usually a wall is just a wall, but in this case, with the rustic paneling, the wall becomes the art. A mantel only diminishes it, draws the eye away. I like the crisp look of the stove pipe against the wall, with nothing more than a simple console and TV. It's balanced, aesthetically pleasing, and doesn't steal attention. There is absolutely no reason to draw the eye up here, and especially not with shelves that will become clutter magnets and end up too high to see anyway.

If you wanted to do a whole built in like your second photo above, that's another matter. But then you'll have to configure it so that it will accept the TV.

You might do something like this:

Ditch the mantle.