When you create a bump out on the side of the house so you can recess the unit into the wall.

We can’t do that so the unit will have to start at the wall and stick into the room. Most of the ones I’ve seen (the small ones) are 17 to 20 inches. Add the mantel over hang and some kind of tile hearth and it’s sticking out 2 -3 feet. That seems like a lot for a 13 foot room.

It‘s a good opportunity for built-in cabinets on either side.

Maybe like so? Just bump out the insert.

How far out do you think you can come out into the room before it looks stupid?

Can you show us a layout of the living room? 13' might be small-but-fine, even with a fireplace protruding in, or it might be a real problem -- depending upon the layout.

Here is the floor plan

Fireplace is on lower right. The rest of the wall is all windows.

Subtract 3’ from 13’. Then subtract a 30” walkway in front of it. Are you OK with the tiny usuable room size of 7’6”? Or would you be better off with a flat electric hung on the wall?

Instead of a fireplace in the center of the room, how about a wood burning stove in the corner of the window wall at the bottom?

How committed are you to the house's design? I think a more efficient layout could be created that would afford space within the living area for a fireplace and seating.

The house is up .... so pretty committed ?

Then forget the fireplace. Unless it’s the flat electric hung on the wall. It had to be designed into the home before it was built.

Never mind.

What was the original plan for the fireplace? Was the prohibition against the "doghouse" not known when the plans were drawn? Or had there been another idea for dealing with it?

Because I think, as drawn, you don't have room for the fireplace if you can't bump it out. It just doesn't give you enough room. Nor does it look like there is really a good spot for a corner stove set-up, at least with the windows as drawn currently.

You will need to provide more info. Is your floor plan/size already determined? What are the adjoining rooms.

Could you draw on graph paper, to scale, your floor plan, indicating all fixed items such as walls and doors and windows, indicting measurements?

You might put the fireplace against the kitchen wall and put the stove top and hood vent on the other side of a really thick center wall.

A pantry could be placed within a deep center wall-- perhaps even with the door to it facing the side (within an arch/cased opening) rather than to either room. If on an outside wall (for the dryer vent), a laundry closet could be within a deep center wall.

If this is to be a gas fireplace, you might be able to situate the "doghouse" beneath the top stairs and/or its landing.

Have you laid out furniture for this Living/Dining? The way I see the plan, the fireplace in that location will end up being half in the dining area, instead of being 100% in the living area and things will look off.

I would get rid of fireplace

Thanks folks! We decided to bag the fireplace. It just isn’t going to leave us enough room.

Also, no wall for a TV....

You have room for a fireplace.

I think you have an interesting layout and will need to consciously think about where you want furniture to go. Have you planned any of the spaces. We actually measured out furniture and taped the floor. It greatly impacted what we bought etc.

Electric fireplaces can be as thin as 5". Not joking!

TV with fire video a little thinner.

Just do an electric fireplace. They look quite good if you purchase a good one.

A fireplace insert fits into an existing masonry fireplace. I assume you mean a "zero-clearance" factory-built direct-vent gas fireplace that can be enclosed wth wood studs.

You don't need a deep mantel or a built up hearth.

The shallowest one I've designed was 13 1/2" from the face of the exterior wall to the face of the finished fireplace with a 30" wide firebox opening. Wider fireplaces will be deeper.

If you pay close attention to the instructions you can install the hearth flush with the flooring.

Can you tell me where to find the 13 1/2 inch insert?

Perhaps you should develop a realistic to scale space plan for furniture, and a TV, for all of these areas, before you go much further into this. There are already issues in that regard. You need to use scale sized models of the actual furniture that you want to use, and consider that there needs to be circulation paths as well.

I'll look for the 13 1/2" unit but Heat and Glo makes a Slimline fireplace that is 16 1/4" deep x 28" thru 42" wide.

We installed a gas unit about 16 inches in, flanked it with 12-inch deep bookcases. It leaves about 12.5 foot for the rest of the room, if that makes sense. We’ve got the couch opposite, and Tv mounted about the fireplace. I love the set up, it works well for us.

Get an ethanol one and hang it on the wall. Do you need this for actual heating or just a look .

I'm happy to see that you have bagged the fireplace, Linda. They 1) are expensive to build, 2) often used very little, 3) let warm air escape up the chimney, 4) are inefficient as heat sources, and 5) are being progressively more frowned upon due to the pollution from wood smoke. Many new homes have fireplaces just because they are cute and expected, not because of any practical reason.

"due to the pollution from wood smoke"

Its a gas fireplace and the ones with fans put out a great deal of heat and you can feel the radiant heat across the room.

Not to mention gas fireplaces are sealed units, so room heat isn’t escaping up the chimney.

What about a freestanding gas stove? They come in modern and traditional styles, and can be quite practical installed in the corner of a small space.

We use our wood burning stove every night during the winter. And we use our propane fireplace often. I love a fireplace!