I should have added that we haven't yet decided on the final colour scheme of the kitchen/family room walls.

Hi micri. Consider the following: Cabinetry (not open shelves) on the bottom only, up to mantel height. On either side, use three stacked "panels" of A-B FINISH GRADE plywood, stained in a semi gloss walnut stain or the deepest tone in your hardwoods) to face/cover the sheet rock. Use a piece of the same material, cut to fit in the inset over the fireplace. Leave the stone as is. Paint the cabinetry black like the fireplace surround. Fast, inexpensive and a VERY impactful change that is in keeping with the style of your room and your furnishings. Also pretty sophisticated. You also really need an area rug in this space.

Hi Daniel - I'm pleased to see that we're on the same page for the height and closed cabinet option on each side. I like your idea. Question for you about painting the cabinets black like the surround. I did not mention that in the kitchen re-do, which is just on the other side of the chairs, we're going with white cabinets and a medium walnut island. With that in mind, would you still paint the cabinets black or stain them to match the island and panels you refer to?

By "panels", do you mean veneer over the wall or 3 floating dark shelves? And I presume you mean a thing covering where the tv currently is.

Veneer over the walls, even, perhaps, with visible attachment, ie. exposed screws, washers, what have you... (pic attached) I don't think the cabinetry color need necessarily be carried through here. Think of the built ins almost as furniture, not architecture. If the black is outside your comfort level, it could all be stained the same island stain color or in a dual stain finish. Again, reference your hardwoods for actual tones. Yes, I am talking about the entire inset surface on which the TV hangs. Finally, It would be cool to hang matching mirrors above the left and right cabinetry. Perhaps round, metal with a bit of an industrial vibe. Nothing else. Clean, like overscaled port holes. It will also bring SO much light into that end of the room.

I really like it! We're trying to go more transitional and the kitchen/family room space takes up the entire back of the house. Any wall colour suggestions? The curtains are going to my dining room that still has a similar colour scheme so we're working with a clean slate. Other aspects to kitchen include marble herringbone backsplash so I'm thinking of going with gray tones to lighten the space.

And THANK YOU!! You've got great ideas ...I checked out your website.

Can you post a few pics of the key kitchen design elements you have mentioned? Also a shot of how one space literally flows to the other. Lastly, shots of the sofa wall and the window wall. Greys could work, but will need to be warm greys, or as they now seem to be called: greiges. ;-) Also, how many seats must face the TV? What would be your ideal seating capacity? Thanks for the kudos. I love what I do and couldn't turn it off if I tried. It is my happy affliction.

We painted our fire place white. Before you paint , invest in cord hiding products then paint right over it.

You can make out in the turquoise how we hid our cords. Not perfect but a lot easier than drilling into the wall.

Thanks Andrea for the cord-hiding idea in your photo. Micri, I hope you will be able to hide all your cording - it would make for a much cleaner look.

Completely agree, the cords must be hidden! It'll (hopefully) all come together when get the built-ins figured out. I like what you've done Andrea, can't see the cords at all.

Daniel, I'll try to scan a few pics for you to get a feel for the space. We just put down the hardwood and had to reconfigure the couch so that the mirror doesn't slide out. Had the couch facing the tv before and the two chairs on each side of the fireplace. Not married to any specific set up.

Thank you, micri. Had to hide the toys from showing on the other side. :-)