I would not divide a large beautiful space like this with a fireplace. I think it is valuable to have defined spaces but a fireplace in the middle isn’t needed to make that happen. Floating living room furniture is totally fine. Perhaps this is just my preference but I think the fireplace cuts the space off and also creates a barrier between indoor and outdoor living.

I agree!

@FL Person if you are sure that's what you want, that's fine. I can tell you what I would do and you can let your gut reaction say what you like and don't like. I like the floor plan and picture you show. The house is gorgeous. I suspect some of the things you are talking about getting rid of may play a structural role. At least find out. I love a fireplace and would be loathe to get rid of it. I also wouldn't want to see the kitchen or dining room table while sitting in the living room. I would not put the TV on the fireplace. I like your option of putting it over a TV console on the back of Bedroom #2. In that location, glare from all your windows may be less of a problem than if it was on the fireplace. A pair of sofas perpendicular to your fireplace and TV would work well and enable you to focus on the TV or fireplace as mood permits, or both at the same time. They are floating but floating together and in a small enough space anchored to two focal points that they won't feel adrift. Back one with a narrow console if you like with stools under for sitting at if you need to. Back one with a low bookshelf. I think you have room for a pair of swivel chairs near the fireplace too. Your sofa and end tables are NOT your focal point, so you don't need lamps there, especially with that huge multi-light chandelier overhead. I'd choose something less gangly looking and more elegant. You can have smaller more interesting or sculptural end tables with no lamps. You can add table lamps flanking the TV if you like. Or you can have torchieres or sculptural floor lamps flanking the console. You can have uplights in big house plants. You can have more interesting stone work on the fireplace surround like bookended marble with a spotlight on it. The one I attached is not in colors I like, and they have really strong patterns, but you can see that it can be done with a really tall fireplace. I prefer the blue color, but I'd look for a softer pattern to make it last. And I'd use honed or matte finish to allow spotlighting without glare.

@KL23, the light fixture that's drawn in the image is just a generic depiction. I'm not sure whether we'll have any hanging fixture, no less one that looks like that.

We hadn't considered leaving the central fireplace and placing the TV and couches as you suggest. It's surely something to consider, as we're far from decided at this point.

Thanks for the thoughtful feedback.

I really like your inspiration photo with the fireplace wall in between the 2 rooms. But it works better imo in a larger space. I don’t think you have enough width in the dining area to give up that much space to a fireplace wall.

Your dining area is 11’ wide - if you use a 42” wide table with chairs on both sides, you need a minimum of 9-1/2’ of width just for the table and chairs when pulled out. You also likely want the chairs on the fireplace side further away from a fire than 3’. The other side of the dining table is back-to-back with an island with seating. Each set of seats needs a minimum of 3’ plus you need 3-4’ for traffic flow between the two.

I would rather a wall where the fireplace is on your plan (wall no wider than the fireplace wall and moved a couple feet towards the family room). Place a server or sideboard with art over it on the dining area side. Place a console with TV over it on the family room side of the wall.

No desire to sit at the straight island perched when the more comfortable feet on the floor dining chairs are right there. And you don't have traffic room between the two seating options. Space between the different uses is what gets the feelings right. Our room has more width to take the round dining table to the side. I'd not include the fireplace.

@ Kendrah, the fireplace is decorative, not for heat.

The concern with outlets in the floor is getting them in the right place. That seems like a difficult propsiton when you're literaly at the stage of pouring a footers and a slab. We definitely want to have powered speakers for surround, so determining the location of the furniture early seems like a must.

Thanks for your comments.

I would not include a massive fireplace that you don’t intend on as the main architectural feature. I personally wouldn’t want the divide between those spaces.

That should have read “don’t intend on using”.

Figuring out where your furniture will go and planning for outlets and audio equipment is not a difficult proposition. It is a gift you have as you build. So plan for it well. You will appreciate it later. I will say we opted for no floor plugs in our open concept plan and I have zero regrets

No fireplace for sure. It is out of place in your climate even as a decorative element. It will reduce the chair space behind your dining table, and the hearth will reduce floor space.

If you don't want a fireplace, do you still prefer a wall there or some other type of room divider on which to hang a TV?

The very nature of a vaulted ceiling and loads of upper windows are to create an open, large, light filled space. It seems really counter intuitive to the design to then throw a wall in the middle of it. It's like two separate designers combined rooms and forgot to edit. :)

Also, it appears you have a closet in your fireplace layout, so what happens to the closet should you remove that wall? How often will visitors come to your home wearing a coat that needs to be .hung? Will you mostly enter and exit via the garage?

When floating a sofa, it's smart to get one that has interesting design from behind, like this one. It may not be your style, but there are plenty of styles of great sofas that look nice from behind. https://stylebyemilyhenderson.com/14-sofas-perfect-for-floating-in-the-middle-of-the-room

I'd get @BeverlyFLADeziner on this one. She is fabulous with furniture layout. Her eyes are just what you need at this stage. Hopefully she will comment.

@Kendrah The decision is between leaving the central structure or eliminating it entirely. In other words, no wall or separation between the two spaces and the TV would shift to the outside wall of Bedroom #2.

We recognize that eliminating the structure will also eliminate the closet. We'd probably just settle for losing the closet vs. trying to duplicate it elsewhere, though if anyone has a creative suggestion, we're always open to feedback.

Honestly it is nice when your entry isn’t right into the main l int space so I would recommend making a hallway somehow and creating an entry space and putting a closet on one side

We've discussed the entry. It's not ideal but it's not a deal breaker for us. Other than a bump-out for the entry door, there's no logical way (that we've been able to envision) to move the entrance. I'm not sure the juice is worth the squeeze for a bump-out.

You are asking about the fireplace hindering the design. Yes, it does in it's current form.

I need to back up a bit to try and explain. You've set up a forced symmetry on the middle massing which only focuses on a front porch, which must have a centered front door. This scenario seems to be very common amongst trendy designs, thanks to Pinterest-style pictures (straight on view, limited frame of a picture). Trying to adhere to symmetry when a concept does not support it actually causes a lot of compromises in design. What is more important to achieve is balance.

So, you enter the door right into a corner of this FP mass, and the perceived bulkiness ("heavy" closet, massing goes all the way to roof) blocks the intent of having a visual "flow-through" in two ways: with an entire open back wall, transoms above, and sloping roof rising up towards the back, all of which supports that your focus should be toward outdoor living; and across the rooms from the Kitchen to the Living. The location of the FP cannot adhere to the symmetry, as the Kitchen/Dining takes up more space than the Living (where there's still insufficient space for the Dining as others mention).

And on top of all that, the symmetrical unto itself Lanai roof, pool, and patio are not aligned with the main symmetrical massing with the sloped roof.

I am not sure if moving it or eliminating it is the answer. There are too many issues that the drawings show that the designer couldn't visualize in 3-D. For instance, the large wall space between transoms and human-height doors in a high space. The higher front fenestration than back. The symmetry. The answer to the FP would be part of an entire design that hits on the concept with all cylinders. To start, I would indicate furniture both inside and outside to understand how this FP impedes the design.

@ 3onthetree , thank you for the thoughtful and thorough reply. I should clarify that the 3D rendering in the OP was not made by our designer. It was an image found online we used during our initial discussions for inspiration.

The actual plan for the ceiling is not quite as high as depicted. There will be clerestory windows in the rear above the lanai roof, but there will not be windows above and along the front facade, as that rendering depicts. I don't have the actual heights available but it will not be as grand as what's shown in that generic rendering.

Attached are front & rear elevations. These are not final but they depict the clerestory windows in the rear sloping to the front porch. Hopefully they will help clarify the planned space. I believe the entry wall ceiling height will be around 10' but I'm not certain yet.

Regardless of whether the central structure stays or goes, the external chimney has already been eliminated.