Can you show the stair(?) wall? I assume there's a TV there? My first thought is that the end wall (where the wood stove is) is not the right place for a very contemporary linear fireplace, and that it would be better on the wall toward which the room is oriented.

@simplynatural, Thank you for your response!

The furniture is currently oriented to the stair wall/TV; I may buy new furniture and orient it to a new fireplace, or perhaps the fireplace will just be for ambiance and reorienting the furniture may not be needed..

Re: choice of wall, the fireplace has to vent to an exterior wall; the wall with the wood stove and the window is the only exterior wall where a fireplace could vent -- using the existing chimney.

Here are some other photos of the room from various angles. (sorry so dark -- I can reshoot them during the day if needed). PS maybe a linear shape is the wrong shape/idea for the wall where the wood stove is?

..

Removing the wood stove will be a huge change for your rooms space availability. You could snuggle the sectional into the corner where it belongs in your current arrangement. So much wasted footage right now. If you are seeking " aesthetic/ambiance," then I would think you would want to orientate seating so you can see the new fireplace. If you turn the sectional so it's back is to the dining area you have delineated your rooms more and you have a view of both walls if you put the fireplace where they current stove is.

If heat is not needed why not just go electric and save ahuge amount of money on gas hook up and venting. IMO the sectional is the wtong choice for furniture in that space .

@arcy_gw, I agree that delineating both rooms and picking up space will be a big plus.

@Patricia Colwell Consulting, the existing sectional is from my prior house -- we moved it to this space even though it is has the chaise on the left and not the right side. Once the fireplace is done, the seating plan can shift down and we can rethink the furniture.

Regarding electric fireplaces, even though they have come a long way, I just don't care for them. To me, a gas unit results in a better fireplace experience. Also, gas fireplaces can contribute heat (even though that is not the primary reason for replaceing the wood stove -- but a nice plus when used),

So ... I am back to my original question: how to design the firplace wal?? what shape and surround, how high, how to go, how to tie in the window on that wall ...

Thanks for any thoughts!

Something like this?

Be careful how the fireplace surround meets the balcony railing and overhead. I can't see the vertical relationships well enough to know what aligns with what. At the balcony, the new wall should overlap the railing so the right side of the new wall is flush with the interior of the existing balcony railing. The railing cap should meet the new wall's face. Then the addition will look like it was always there. (Not sure that's clear, but your contractor should be aware of these issues.)

As for sizing the surround, I would want the window left of the fireplace to have at least the same wall space on its right as it does on its left. (Chatgpt didn't quite do that.) Measure from the wall to the left side of window, then measure that same distance to the right of the window and mark that point. That's the farthest left the finished fireplace surround should extend. Measure from your mark to the entry wall; that's the maximum fireplace surround width. You can then choose the appropriate fireplace width to look right within the surround's width.

And yes, all the way to the ceiling! (You'll notice I took off the chaise part of the sectional for this image, so the furniture would look appropriate for the new arrangement.)

Looking more closely, I see that the dropped ceiling over the balcony ends at the post, which is a couple of feet short of the balcony corner. That means that a straight-up fireplace surround, even extended over the balcony railing, will not meet the dropped ceiling as chatgpt showed above; it will leave a slot of original wall going up to the wood ceiling. Something like this:

I think that's okay, but just FYI . . .

@Lyn Nielson and @simplynatural ... Thank you so much! It helps to visualize the wall which your images above help me to do. .

I understand about taking the .fireplace surround all the way up to the ceiling, even though (as you correctly identified in your second illustration above), the dropped ceiling over the bump out will not meet the fireplace surround.

Another possibility: instead of bringing the fireplace surround all the way to the right wall, having a small area to the right of the surround, where it recedes back to the original wall. I actually like your design better (the surround bump-out going all the way to the right corner) ... it seems less 'choppy' this way .... but if that was a deliberate design decision, could you please explain your thoughts on this?

Thank you again. Your design visualization is very helpful!

Here are a couple of quick sketches (done by me, not AI) showing the stand-alone surround option (not meeting the wall on the right at all), or extending the surround actually into the balcony until it meets the dropped ceiling. (I can't tell whether it would meet the dropped ceiling before meeting the door that I see up there, or whether any other condition up there would make this option impossible.)

I think the two that meet the right-side wall look more integrated into the architecture and less like a later addition, which I like. Plus, I'm not sure what you would do with the one-foot-deep slot that the stand-alone creates. Display something tall and narrow, I suppose . . .

See what you (or others) think.

Since you are going to all this expense IMO center the FP and get rid of the window but of course we do not see th whole room so a bit hard to know but I do see one large window. BTW electric can also give heat just saying.

@simplynatural, thank you for the new illustrations you created. I agree that it is more seamless to have the buildout go to the wall, and that the skinny leftover space is awkward.

The remaining issue is how to incorporate the 12" buildout up by the upstairs balcony. I've added some photos of that upstairs area, currently used for a desk. Perhaps you will have a better sense of how to unify the space with the photos below ... thanks for any further suggestions.

@Patricia Colwell Consulting, re, your suggestion, my husband had the same suggestion this morning. the open living/dining room has a lot of light-- not just a long window where the couch is, but a full wall of windows at the other end and skylights in the dining area too. Fewer windows seems like an unusual solution, but maybe a good one. Not sure about expense.

Also, whether the window goes or stays, still have the issue of the balcony. Thoughts?

Thank you both!

@Patricia Colwell Consulting here is a photo of the rest of the room during daylight. Your suggestion of eliminating the window is a very interesting one. There is no exterior symmetry issue, either (the window is barely visable behind shrubs in the front of the house to the right of the chimney ... pruning very overdue).

If the linear fireplace was centered on a wall with no window, would you still go all the way to the ceiling? I'm looking for as modern and seamless a look as possible.

@simplynatural: if there was no window, and the fireplace and 12' bump out was centered on that wall, perhaps there is room for an alcove on either side? It eliminates the issue of integrating any design with the 2nd floor alcove.

PS what are you using to create those images?

I'm jumping in late here, but I like the idea of eliminating the window if you don't think it will cause you to lose too much light. I think centering and going to the ceiling will give you the cleanest look. It may even leave room on either side for built-ins or cabinets if that would be something you need. Cutting off a 12" bumpout short of the ceiling will, IMO, look awkward if it's not topped with a mantel.

Yes, you could eliminate the window and center a straight-up fireplace surround, leaving an indent on both sides, and it wouldn't necessarily have to go to the ceiling (but it should be topped with something--wood?--if it doesn't). That would probably be my last choice, though. I love light on two sides of a room as you have in that corner now and I wouldn't sacrifice the window.

It doesn't look like there is a foot between the right side of the balcony desk and the wall, so I don't think the fireplace bump-out can go to the balcony floor as shown above. I like it connecting to the dropped ceiling, though; it makes that somewhat awkward feature look more intentional. What if the bump-out connected only at the top, like this?

To my eyes, that makes the balcony area make more sense: a rectangular indented back wall and a dropped ceiling that doesn't just end arbitrarily against that wall.

As for how I create the images, I use chatgpt or gemini for the hard parts, giving them the original photo and telling them what changes to make. Then I edit their image (and fix their mistakes!) by hand with Microsoft's Paint. There's nothing automatic about Paint; it simply gives you drawing tools like pencils and paints, but on a computer, so you get cut-and-paste too. Decisions about what to draw and where and with what colors are all yours.

And just for comparison, here is a not-to-the-ceiling version (chatgpt's; I would never have done that this way!):

And one with the window eliminated and the fireplace surround moved left (although still not centered; I think chatgpt centered it on the coffee table more than the wall):

(I had to edit this one to correct errors. The editing is rather rough--sorry!)

@simplynatural , I can't thank you enough for these images, and I LOVE connecting the bump out to the wall above the second floor alcove ceiling. It ties it all together in a way that looks much more intentional.

@katinparadise, thx for commenting. If I hadn't seen @simplynatural 's edited images, conceptually I like centering it ... but with these images, I feel that even with the window, it works ... and actually improves the space above the second floor alcove, which currently looks a bit awkward. I understand that it's possible to build cabinetry either side, etc. but sometimes less is more --

Thanks all who weighed in ... I think we have a plan! Now I just have to find a large piece of art for above the fireplace, once built ... a fun project:-)

PS @simplynatural ... one last question: What is the horizontal line above the painting. lighting? a vent?

Chatgpt put that in. I think it's a picture light--although AI didn't turn it on!