In addition to my post above...having lived with a fire set in a wall for many years with a vent to let the hot air into the room...I'd do neither of the above....except maybe old cabinets of well seasoned timber and not new built ins up against the wall enclosing the chimney. The heat from that fire and from the vent would affect the cabinets, dry them out, make them crack...especially since timbers today are not well seasoned as when the fire place was built....That enclosed chimney/flue would radiate heat as well...There's a reason why the walls each side as well as the timber shelves are a dark colour and there's nothing built into the spaces on either side. Installing the cabinets and painting them a pretty light colour might look good for a while but not if you intend on making good use of that lovely fire place. I've lived in my current 1900s house for 32 years and have come to know the why's and wherefore's about timbers and heat in old homes. One longs for a lighter environment sometimes but this needs to come from other sources rather than anything against the fire place. Its a bit of a blocker to renovations at times but again, with Wuff, "Embrace what you have"...read up about homes of the same period, surf the net...you'll find some beautiful solutions. Here's one....you could clad the walls either side of the fireplace with a fireproof stone cladding...enlarge on that...may not be your 'cup of tea' but for what its worth in making your place "yours".

Looks so cosy! Stone fireplaces are the best :) Well done

Finished product! Glad I switched the rug the other direction, and the round table kind of plays off the circle window. Truly thankful for all your help! This was fun and I am so happy with the end result. :)

In my early twenties I designed kitchens for my mother and two aunts (Uncle built them and they worked), but when it came to designing my own - had to fit a constrained space and no possibility of extension - I chewed my lips for ages - like Nicole, I drew and measured ad infinitum, and used graph book walls, views etc. I did one extra thing - which I think worked - I listed all that I wanted to store, and tried to analyse how I liked working in the kitchen. Some things I had to settle for because of space (such as a smaller dishwasher) but most of it has worked. We have a corner pantry, which I (and the cat, husband a bit larger) can walk into, but have not put small appliances in there - they sit in a large drawer beneath the main working bench, which also works well. It all looks good to me Nicole and thinking carefully about needs and how things work in advance usually results in something you'll be happy with. Good luck!