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".

We used Bunnings flat pack shelving in one of our walk in wardrobes, I'm pretty sure it is Melamine and it is fine. There have been a lot of advances and improvements to these products over the years and they aren't the cheap nasties they used to be. Ours are a matte finish too so look much nicer and classier than a gloss. Have you asked the joiner for a sample of just what he is thinking? This should give you a good idea. Check out Bunnings flat pack products too. You could use just an MDF and paint it, but that is more work and the paint can chip or wear off on shelves. Unless you want to go to the expense of having all solid timber, you will find most products are MDF coated with a timber veneer or a product like Melamine. Going on what I have, and I know Melamine was used internally in my new kitchen cupboards, I don't think you will have any problems. If you are having shelving, do ensure you use adjustable shelving too - it is such a bonus in areas like this when your needs can change over the years and it is so easy to just add or subtract shelves or adjust the height. The wire systems are OK for some things but over the years the plastic coating cracks and breaks off and you could then have difficulty replacing the baskets. You are also more restricted with sizes.

Looks great! How often do you have to clean off the black? We have a Cheminees Philippe 3 sided glass and it gets black every time, so it’s rather annoying to clean it so often. It’s made us not want to have a glass fronted wood fire, but the Axis is supposed to be good and not get so black, so considering it in a new build.

haha!!!! Siri - you can have your Eiffel tower angel... give me the beach any day :) Nic - perhaps some driftwood, shells and a jar of sand might help bring the beach to you - just don't knock your sand flying or you'll literally be able to crank up your fireplace and lie down on your sand to sunbake lol.