Wow! That is truly beautiful! You put a lot of work into that with excellent results. Sorry handymam.....even my iPad keeps changing it to handyman....?! I (we) also did out what used to be the granny flat ...in black and red for our nephew...we picked up an unwanted ....dated...lol...dressing table with an attached square mirror, painted ti all black.....hung the mirror on the wall between 2 metal candle sconces, changed the knobs to mobern handles on the drawers....it was low and retanglular...ideal to put his TV on, red shaggy rug, red lamp shade,cushions etc....he was thrilled to bits with it.

By viable I mean workable, functional. A chimney sweep or a builder adept in chimneys will give you a report. Certainly enquire about a future gas fitting rather than logs if possible. I say this as a fireplace anywhere is delightful and, if downstairs, it could heat upstairs through the house, to a certain point too. If you look at the quality of the brick laying, you will see that its not meant to be a feature which is why it was rendered, but that is choice only. Certainly seal the bricks. Good luck and stay with it if you can. Everybody loves the romance of a fire.

if you decide you prefer the square set wood burner a metal fabricator can make a steel frame to insert inside the curve to enclose the wood burner and seal off the chimney but you should really discuss options with the wood burner installer before you buy any heater and make sure that the chimney will be safe and functional...also good opportunity to have the chimney cleaned to ensure there are no collections of soot, dead birds and other debris and the chimney should be checked all the way up to ensure that the brickwork is secure and there's a functional chimney cover to suit your intended insert...the wood burner suppliers should be able to recommend suitable tradespeople to provide all these services

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