While we have never had an open fire place before, we have had a wood burning stove/heater and are planning to put one in the house we are building this year. They are just beautiful and give that gentle, bone-warming heat throughout the house. They are possibly easier to clean than an open,with the fire and ash being behind the glass door, though I guess I can't really comment. I would strongly recommend you buy one with the fan attachment as this greatly improves the throw out of the warmed air and certainly, the difference can be felt. They are beautiful visually too and nothing is nicer on a cold Winter day, than to have the fire going and be warm and snug inside. Good luck; I hope that helps.

In terms of the mantle - it may have been something more fancy previously. We have 3 fireplaces in our little 2x1 - including the one with the stove. Here is a photo of one of them - although it looks like the timber mantle and surrounds have been screwed on at a later date to suit the house rather than being original.

As a follow up Lisa, until the insulation is sorted you will find radiant heating (fire, radiator, column heater) makes you feel more comfortable than convective heating (air-con). This is because our bodies absorb heat energy from radiant sources better than they do from the air. Heating our bodies, not the room, makes us feel warmer. Imagine the difference between a heat lamp and a fan heater in the bathroom. The fan heater stirs up the air and can actually make us feel less comfortable, particularly when we are wet, whereas a heat lamp just sends warmth our way without making much difference to the air temperature. Radiant heating is only a stop-gap until your insulation is improved. An oil-filled column heater is possibly the least risky in terms of contact injury, and they are cheaper to buy than a fireplace or fuel stove.

I am confused by the plan and the photo. What are you trying to achieve and how do you live? Do you need the fireplace and to feed it wood? Or can you use a heater..or a fake fire such as ethanol? You could put an entire wall of shelving if you needed it - but only relevant if that is what you want. Where are windows and views? What do you want to look at when you are sitting down? Are you home at night watching tv or are you home in day and want light from outside? We have lots of conflicting requirements in our house that working through have helped us sort out what each room does based on how we use it now - and what we will use it for when it is finished.