Appreciate the feedback guys! Decided to complete the render on the brick walls and ended up getting rid of the brick rangehood (seen on the left hand side of the previous photo). This allowed more light into the dark kitchen. Painting the cupboard doors has also lightened up the space. The kitchen feels light and breezy now... though it's not completely finished, as we still have more painting and rendering to do, including the additional cabinetry and a rangehood to install. Because of the festive season, we decided to put the project on hold; putting the doors back on for Christmas lunch. Future plans include installing cabinetry (below) - where the plant is -which will house the stovetop, and also cabinetry above where the brick can be seen (top LHS). We'll install a rangehood above the stove top and cut a whole in the cabinetry (on the RHS) for the fridge. Where the fridge was previously, we'll put up a wall which will hold wooden shelves for tea, coffee, mugs etc.

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.

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. :)

Dear Creatively Challenged , I can recommend Dulux Colour Consultants, I gave up after about 5 sample pots . At the time it cost me $150 and if I used dulux paints I could claim a full refund . That was 12 years ago . I didn’t realise at the time just how good they were , the colours are still in fashion but it’s ready for another paint job for sure. It was such a relief to have someone in who is trained and fully understands colours and fashion and what goes with what . I finally stopped stressing about it and got the job done ✅