Hi ronmarg77, Personally, I'd take that lovely fireplace and turn it into a feature of the room! It already has that lovely brickwork around in that gives it a theatrical feel. I would suggest moving that armchair away from the fireplace to open up the wall, and mounting the TV on the wall as well. The colour palette of the room is quite neutral, so adding a splash of colour via a rug or some cushions would elevate the appeal. Depending on what the other side of the room is like, you could add a potted plant to throw a splash of greenery and colour to the room. You could then fill the emptiness on the wall that's either side of the fireplace with some lovely art pieces. These would keep the room cosy, but not clutter up the floor space, thus allowing the fireplace to still be the main feature. To really maximise the warmth that a fire brings, I'd recommend some warm toned pieces, such as this dyptich, Rock and Trees, by popular artist, Penelope Oates. These two pieces would sit nicely next to the fireplace https://bluethumb.com.au/penelopeoatesart/Artwork/rocks-and-trees-diptych Some other warm artworks I'd suggest are: https://bluethumb.com.au/ric-burkitt/Artwork/january-landscape-richard-burkitt https://bluethumb.com.au/emily-lauro/Artwork/an-autumn-walk https://bluethumb.com.au/tjukupati-james/Artwork/17-450-alpi https://bluethumb.com.au/penelopeoatesart/Artwork/stratasphere If you mounted the TV on the wall on one side of the fireplace, then an artwork would balance out the other side. I hope this helps!

I love the timber panelling, maybe with a bit of a clean it will look a bit lighter, but in any case, I love it! I actually think some lighter flooring would make the room work better - not what you were asking about I know! The current flooring being dark and matte sucks a lot of the light out of the room and also makes the timber panelling/fireplace feel heavier. Even a lighter rug (or even a fun Ikea Stockholm rug?) could make it look more crisp, fresh and stylish, whilst still giving a nod to your home's gorgeous retro features. A fresher light fitting - maybe a simple drum style?) would make it look more modern also and less busy to allow the original features to be the focus. Your existing armchair etc suit it beautifully though! The fireplace I'm not sure about - I hate to ruin original features but I'm not sure about that?! Maybe wiht the other changes done it might work much better anyway? Otherwise an interesting tile or sandstone cladding could work beautifully with the timber tones?

It is always a bit difficult when you essentially have three key features (view, fire, TV) that should all have the living area seating orientated towards them. With your current floor plan, I think the logical place for the fire is in the corner to the right of the TV. You may have to ensure that the wall projects far enough that the fire is not in front of the window. This wasn’t the question, but of the two fires that you showed, I preferred the first, more contemporary looking one.

<div><a rel='follow' href='https://www.houzz.com.au/photos/moraga-residence-midcentury-living-room-san-francisco-phvw-vp~58419' target='_blank'><img src='https://st.hzcdn.com/simgs/pictures/living-rooms/moraga-residence-jennifer-weiss-architecture-img~16019b400c23f839_8-2673-1-d1d156d.jpg' alt='' border=0 width='500' height='750' nopin='nopin' ondragstart='return false;' onselectstart='return false;' oncontextmenu='return false;'/></a></div><div style='color:#444;'><small><a style="text-decoration:none;color:#444;" href="https://www.houzz.com.au/hznb/professionals/architects/jennifer-weiss-architecture-pfvwus-pf~880898489" target="_blank">Photo by Jennifer Weiss Architecture</a> - <a style="text-decoration:none;color:#444;" href="https://www.houzz.com.au/photos/living-room-design-photos-phbr0-bp~t_10702" target="_blank">Discover living room design ideas</a></small></div>