Do you plan on using it for a heat source, or is it purely aesthetic? If it's a serious heat source, then I'd consider retrofitting an enclosed Jetmaster slow combustion or gas fire. Slow combustion fires are always preferable to open fires like you have- they slow the wood burn and direct the heat into the room, not up the chimney. Check out what the local wood supply and costs are first. If it's aesthetic, may gets run when you entertain. I'd get some black fireplace paint- paint the grate and the inner fire box black. I'd change the hearth- make it bigger, will prevent sparks and scorch marks. Like some others have suggested, keep the slate- change the mantel. Lots of DIY to give a go there!

I like tvs wall mounted....looks much neater and so much more classy. Some tvs have horrible ugly stands. Well done to your handywork it looks fantastic!

Hi SonaandDi, In case you haven't come across it, here is the link to my finished kitchen: https://www.houzz.com.au/discussions/5598603/renovation-of-our-1956-red-brick-triple-fronted-home-all-done This layout has the potential for issues, but I tried to factor those in by noting where the fridge doors came to when fully opened. I should have allowed a little more width for the fridge gap, as the theory didn't quite translate in practice: on the plans I allowed the minimum of 20mm either side of fridge, but ended up with only about 13mm (was not fun getting the fridge in!). So my suggestion is to make sure there is 50mm either side of fridge. eg the fridge space is 1000mm wide for french door fridge around the 900mm mark. Even so, my doors do open fully (vegie drawers slide out unobstructed), as the doors themselves sit forward of the nib wall on the right. If your fridge space is wider, you won't need to sit the fridge out the full thickness of the doors, which may look more streamlined. But make sure you allow for 50mm space at the back of fridge. This will decide the depth of your nib wall. I calculated mine as 50mm plus the depth of the fridge to the start of the doors. You might prefer to make it a bit deeper, as the doors have more room to open due to the extra width of the space. It isn't annoying having the door opening over the pantry entry. It isn't often that someone wants to get to the pantry at the exact moment someone else opens the fridge. Even if that happened, you could get past if you couldn't wait: Good luck with your renovation! Because you can't be on site, I would always factor in more wiggle room. Let me know if I can help with any more info - I could talk about this stuff all day long!

I definitely recommend having at least one side reserved for firewood - it keeps it all way neater than having a holder or basket for your firewood. Instead of just rectangular cut outs for the firewood, maybe you could have some sort of pattern or shape to the cut out. Like a a curving path of firewood that goes from the floor to the ceiling along the side of the frame unit.