I had a similar situation in a house I moved into years ago. I did a quick fix of painting all of the walls, woodword and the cupboards the same shade of cream. Sounds a bit OTT but it really knocked back the cupboards, which in all honesty are not something you want to make a feature out of, and created a calmness to the whole space. In your case, I would go for an off white so that the gang plug wires, radiator pipes and covers hiding the wires for the extractor fan etc., are disguised as much as possible -- that will tie in with the palest of the tiles in the splash back, and then you will have a pretty basic colour scheme of a very place colour and the dark worktop, fireplace and floor, which will stand out more. I think you need more storage with doors -- that bookshelf isn't doing anything for the kitchen. If you could get something in there that could hide lots of clutter -- even if just something cheap from IKEA, that would help greatly. Or work something around the filing cabinet that you have? A huge cheap mirror over the fireplace would bounce some light around too. If you don't want to go for undercupboard lighting, and if you have enough plug points, how about some lamps on the worktop, especially at the FF end with a floor standing lamp at the end with the chair. For the table, I would go for a table cloth and reupholster the chairs if they are not to your taste. A new blind in a much fresher colour would be great. Depending on the colour of your filing cabinet (if you use it), I think a petrol blue could add a nice vintage vibe to the chimney breast, and make more of a feature of it. I would try and go down a vintage/slightly industrial route rather than country. You may have some stuff lurking around that you could use, once you have got the base colours right -- currently it just feels a little cluttered and a bit of a mish mash. Best of luck. Looking forward to seeing some after shots :)

Hi, Yes the chimney is still open and a wood burning stove option is a route we're looking to go down. Just not sure about the finish. Was thinking plaster boarding and maybe split faced tiles. Not completely closed off though and just throwing it out there to see if any better ideas.

The colour of the wall paint will depend on the amount and direction of the sunlight and will change when the artificial light is on and even on a different wall of the same room. I’d go for a cooler greyer tones. However be aware some greys can look greener with different lighting. Choose some samples, paint them on a large piece of paper and hang them in different walls of the room, look at them during the day and evening. You might find out that you like whites and greys with yellow and red undertones more. The blue pieces are very nice and will go very well with your light brown sofa It’s a very nice rug. I like the Middle Eastern style. I’d go for a bit darker blue to go with your blue pieces. https://www.carpetright.co.uk/heriz-oriental-medallion-blue-rug#0 Then you can compliment the rug with more Turkish motif curtains https://www.hillarys.co.uk/inspiration/edgy-geometrics/ https://www.hillarys.co.uk/inspiration/edgy-geometrics/?products=Curtains&fabricgridfilter=true&page=2/

The Mantle/surround can be larger than the chimney access. Think of the fireplace as flue, rather than a limitation on the fire or fire surround and you may have more options. Can the woodburner sit in the room on the new hearth rather than in that hole in the wall? No need to even change the 'fireplace' size necessarily? e.g. Heres my fireplace - granted the burner is inside the wall - but you get the idea - burner vs. hole vs. mantle/surround can all be different sizes. Burner can also have back flue's ie. a dog leg back into the chimney before going up? I'm a 200 year old cottage, not a 50s house - so obv. also ignore the style! I'd draw the wall to scale on paper, add the stove & hearth to scale, and scale the surround based on those fixed items. Ignore the hole in the wall.