Hi Beth, We work alongside Craftstone Fireplaces in Stevenage: http://craftstonefireplaces.com/ We would be able to give you a costing for this kind of reinstatement on spec. Feel free to to send us an email for advice or send measurements/pictures/requirements etc to oakfieldhomes@gmail.com Regards, Ashley Titre ---------------------------------- PM @ Oakfield Services Group Direct Tel: 07715 635738 Email: oakfieldhomes@gmail.com Websites: Landscaping: www.oakfieldlandscaping.carbonmade.com Hanging Baskets: www.oakfieldbaskets.carbonmade.com/about Design and Build: https://www.houzz.co.uk/pro/oakfieldlandscapinghertfordshire 3D Drawings: www.behance.net/oakfieldhofeed Youtube Portfolio: http://youtu.be/uTJm0ZQpd60 Daily Twitter Feed: https://twitter.com/oakfieldbaskets

Going back to original options with the sofas opposite each other, can you fit a tv unit under the stairs as that could look quite good? With regard to the L shaped arrangement with the tv on the unit, you could drill a circle in the back of the unit and store the play station and sky in there. Another option which I think could work is to swap the dining and living round as the dining end looks bigger. Have one sofa on the kitchen wall with the other opposite ( place the sofas about a foot from both walls) and hang the tv above the radiator. You could make a feature of the room with a built in tv, Sky and radiator cover, as per example attached from Andre hodges. That should still give you at least 4ft for a clear corridor to the kitchen ( on the basis the 7ft measurement you gave was from the side of the kitchen door!) I wouldn't paper the recesses now I've seen the whole room. Maybe considering papering or painting the kitchen wall to Bring the wall in so as to make it feel wider and give more interest to the lounge.

Thank you all. Apologies I'm not sure how to answer individually. I agree that the skirting board jutting out looks very strange, most rooms in the house have some 'interesting' design choices. Would you believe that the man who made these changes has now set up his own building company! The lamp on the left is from IKEA, I only bought it a few months ago so it should still be available. Unfortunately the lamp on the right is a flea market find so no idea where it came from. The second alcove is substantially smaller than the one with the bookcase currently in it. I'm just concerned that it may look 'unbalanced' with the built in shelves. I haven't managed to find pictures of rooms with alcoves differing in width. I do love the idea of built in shelves, it seems safer than our current bookcase and adding the storage underneath the last shelf would be helpful. I have found an original black cast iron Victorian fireplace with a width of 125cm versus the 140cm of the chimney. Would this work with the green wall? The room is painted in Breakfast Room Green and I've attached a photograph of the fireplace. Thank you for the suggestion about the mirror. This is the first time that the living room has been tidy enough to have the mirror against the chimney breast so it's helpful to have opinions on it's size. Thank you all again!

Also, I am in the Bristol area if anyone has any cost and tradespeople recommendations...