Hi mv5869 Thanks for taking the time to offer your suggestions. As it happens I have replaced the fireplace. I am very grateful for all the suggestions people made and they gave me lots of food for thought. I was going to post a photo to show everyone who commented the "after" pictures but was waiting for it to be completely finished so you could see the full effect. I seriously considered a reclaimed Victorian surround and insert but in the end I decided it just wasn't what I wanted. I called in a local specialist and he built me a fireplace with a Bath stone surround and black slate slips and hearth. We in put a gas insert fire. I absolutely love it. The natural materials are gorgeous and in my opinion the design is contemporary but classic. I can turn the fire on when I get in from work (usually late) and I really enjoy the fire every day at the moment. It wasn't a cheap solution but after years of fretting about this I have exactly what I wanted. I will try and add a link to the specialist in a minute. As you can see I took up the carpet and sanded down and varnished the original boards. A few boards needed replacing but a local reclamation yard was able to supply reclaimed boards. The pine came up quite bright but I like it! I also had bookshelves built in on the right and painted white. Thanks so much for suggesting this it looks amazing. I am in the process of reinstating some of my possessions but trying to be selective about what I put back. It just takes time to sort it all out. I went for what I thought was a neutral colour on the walls but it turned out to have a slight orangey tint. I am happy with it. The new sofas are orange so I haven't lost my strong colours altogether! there will be a rug as well so when it is all in place I will post another picture of the finished effect. Tim Davis Stone and Fire

Thanks. Oh yeah, we're definately doing other rooms ! The whole house from top to bottom eventually. This room was top priority as it's the sitting room, we wanted to put our 'stamp on the place'. We've only been moved in since the start of the year. This is the before room, taken from the Estate Agents listing: .......... And now (trying to take a pic from the same place) The conservatory is hard to change, pic taken from the Estate Agents listing: ....... And now (taken this morning) - currently has our old sofa in there until we find some conservatory furniture that doesn't look like it belongs in a 1970's old peoples home. Only change is really the addition of blinds The study pic taken from the Estate Agents listing: .......... and now it's my man cave / music room And then .............. The current kitchen is getting ripped out and a new one put in starting 30th May. There is also a dividing wall that's being taken down between the kitchen and dining room to allow for a breakfast bar and a much bigger space. Designs from the kitchen people below Oh, and the double garage is slowly taking shape into the gym: Sorry for picture overload.

Hi, yes they're actual flames with all the natural movement and variation you'd expect (and the volume of flames/heat output is controllable with it being gas). When the stove is set up, there are ceramic 'logs' and embers positioned (that do look very realistic) and also some stuff that looks like wire that they call Emberglow. This wiry stuff is near invisible and spread/clumped at the bottom and this causes the flames to vary and lick and dance upwards. We were worried a fake wood burner would look naff and were disappointed when we knew we couldn't have the real thing, but went to see this in action in a showroom and were impressed! It helps that the model we have also comes as a real wood burner and the cast body is identical for both.

I'm sure you've already considered if there was any possibility of making this your living room. I know I'd get much more use if the doors/balcony if it was a living room and a sofa would not encroach so far into the room as the bed does. Presuming there's no chance of a swap, for a temp solution I'd move the head of the bed to the fireplace wall and place a headboard or privacy screen/room divider etc to conceal the fireplace. You'd need something that still allows the wardrobe to function but in the short term I don't suppose it would matter if it slightly encroaches on the desk (until you've removed it) By doing this you'll make it less hazardous by covering up the tiles and will also be able to see if the lack of space at the bottom of the bed is as much of a problem as the tiles/hearth were. You can gauge how much effort/money it's worth to gain the extra inches at the foot of the bed. Good luck!