Do you have a layout showing the size of the windows? A to scale drawing will be useful. I generally think the larger the fpl the better. There are a few stock sizes to choose from. We have a Town and Country (IIRC) that we like a lot.

One tip FWIW. The giveaway that a gas fpl is "fake" is the shiny glass. You don't see it so much at night when it is lit, but to me it is unattractive during the day. We bought a beehive screen that we keep over it, and I think it looks much better than shiny glass!

Yes, a layout would be helpful. And if you would like, I have a gas fireplace on a wall about 16 -17ft long flanked by two windows. To me it seems to be proportionate. I'd be happy to measure the size if you would like.

Do you want a stove or a fireplace? We LOVE our gas fired stoves in the bedrooms, and they make them in larger sizes. We also have a vent-free 3-sided fireplace between the dining room and the living room. Unless the temp has dropped to 0, it heats the entire 50x25(approximate) area.

Nancy

A room floorplan that includes potential furniture layout will be helpful as you want to take advantage of the FP as a focal point in the room.

Also, you do want to consider BTU output as a gas FP can easily "cook you out" of a room if it is too large. We purposely went with one of the smallest output FPs as we didn't have that much space to heat and wanted it to be more decorative.

You also want to look at style and ceiling heights to determine if you want it raised hearth, flush with the floor, or something more contemporary like in-wall.

This is for an area being gutted, so nothing exists there yet. I don't want a wall of windows, so that was the concern. I will see if I can post a little sketch. If anyone has pictures of a room with similar, that would be great! Thanks!

If you take a look at the thread below and scroll down, you'll see the sketch I did and then how the room came out. I had book cases to deal with instead of windows. Of course I did it with pencil and paper...the low-tech way, but there's free software on line I'm sure that you can play with if you want. Hope it helps you....

Here is a link that might be useful: Inspiration to reality

This makes me shudder to post, but this is the area of my MCM home that is up for change. The area from the corner to the blue tape where slider starts is 15ft. It is part of an open area with dining and kitchen.
The wall of glass (painted out to see how dark it would be without the glass) has been the bane of my existence. I hope to create something simple, uncluttered with a small fireplace for looks and a bit of heat. As first stated, I don't want solid windows, and having a hard time deciding how many are too many. Thanks again.

This post was edited by Lutha on Mon, Jan 27, 14 at 21:46

I'm not seeing anything when I click the link...it says the photo has been removed.

Ok, I added the picture to the previous post to make it easier to see my atrocity :)

What's it look like on the outside? Window placement affects the look outside too.

Also, what is the reason that this glass has been so objectionable? Was it the light? cold? lack of wall space? lack of privacy? Understanding what it is you want to fix may help you decide the best way to fix it.

Depending on where the dining part is, and seeing as your home is mcm, you may want to go really contemporary with your fireplace and locate it higher on the wall so it can be seen and not blocked by the table. Candice Olson is big on doing this. Also, depending on the space, are you interested in any kind of built in seating around the fireplace or for dining?

{{!gwi}}

Thanks so much!
The glass leads to the backyard, even with new landscaping plans, the view won't be much...it is pretty close to the neighbor's fence. Furniture arrangement was really tough, and well, who really needs 16ft of glass doors to nowhere? :)
I don't want the wall to look jammed together which is why I'm looking for thoughts on spacing the fireplace and windows.