Love that picture! I was waiting for someone else to answer this, but I guess they're all busy today. We don't use our fireplace, but back when we had a wood burning stove for our main heat, we used a lot of wood every day. We kept it in a round metal rack by the stove. It's really not cold enough here to kill off bugs in winter, so I wouldn't want them in a place like you are describing because they could get into the crevices and spread through the house. I kept a white vinyl table cloth under the rack so I could easily clean the debris and see if anything was moving before it had time to get any further.

We keep our kindling in a pretty basket in the living room, but we keep the actual firewood in a large bin in a hallway just off the living room. That way the living room doesn't look like a woodshed (LOL) and the wood is still handy to pick up and take to the wood stove in the living room.

The wood is just 10 steps away from the stove but around the corner, out of sight.

I don't like storing wood too near the stove anyway, for safety's sake.

Pretty picture!

Marti- We don't have any problem with the bugs...until the wood warms up. Even then, only a few, so hopefully it won't be too much of a problem. I don't mind bugs, unless they sting or bite...but I also don't want them in the house!

Oldgardener- Good idea about not storing the wood too close to the stove. I'm glad you like the picture...and having each side of the fireplace NOT match seems more cottage style, at least to me :)

Here, the bugs are mostly likely to be fire ants, but also ticks. Both give me the heebie jeebies. But we only get about 2 months of cold weather and it's mostly light jacket weather at that.

What kind of wood or paneling do you think that could be in the picture? I really like it and agree with you about the cottage look.

When we enclosed our den, we did a rustic look, with barn wood wainscott and stucco look on top. I called it the Bonanza look. Then I started hating it. lol

I want to add a couple of layers of foam insulation and re-sheetrock with a smoother texture and built-in shelving/tv cabinet at one end. I think that look would be better than the beadboard I was considering.

Marti- Yikes! Fire ants and ticks??? I guess winter isn't so bad, after all.

I wish I had a Bonanza room...but we do have a lot of John Wayne in our TV area. When we remodel the farmhouse, the entire downstairs family/rec room will be a bar on one end...and a John Wayne TV room...maybe I should try your Bonanza wall treatment!

I like a painted paneling look, or vertical board (whatever they've used above) since it feels more cottage like, to me. I like beadboard, too.

Since I don't usually use a lot of pattern in a room, the walls can have a little texture or lines...it doesn't bother me. In the hall bathroom, I'd love to have beadboard about 1/2 way up, then regular sheetrock above that...painted or maybe wallpaper.

I'm not planning to have a formal dining room, so that look will end up in my 'frou frou' hall bathroom..with the claw foot tub :)

I love the picture too.
Lovely colors and great woodwork.

However, I think that putting the firewood into the window seat built like it is, would end up beating it up, and having to make your wood really more uniform that the wood we get for our woodburning fireplace.

They do make window seats which have the FRONT open. And I think that way, you can always poke the firewood inside it easily, even if it is not a uniform size. Plus, you can suck up the bark and any loose dirt much more easily with the vacuum wand.

Your seat cushion could remain on top and stay in better shape too, I'd suspect.

Some folks might consider using an old trunk, especially a tall metal trunk, perhaps a domed lid. I'd really love to have a copper container for the wood, but I bet it is expensive.

And I've been very suspicious of the ticks, because the deer ticks ARE a problem up in Massachusetts, and I'm deathly afraid of catching Lyme disease, since my dear little maltese boy already had it. But down here, where we have to deal with fire ants a lot (I think they reportedly came into the country here in Mobile), I don't have a wood burning fireplace.

I've seen the wide beadboard like that shown in the photo. But also, they could have used some of the wood flooring that has a sort of bevelled edge, just run it up the wall.
That bevel creates a darker shadow seam, unless they antique glaze the paint job.

We have narrow strip beadboard wainscoting in both of our Mobile baths. In the master, just one wall of the wainscoting, the rest of the room is full height beadboard, with the tub bumpout having a sloping roof out of beadboard also. The master closet is totally beadboard, except for the original wall (formerly the exterior wall), which we left as original stucco. Every inch of closet depth helps.

ML- I wondered about having a drawer or roll out section that opens from the front, but the bugs were concerning me, too. We mostly have spiders (usually safe ones) coming out of the wood.

Maybe I should rethink the wood storage...but I'm liking the idea of a window seat, regardless. It seems so much more inviting and cozy than just a window, with a chair in front of it.

Maybe we can keep the wood in the mudroom or on the back porch. I'd rather decide on something, while still working on the plan, than discover it's a problem, later. Thanks for the suggestions! :)

Here is some good info on firewood storage, indoors and out (not technical or lengthy). Woodboring insects could be a problem if they are present.

Here is a link that might be useful: Article on firewood storage and insects

i keep mine is a basket in the living room as well