How to Design a Room Around a Brick Wood-Stove Insert

Measure the length and width of the room with a tape measure to get the square footage. This tells you how much space you have to work with for furniture. Subtract the space taken up by the fireplace and insert as you would not place furniture in front of them.

Draw a diagram of the room to scale on graph paper so you can experiment with furniture arrangements without actually filling up the room. The fireplace often gives the room an unusual shape so planning furniture pieces on paper before bringing them in often saves you time and effort. Measure possible furniture combinations and draw them in the diagram to scale to see how they fit in the space.

Choose a paint color for the walls that goes well with the color of the insert, the brick of the fireplace and any metal pieces included. The furniture can contrast with the wall color to give the room more visual flair.

Lay down drop cloths and use masking tape to cover areas you don't want painted. Paint the room the color you selected. Allow the paint to dry fully and add a second coat for best results.

Place your furniture around the fireplace and insert in accordance with your diagram.

Add decorations once the paint and the furniture are set. At this point, you'll now exactly how much wall space you have for photos or artwork and can more accurately gauge what goes well with the insert and the rest of the room.