Chimney breast alcove in kitchen

[PandoraRocks]

I'm at the design stage of my new kitchen and wondering what to do with the chimney alcove in my kitchen.

At the moment, it houses an old broken Rayburn which will be removed. The kitchen backs onto the lounge with the chimney in between. I'm going to knock down half the wall and fit French doors to increase the light. I was going to put a wood burner in the lounge as the room is quite big, then someone suggested a double sided stove.

I'm not sure what to do. I don't want another range cooker. I am set on having an induction hob and eye level cooker. So I either have a double sided wood stove or I have a stove just in the lounge (false chimney breast) and stick a hob in the kitchen alcove.
I would prefer an inset log burner if it's double sided as I dont want a draught gap between rooms, but I know that will be £££. Someone is coming out to give me quotes in a few weeks.

Anyone offer some ideas? Anyone have a double sided stove and what's it like?

No. But I have two log burners in chimneys that are standard. I absolutely wouldn’t have one in a kitchen. I wouldn’t have a double sided one either.

In the kitchen I would close up the fireplace. You don’t need anything in the alcove other than cupboards. They can be fitted in and then maybe have shelves above? Or get a larder built in?

Don’t think you have to have a cooker in the chimney area. Not vital at all. Put the oven where you want it. And the hob. I have eye level ovens and a hob on my island. I do know someone with an Aga in an old fireplace but it doesn’t have a fire on the other side. I definitely would keep each side as a separate entity!

We had storage in the chimney when we had one.

Actually, just thought, my kitchen backs onto one of my fireplaces. I need the wall too much to worry about it being a fireplace. It was an external wall. So we just left it alone when we extended other than plaster it and make it suitable for a kitchen.

Any reason you wouldn't have a log burner in the kitchen, Percy? Is that due to safety concerns?

We have a chimney breast/fireplace in what will be our kitchen. We are going to raise the lintel and put a fridge freezer in the space.

I have always needed space for storage in a kitchen not a facility for burning logs! I think a hot log burner in a kitchen simply would be too hot and impractical. Do you have one? They burn you if you touch one! Not practical to work around and they produce ash and need cleaning. Just totally impractical and unsafe in my view.