Hello!
We are going to do something about the fireplace(s) at our cabin.
I have weighed the pros and cons of taking down the chimney hood and installing a freestanding stove versus buying a new insert and refreshing the chimney hood and all the bricks.
The cost of the work and labor required gives the insert replacement a considerable advantage.
What I'm looking for are tips and ideas on what you would have done?
The "small" stove will be removed, and a small wood storage area will be built there.
Is the small stove the one you started with? What do you want to achieve from the change?
Glass doors are nice. It looks in the picture like the current insert doesn’t have them. If you tear everything out and replace it with a stove, you may get slightly better efficiency than with the current installation. On the other hand, you’ll likely get slightly poorer heat-retaining properties. With a freestanding stove, you can get something that takes up a little less space in the room.
Then we are halfway there, thought I'd show off a little at least
What's left now is to tidy up the left compartment, it will become a wood storage, incredibly satisfied
can at least boast about what has been done so far! 
