Can you provide some pics of the rest of the room? There are some very talented people on here who I know will come up with some fabulous ideas for you.

Crown and trim molding, decorative wood appliques, corbels to "support" the mantel and a coat or two of paint could transform it. You might even add some tiles. Looks like it might have been for a coal fire. Your local hardware store should have lots of cool molding to attach and enhance it. Go browse and see, taking good measurements of all the parts and pieces of it with you. Please post pix here of your results by commenting and using the Attach Images button.

Of course!

can you see the photo?

hello erin,dont be flippant,please,you asksed for help,we dont know your situation,are you a student,or is this your first "house"' away from home?to get back to your Q..can you paint the surround?

I'm a college student moving into a different house because my roommate is moving out. Right now I have a black desk, black dresser and black night stand with a black twin bed. I don't think I can pant the walls because he just painted all the rooms that color. The photo attached is part of my room now at college

Also, does anyone know why my pictures won't load in the comments?

thank you,Erin., even if lavender is not one of your favorite colors,a mix of black and maybe lots of white would look nice,dont you think.maybe there is a way to make the fireplace look nicer by painting the black insert and the shelf,black or white,i suppose that depends on what he will allow and on how much time you want to spend painting,black would be the obvious one to go for,then with your books and stuff on it,it will look great..sorry,i cant help you with the download photo Q,but sometimes the site is very busy and if you try again it might work,would like to see the picture of your current room,thanks

If you could upload a few more room photos, it would give a better feeling of the overall decorating scheme... If this wall is a focal point, I'd select some nice artwork as a statement piece.

Here are pictures of the room I will be moving into

And here are a few more

The other wall

Here is a picture of my current room, more to come

I suggest painting the mantel and trim your wood work color. Paint the boarded up piece with black chalkboard paint and become a poet!

I think iamjudy has a great idea there. Or you could paint the woodwork to match molding and add some funky wallpaper to the middle of it to match your other accessories.
Then either put a great piece of artwork above it or move that circular mirror above the mantel that's on the wall already.

you could also place a square mirror in that space...only thing with that is it would cover up your pretty decorative grate. :(
I don't know if there is mirror type paper, but if you could get some of that, you could cut around the grate so it still shows.

OR maybe you could get a piece of frosted plexiglass cut to size and shape, and add some lights behind it for a fun effect.

Another idea would be to put a small table in front of it and have 2 sitting chairs on each side, kind of in front of the fireplace. Put a lamp or candles on the mantel and a mirror....after you paint it of course!

oh what a pretty room!

are you allowed to paint? i would paint the mantel white, but leave the center portion the darker shade, to imitate a normal wood burning fireplace.
i'd do a mirror on the wall above, and i'd put small items in clusters on the tiny mantle.

i don't mind the lavender, but if you dislike it and can paint, i would pic a nice saturated color to use as a neutral. if there's LOTS of light, i would go a little darker than normal.

NICE ROOM!! and some good ideas given.you could fit a bookcase next to the FP as in the pic from mpoulson is the bay your entry or does it lead on to a balcony??and the desk possibly on thw wall with the 2 windows?

Hi Erin, What a great room ( rubbing my hands together )...
Love the hard wood floors! Light lavender is a great colour & with Pantone's colour for 2014 being Radiant Orchid, you're going to be able to find tons of inexpensive accent pieces to make your new home really comfy ( throw pillows, bedding, area rugs, etc... ) . As a college student, I assume that we're dealing with a modest budget & you're probably going to be keeping the majority of the black furniture. The fireplace is a wonderful focal point... I've gathered that you're renting the new place, so I wouldn't advise making any major changes to it unless the owner is in agreement & or willing to cover the renovation. I'd use a two toned paint approach: The mantle & trim, dark Lavender, with the centre of it, in a lighter tone ( see attachment ). The ornate grate would look great : ) in antique metallic gold... The shelves with a few of your favourite books & small accent pieces. As an art guy, I'd find the perfect piece of art to really make the room pop right above that. Remembering, oh too well, how tight finances can be when studying, I'll offer you a $50.00 gift certificate towards the purchase of any art that you find in our e-shop ( register an account & we'll send you a voucher code ). In any event, have fun with decorating your new home & all the Best.

-Erik

www.the-artwork-factory.com

The fireplace is usually the most important point of a house and yours is interesting. We propose to apply over the fireplace works that I realize and fully tailored by hand. I'm an artist and I realize frescoes by Italian Renaissance and Baroque decorations. Check out my facebook profile: elisa.vivaldi.56 You'll find some of my old work. I hope to give you new ideas!