I think you need to bring light down into the space and probably quite a bit of light. Have you ever seen cable light it is very adaptable to many fixtures and can have LED bulbs for savings you can have different heads all on the same cable , so pendants where you want and spot lights for instance.

Great idea Patricia! Lowering the light source will increase the light level on the floor. Using the wire system will allow sonyanash to aim some fixtures up to illuminate the ceiling. We do not sell fixtures but these wire track are available in many different price ranges. Here is our favorite to specify as Tech Lighting is very high quality.

http://www.techlighting.com/Products/Hardware/Kable-Lite

Hope this helps! ClearLED.biz

I love the cable light idea for general room lighting. For some drama, perhaps you put a light box in the indented brick portion of the fireplace. If the sides of the opening are trimmed in wood (stained or painted), it could hide an LED tape light. Then either laminate the back of the indented area to cover the brick or let that texture show through. Then it could highlight a piece of artwork and create more drama. Just a thought.

Just so you know I have used Tech Lighting for years and alsways had good luck with them.