I think it's gorgeous, and wouldn't do anything to it. It adds so much warmth to the room.

Just paint your fireplace doors with high heat black paint. It comes in a spray can. That will modernize things.

The Parisian garret deathbed look that is so popuar now obviously won't work with something so robustly natural and full of life, but thankfully all of that depressing gray is on it's way out anyway. Which is a very good thing for your fireplace and the rest of the home, as it has a strong natural outsdoorsily healthy skeleton that couldn't be obliterated anyway.

Leave it the heck alone. It has character! In a good way. Learn to work with it!

We would definitely leave the stone wall! It has a natural beauty that is timeless. Perhaps change the fire place doors/insert and build a new hearth to add some personal touch.

We dislike the idea of painting a natural surface.... Many problems down the road with that.

Also, you can clean your stone wall with a good stone cleaner and it will bring out colors and textured that you do not see today.

http://miraclesealants.com/c_tle_stone_cleaner.html