Sorry I don't have a closer pic right now. thanks!

I have a similar fireplace built in 1972. All i can tell you is the vent above the fireplace has a motor or blower behind it to blow the heat out so it doesnt just go up the chimney. Ours has a switch on the wall like a light switch to turn on the blower. We have installed
Lgas logs and love using the blower. It pushes the heat coming off the insert box and seems to help heat the room.

I was told it's a heatilator. We will probably install an insert,not sure what we will do with the vent holes...

The vent holes allow the heat to not escape up the chimney, it probably has a blower. I would live with it for a while, paint out the brick, and cook in the kitchen, or outdoors on the grill. I don't see how dragging water and weenies to the fireplace is fun, or convenient! Sorry!

Insert will work.....for the fireplace, paint the brick a neutral tone, add bookcases on either side and mount the TV above.

paint the bricks whit like the woodwork .

find a new place for tv and a painting over fireplace . room needs to be warmed up.

I bit the bullet last year and had a new chimney built for my beach house, installed a propane tank and gas logs, and then added a gas stove and an on-demand gas hot water heater. It wasn't a cheap venture but now I finally have the house the way I want it for my old age: easy!

If you want a wood-burning appliance that you can heat/cook on, then consider a free-standing Jotul or similar (Vermont Castings stoves look nice, but they're no longer made in N America, and just aren't the same quality) wood stove. They look nice, throw out a ton of heat with great efficiency, come in a range of styles from traditional to modern, and are great for heating food.

If you want to REALLY cook with wood :) then consider an Esse Ironheart, which is an extremely efficient range that heats and cooks equally well. Might cast out too much heat for your space, though. There's also the original wood-burning Aga, now produced in Canada.

In the meantime, if that's a heatilator as suggested, it does throw out heat, but it's also annoyingly dusty. I agree with the others - paint the brick/stone surround so it recedes, and live with it for a while.

Whatever you do, DON'T mount your TV above the fireplace - that's the biggest mistake so many people make. You'll end up at the chiropractor with neck issues from cranking your head backward to watch TV.

Generally the chamber around the insert is warmed by the firebox and the vent is used to circulate that air into the room. Please have the entire unit inspected by a qualified person. Cracks in the brick and or firebox can allow carbon monoxide into this area. another concern if you switch to any type of gas logs is that they are designed with specific air flows and an aftermarket blower can cause them to burn inefficiently again causing concerns.
As for decorating, if I read correctly the items in the photo are of the current owners and you will be decorating to suit your taste, so its too soon to comment.

Thanks for the posts!
Yes this is not our furniture,
I guess After more thought it isn't critical to be able to cook-it is our beach place after all,and home isn't that far away. We do lose power frequently for days at our home, so we do have that in our minds. We have a wood stove there. And also a gas cooking stove.
We will have an expert come out and look at the chimney and then we will go from there. I think we'll end up doing an insert.
As far as the TV we plan on finding a moveable table or cart so we can move it into the bedroom we aren't going to have cable or anything,just a blue ray player so we can do Netflix,just like at home. The TV isn't a big deal. It's not going above the fireplace,which incidentally I like except for the ugly brass parts.
Starrmoore do you mind me asking why you re-did the chimney instead of putting in a gas insert and using a liner?or a direct vent? Maybe down the line we will get propane, I love to cook with it and an on-demand hot water system makes a lot of sense for a vacation home.
Thanks again fellow houzzers!

To deal with the brass on your fireplace, look into covering it with a special paint for wood stoves that tolerates high heat. It comes in black and is available at home improvement stores. I think it is just called "stove paint". If you want to paint the brick black, you can use the same paint. Perhaps you will not have to worry about the paint if it is a gas fireplace because it it will not get as hot as burning wood. An expert can advise you. We have a new gas fireplace with an insert. I didn't like the look of the yellow fake brick in the fire box and so I asked the fireplace people not to grout it in until after I had painted it. I used a spray stove paint and then they installed a buff colored mortar. We chose a herringbone pattern for the brick.
One more thought: the mantel is too short for the brick below. Replacing it with a longer (and maybe deeper) one will make a big difference.

My uncle installed something like that -- a heating unit of some sort. He lives in Monterey where it can get pretty cold and the system is both cozy and economical. He really likes it! His fireplace is gas -- he does not burn wood in it. That vent really doesn't look bad at all... in fact it's hardly noticeable. If you want something different, have all the brass parts professionally painted in black or dark, dark gray with a flat or eggshell finish. Then they won't stand out so much.

My chimney leaked water in through the brick and was cracked in various places. No amount of waterproofing was working and I wanted gas logs, not a gas stove in the fireplace. The house is really heated with electricity when it is cold and the logs are just pretty to look at.

I see.Thanks we'll have to start with a chimney expert and go from there.
Thanks!

I recently bought a beach house with an insert box and found when I removed it that I would need to either substantially rebuild the chimney to make it wood-burning or get a gas insert; either option would cost about the same. Since we have so many "Spare the Air" days here in the Bay Area, when wood-burning is not allowed, I'm going for the gas insert option.

http://wittus.com/

http://www.jotul.com/en-US/wwwjotulus/Main-menu/Products/Wood/Wood-stoves/Jotul-F-118-CB-Black-Bear/

http://www.woodburningstovesco.co.uk/EZ/wbs/wbs/page194.php

http://www.woodburningstovesco.co.uk/EZ/wbs/wbs/prod_esse_ironheart_ew_cooker_stove.php?PHPSESSID=j9rc1i55d53b91vqb5o3o59gg0&model=491

http://www.woodburningstovesco.co.uk/EZ/wbs/wbs/prod_orion_4kw.php?PHPSESSID=j9rc1i55d53b91vqb5o3o59gg0&model=596

http://www.houzz.com/photos/living-room/cooktop-stove

is it an operating wood burning fireplace? if so buy a new face plate for it, clean up the brick work and use a product that makes the brick sparkle...can't remember the name of it. The walls are way to stark making this room feel unloved and not welcoming. A beach house would be so nice with some soft beach glass colors on the walls and accents. Use a caramel as your neutral tone in the room that will bring in the warmth.....the floor can either be distressed or refinish them in a lighter color or just re stain to make them look cleaned up. The futon could be moved to the wall that's not showing or taken out altogether. Move the other couch to the long wall so you can see outside as well as watch tv or the fireplace. Two nice chairs one wing back or two or a chaise lounge adjacent to the outside wall. Adds seating and would give you that welcoming feel. Find a complementing piece of furniture for the TV to be on and raise the height to four feet at least. A nice frosted glass piece or a black stand that will blend in. You want something that will accommodate tv stereo DVD player etc....I would get rid of the book shelf and find either a sofa table or small desk to replace it or perhaps a nice faux plant. Last but not least a nice chenille throw of a soft green or blue and a couple of accent throw pillows.

Had a great idea for pics for your walls some shots of you and your partner or family having fun on the beach blow them up and put in some simple black frames on the wall...so much fun doing them and they are great conversation pieces. Especially cool if you have little ones and their time at the beach discovering sand and water ....you can change them up as they grow...better than unknowns on your walls!

I think tvs over the fireplace are a trend. It's not good for your expensive electronic equipment to be so close to the heat.

I had forgotten about this post!

The fireplace and chimney ended up being so far gone that it didn't make sense to try to repair them for use. And I took to heart the comments about being more environmentally/neighbor friendly. So we installed... a pellet stove insert! It's working out great- heats the whole place- very clean, it does not smoke out the neighbors or us! It vents directly through the back of the fireplace. The chimney was removed- well actually it fell down with a gentle push.

We repaired and painted the floor for now. There was a huge hole under the rug when we bought the place. We are going through the house re-wiring and replacing the sheetrock the living room and the kitchen will be last. I have since gotten better rods for the curtains but this is pretty much how it looks in this room. keeping my eye out for a picture for behimd the couch, haven't found the right one yet.

Right now the tv is on a cart but I'm going to mount it on the wall thats right behind it and have it on a swivel.