It's a beautiful, cozy room. I would love to see you paint it white, remove the wood molding and replace it with larger white crown molding. And I think you could use a more substantial mantle for balance.
I have a very similar fireplace in our TV room and I am having a hard time convincing my better half to paint it white as he is very traditional. Try searching Houzz with white brick fireplaces. You can get some great ideas!

Don't decide until you have lived with it for a while. There are bumper products that would protect your young ones from hurting themselves on the shelf. Our fireplace has such seating areas and they are very popular places to perch--They don't take up extra space but function as an extra "chair" when needed.

PAINT PAINT PAINT and accent with a black fire screen.

I agree with the mantle having to go. It doesn't fit with the brick. I'd look into something more bulky or masculine, possibly having a mason come in and installing a brick one for you.

I absolutely would NOT paint it white. I think the brick is a great contrast and love the traditional look. However, that's a preference.

A steel black fire screen would be a nice touch and a matching fireplace tool set. I think the hearth is a decent size for the room, so I wouldn't mess with it.

If you did want to change the look, consider going with a river rock reface. You could hire a mason or carpenter to reface the fireplace for you. But, I'm fond of the brick.

Good luck!

I like it. I like the brick. Is the mantle built in, or can it be adjusted? If it can be adjusted, I would replace it with a beefier mantle, and also larger and longer supports. I would also want to find a way to frame the firebox, it looks naked, and this will bring the mantle closer to the firebox.

The suggestion to "live with it for awhile" is always a good suggestion. That said, the fire place is very plain (and very planar). The raised hearth is questionable, and the fireplace opening is really too small and out of scale with the size of the brick wall. Finally, the natural brick strongly contrasts (not is a very pleasing way) with the adjacent walls. It's as if the two materials, brick and gyp-board, are battling with one another for dominance.

What to do? Either integrate and blend the fireplace wall in with the rest of the walls, or really make it a strong, pleasing contrast and eye-catching feature. As it is, the brick neither blends or is a strong, pleasing contrast. It's just a builder's fireplace wall of plain brick.

Good luck on your project!

Like it much! Howewver, unless you want the pink of the brick to show through, don't whitewash, but paint. Would remove and replace the mantel with a classic style and also rethink the trim/molding. A bit of crown molding all around the room, the width of the trim at the top of your FP would improve things. Just try padding the hearth. When they're teens, you'll find you like the hearth for a spot for the friends they bring home. Also might suggest a round coffee table to pick up on the curve of the hearth and minimize corners where little heads could bump.

Raised hearths are nice to have when you entertain, and this one adds some needed heft to the fireplace that seems to be hugged by the drywall/plaster. Put a bumper on the hearth while the kids are young.

After you've lived with it a while, consider:
Leave the brick. It is attractive to me, and the colors are quite flexible for different decor choices. It also seems to go with your furniture. Definitely do the beefier mantel and get a nice surround to frame the box.

If you end up deciding to remodel, you have to ask yourself what your style is. Do you prefer modern, contemporary, traditional, cottage, transitional, etc.? Use Houzz photos for inspiration and create some ideabooks; all you'll get on the discussion board is other people's preferences and educated guesses--and they're not the ones who live in your house. If you decide on a style, present that information and ask for advice on specific things (like what color rug should I get? This coffee table or that one? etc.)

Best wishes.

I love old brick fire places that are painted a clean bright color. It needs to be paired with some clean white or neutral colored walls and some strong furniture, but nothing makes a statement like a bright fire place.

I think painting it neutral color and updating the mantle would make a huge difference. Good Luck

I would not paint the brick unless you hate it. Sounds like you might be getting to love the brick. I agree with adding a more substantial mantel, the style can range from rustic to contemporary, depending on your taste. What you put on or above the mantel is going to make a huge difference in the look of the fireplace.

Get a fire screen with a little more pizzazz also any style depending on your taste.

Pad the hearth edges for now to protect your kids, as you will really welcome that level for beautiful display and seating area as your kids get older.

There is a 183-post question by bamamom about a fireplace paint project just a few posts away from yours. She has been working through things for 4 weeks. You might benefit from reading through her trials and errors before making a decision. Some of the posters showed their own FP projects including both paint and whitewash. You can search for bamamom in the box above under discussions to see her projects.

For this room I would remove the existing mantle, sheet rock over the brick, buy a new or antique mantle (depending on your style) and update the raised hearth and fireplace surround with stone or tile. To me, the room is lacking in other strong architectural features to balance the large brick fireplace facade and looks foreboding in the room.

Live with it though for a while before making changes...that is good advice.

The first question to ask is if you like the brick look or not, it can be something that adds warmth and texture to the space or something you feel is too rustic. Painting or tiling over the brick would give a cleaner look but I would think the most straightforward approach with the biggest impact is to have a more celebrated mantle. The mantle is quite undersized for a fireplace wall of this size, perhaps a large piece of wood would be more fitting. Here are a couple examples, one is a brick wall with a large mantle of oak, the other is a renovation where the brick was completely covered and we reclaimed a large oak mantle

lissett....Bamamom here....yes 183 posts about my family room. Yikes! Sometimes I HATE my fireplace brick and am ready to jump in and paint. The next day I'm thinking it's not so bad now with the green/gray wall color.

Live with your place for a few months before making a final decision. I would remove the trim and replace with white trim and crown moulding across the top. The dark brown is making the fireplace look like a picture frame. Definitely a new mantle. I see that you have the same wood pieces attached to the brick with mortar to hold up your existing mantle. You could even build a new one with MDF and paint/stain it to blend with your brick.

Keep the hearth!!!! I thought about removing ours and the kids and the in-law kids said NO, that is extra seating for everyone...plus a good place to drop diaper bags/book bags when the grandkids come over. Our grandbaby is 16 months old and I put quilts down when she comes over to protect her should she take a tumble that direction. I've seen some of the protector pads on HOUZZ that completely cover the hearth, earth tones so it blends better. I've also heard of the pool noodles being attached to the edges for protection. You will want that hearth in the future!

Good luck with your new home and keep us updated as you get settled in.

If you remove the hearth, then you're gonna need new flooring. That gets expensive, especially when the wood floors look to be in good shape. Besides, the hearth gives the fireplace wall distinction and is a good platform for accessories (fireplace screen and tools, etc.).

mmilos...good catch about the flooring, that was another reason we did not remove our hearth.

You could try picking up the taupe tones in the fireplace and see how that looks first. Once you paint the brick, you are committed. Lots of old fireplaces got painted in the 50's, just to be stripped down in the 70's, so tastes change. Once you paint, it is really hard to go back.

A nice tall fireplace screen could disguise the smallish firebox, and a beefier mantel would help.

I like the raised hearth--very practical. You could put in bumper pads or kind of fence off the hearth while the kids are little--maybe even a stretch of cardboard with kid's art on it (painting with badmitten shuttlecocks, toy cars, feather dusters and dish wands and doing reverse stencils (over cut out shapes) is a lot of fun, even for the really little ones--you could mix the colors to harmonize with the room) would do for now.

Or if you got some skills, you could fabricate a padded plywood cover with a removable section around the firebox. Or you could get a cheap hollow core door amd some plywood wings attached to the wal--paint as above--perhaps annually, or cover it with padding and fabric like a French board or cork and have a display area that can be unlocked and moved aside when the fireplace is in use. Or cover with felt and use it as a felt board teaching concepts and telling stories. Or cut-out the top and paint it like a castle or city block. When they are older, the screen be used as a puppet theater.

I think kid-friendly is more important in the family room than stylish, at least when they are still so young that they need constant watching. The young years are so fleeting and hectic, why waste time warning them away from breakables and potential hazards and spills? Baby gate or close the doors for the private or show areas, babyproof the rest and enjoy the kids.

Removing the hearth would be costly, and also keep in mind any flooring material within 16" of the face of the fireplace would have to be something like tile or non-flammable

I think whatever style you choose, the challenge is keeping things the right proportions so everything balances well. The present mantel looks more like a bookshelf. I agree with everyone who has mentioned making the mantle much larger. I'm not sure if the fireplace is really as small as it looks in the picture but adding a complete mantle with possibly tile or another material and pillars around the sides of the fireplace would increase the bulk of the fireplace. As for the brick, I think it's a personal choice of whether you like the plain brick or want to paint it. I agree it's a good idea not to rush into making a decision on painting the brick as once you do, it's very hard to go back to plain brick once it's painted. Check out the idea book feature on the site. It's a great resource. I'm sure you'll do great. Good luck.

Randy S - this dilemma is from 2012! Please help others who have current dilemmas.