I like the brick fireplace before you painted it.

However, the stone veneer and other improvements will be lovely.

Yeah Aja, I had a sick feeling as I put that first paint on with the brush, that I was making a big mistake.....but couldn't control myself! Hopefully, the finished product, whatever I do, I'll like better!

A stain should penetrate the brick, not just sit on the surface. Maybe save the sealer for when you decide what's next. Stone and masonry guys--what do you think?

Wire lath or rock lathe isnt' so bad if you don't mind working with a trowel--can mud it in a bit at a time if need be and finish off with Venetian plaster if you wish. True, can be messy and time consuming..

Ahhh! Didn't catch the stain part.... that just might work! I'll check it out, thanks!

Keep the fireplace. Add aged mirror to the opening above the mantle. Cover that whole inset with the mirror. Use 3 modern vases to accessorize. Replace the mantle board with one that extends all the way to the outer edges. Inexpensive, brightens and lightens up the area.

Perhaps the issue has to do with the focal point of the room. The furniture placement says "TV" but the decor says "fireplace." That may be why you are so dissatisfied with the fireplace? Putting stone on it may exacerbate the issue. Consider making a fireplace/TV wall with flanking cabinetry.

Either paint the rest of the fireplace brick to match the columns which would modernize it, ot remove columns and totally replace with your picks. I think either would work!

I, too, love the stacked stone look. We had our kitchen fireplace refaced in a stacked stone veneer and love it. The installers used the wire lathe. Honestly, though, since this is a basement family room, I would seriously just paint the brick or sponge it so just a little of the brick color shows through, and then live with that for awhile to see how you like it before spending money on the stone veneer. What do you have to lose except a little paint and one afternoon?

I think this concept would look great, and when budget allows, I'd add the built-in bookcases too!

Definitely ditch the purple drapes - way too dark and claustrophobic. Custom built-in bookcases might be out of the budget, but why not look at some open modular bookcases or shelving units that wouldn't have to fit the space exactly to still look good. Just type in "modular bookcase" in your internet search line and have some fun. If you use open units, the wall color behind them would help brighten up the space. I'll leave to other suggestions for the fireplace which sound great, and lighting is definitely key - you want a perfect media room when you are using media, but you don't want to spend the rest of your time in a semi-cave.

I would paint all the brick the same color and remove that screen to do it cheaply/and maybe repaint the mantle. Or if money isn't a big consideration/re-do the whole face of the fireplace for a modern look.

Instead of those curtains, what about a mural of trees, branches or something from nature, this would give the room more interest and be a great focal point

here is an example

punkey90,

like the time I decided I wanted bangs and I couldn't stop cutting my hair.

I would only remove the columns from the mantle up. I'd replace and extend the mantle to the full width of the fireplace and put the new stonework around the hearth area and above the mantle. Or above the mantle I might mirror the middle part and put stonework on either side of it where the columns were.

Island Stone wedge claddings (vtile & rustic) offer some distinctively modern natural stone designs for surfacing fireplaces (www.islandstone.com)

Drywall (durarock around fireplace opening) the whole wall and put the LUXE mantel on...keeping it short.

Drywall (durarock around fireplace opening) the whole wall and put the LUXE mantel on...keeping it short. Make wall flat without columns. I see that someone liked the drapes....I prefer that they be gone. Guess you will get too many opinions.

decoenthusiaste, good idea and I love that look too. But I've put considerable effort into the entertainment area on the side of the room so don't think I'll be considering that route. I built the cabinet to house the speakers & av equipment, and the canopy above the tv to house the projection screen with recessed lighting above the tv. I also don't think I'll go with fixed or modular shelving units to flank the fireplace as we don't need the shelving and more stuff to dust, even though I do agree it would look great. still wavering back and forth on painting the rest of the brick on the fireplace or removing the columns and doing rock veneer.......
here are a couple of pics of the tv wall, the second with the electric screen coming down. so you can see I don't want to ditch this setup.

You have too many things going on in that room. Your fireplace is more traditional and the rest of the room is more on the contemporary side. No wonder you are confused. Take out the mantel and use the stacked stone all the way up. Ditch the columns, take down the drapes and use each side of the fireplace for art work if you don't want bookshelves. You have everything geometrical in the room. Add some rounds or curves possibly incorporated in the artwork on either side of the fireplace. Your idea of a light sounds like a lot of work and does not add anything to your room. Decide on a focal point (which in your case may be the media center). Keep it simple! Lucy Haines Interiors

impax, I like your approach. couple questions: 1. about focal points. there are really 2. when you walk into the room the doorway is to the right of the media center, so the first thing you see when you walk in and turn your head is the fireplace wall, then on around to the right to the media center. regardless, whichever we decide is the focal point. how does this change how the rest of the room is decorated? 2. I agree the light fixture may be more work than impact, do you have any suggestions for a center fixture for this large empty space? the tray area is approx 15x15. since there are 2 separately switch wires coming to the ceiling fan, It would be great to use 2 separately controlled levels of light at that fixture (e.g. up & down lights switched separately)

I think some cove lighting with crown molding about 6-8 inches from the ceiling in the tray with rope or led lighting would be nice, but a little hard to wire to the switches. and I would still need a center fixture. my idea is to replace the fan with a fixture now, then maybe add the cove lighting later.

woops wrong lighting pic, but I love that one too!

Without seeing your room, it is a little harder to advise you. The reason I wanted you to downplay the fireplace is it becomes the main focal point. As far as lighting, I like the pictures you have sent. If you would like a center light, how about a round drum light? There are many out there that would look good in your room. Usually they are more transitional as is your room. I am not sure about the switches. You may have to ask an electrical person.

Hi Punkey,
As a design professional, I would suggest the following. There are different factors that are contingent on your answers and I will try to cover these issues.
- Resurfacing of the fireplace. Would you be doing this yourself or done by a professional?
- If you are doing it yourself, some of the advice given to you will not work. I think the Bruechel Stone product is a nice selection (boulder style), BUT this must be done by a professional. It would be over-welming for a homeowner. To do it yourself you would first need to remove your crown molding and mantle. Any suggestion not removing the mantle and putting up stone would look substandard. As a designer, I have redesigned fireplaces for many clients. Here are instructions, step by step that would work successfully and compliment your rustic transitional room setting.
1) Since you are familiar with Buechel Stone, use their "Cinnamon Bark Ledgestone." This product is sold in mesh sheets and requires no grouting. It also should be easy to cut. The color is also perfect for a warm, cozy, but sophisticated look.
1) leave the brick structure intact. This is your foundation to build off of. Remove the crown and carefully remove the mantle. The mantle you will be able to cut down and rehang later.
2) Cover all brick surfaces with cement board. This should be glued and screwed into position with cement screws that penetrate the brick. Also, don't forget to cement board the inside edge of your firebox. Otherwise it will look amateur.
3) Now you have a flat surface and a layer of thinset is applied.
4) Apply the ledgestone to the thinset. Of course you will need to do the proper cutting of the stone sheets.
5) After application, and dry time, you can use a rough file to tidy up any outside corner edges you are not happy with.
6) Cut down the sides of your mantle, put a base coat or two of a warmer paint color in an satin finish and reinsert in the recess above the firebox. Before reputting up your mantle, check with your city building dept for BOCA (building code restrictions) for combustible material allowances. Wood product/mantle distances are determined by the area the opening of your firebox. This is also why you are using cement board for your building foundation. Later if you want to sell your home, this will prevent any hitches in your sale.
7) Using a paintable, flexable caulk fill in the gaps between the mantle and stone and paint with your finish coat very carefully.

Now for the other details in your room:

1) - I would need to know your ceiling height but in any case, I would not do your idea for the ceiling. Combining lighting and wood can cause a fire. Remove your fan and just keep it clean and add recessed smaller spots. Also, put 2 small (4") directional eyeballs above the fireplace instead of one and add additional (1 per side) pointing to where your draperies are now hanging.
2) I noticed a bin with toys on the floor. Either build or purchase doored storage cabinets on either side of the fireplace after removing the draperies. I think the draperies are nice for a different room, but they should be a heavily textured material if you want to go with that. It would be more practical to have bin storage tucked away in your fireside cabinets. If you can't build them, buy them to fit as closely as possible to the space width.
3) find framed wall art that is almost as large as the space remaining above the cabinets. Preferably something with color and trees. It will bring the outdoors in and and color and texture. Color and texture is paramount with all the leather furniture you have.
4) Find a nice square distressed coffee table. Don't add any more leather (ottomans, etc.) to the room.
5) Leave your movie and flat screen viewing where it is. It doesn't work in any context above the fireplace. The space left after code restrictions and mantle is too small and especially too high for viewing. It would be ergonomically and anthropetrically incorrect.
6) that's about all other than furnishing and accessory details. One more thing: the rug should be big enough for at least the front legs of your furniture to resting on it to be the proper size. Either skootch the chairs and sofa in a little or get a bigger rug.

Ledger stone sample: http://www.buechelstone.com/shoppingcart/products/Cinnamon-Bark-Ledgestone.html

The comments above are excellent! Follow her advise.

The comments above are excellent! Follow her advise.

wow joaniewurster! that is a lot of great info, I'll try to address some of your points. I really appreciate you taking the time to think about my situation!
1. I would like to try to do the work myself. I am fairly handy, and have done some tile backsplash & flooring work, so I kinda know what I'm getting myself into. The material I have seen at a local store we like is similar to the pics below, comes in sheets around 8x16 or so. I am planning on removing the crown and mantel, and also removing the columns to make a flat brick surface. What do you think will happen if I try to apply the stone sheets directly to the brick with type-s mortar as Buechel stone suggests above? do you think it will not be flat enough to get a uniform surface, or that the stone won't adhear well?
2. the ceiling height is 8 ft around the perimeter of the tray, and approx 9.5 feet inside the tray. I cannot put any kind of recessed fixtures inside the tray. there are steel beams and framing galore above that ceiling and would be a nightmare to wire anyway. so I'm stuck with a hanging fixture in the center. I had thought of a round drum light as impax suggested, but so far haven't seen anything I thought would be large enough. I think maybe 30+ inches across would be minimum to look right?
3. usually no toy or other bins are sitting around. only pic I had handy after my son-n-law trashed the place with his game stuff.
4. I'll give the other suggestions some thought e.g. coffee table & art in place of curtains. Finding the right low cabinets & art will be crucial. might have to live with the curtains until we find them, but that would work.
again, thanks a million!

Using mortar should be left to the experts. Also, why bother with all the extra work it would entail. Cement board is the best way to go. Your fireplace configuration with the columns isn't a problem. If you remove them, you're opening a new can of worms regarding your flooring needing to be patched and reapaired - big, big mess for a do-it-yourselfer. The color stone above isn't right for your room - to cold and white. Stick with the color choice I have sent you. The drum style lamp would be a nice choice. Look into commercial lighting products for the scale you need. 30" plus is good.

What a great idea! Stone is the perfect way to liven up a room. And it's fairly simple to install, as well! The stone you chose looks just like our Chiseled Sand Shadowstone, or our Arctic White Chiseled Shadowstone. We have a couple more in that category as well. Here are some pics for inspiration. Good luck with the re-do!

http://www.realstonesystems.com/

I had a fireplace we hated, I painted the all the brick the same color until I could think of a better option. I'm still living with it and it doesn't bother me as much. Until I see something I'm sure of and total love its working for now

I like the shape of this fireplace as is. I wouldn't demo the columns and make a mess at the base and have to deal with the floor. I don't think the fireplace is as much of an issue as you think. I don't know about the installation issues, but I would paint the brick first and put money into other aspects of the room. The fan is really throwing off the room in a big way. Your idea for a big round shade makes sense to me. Or stain the brick as suggestions above mention and see if you like it. You could still paint over the stain. I would not demolish the columns. The rug just seems wrong. I think if you do the light, stain or paint the brick and replace the rug, you will get much more bang for your buck.

I can demo the columns without messing with the floor. they just sit on top of the hearth brick and I'm covering up the brick there anyway and allowed for that when I installed the engineered hardwood floor. Been searching high and low for a light fixture to replace the ceiling fan that is big enough to look right without having to build something. Found this one in pic cheap, it's about 30" across. too bizaare?

punkey90 ,

Love the light fixture!

When do you launch?

♥

well Aja, kinda hard to say.....;) planning on spending the day tomorrow making the fabric store/lighting store/tile & stone store/home depot/pier one circuit. That sometimes gets sidetracked with lunch, especially if the meal is 2 or 3 glasses of wine worthy! usually then our shopping trips either dissolve into either A. I just want to go home and take a nap or B. We giggle our way through a couple of stores buying everything in sight. Usually with option B, we get the stuff home and say "how in the HELL did we think this would look good?"
but I digress...... If I get that light fixture, I'll change out the ceiling fan friday. Thinking about waiting until after the holidays to dive into that fireplace, don't want to have a mess then, plus it give me more time to wring my hands about it, and look at a few thousand more houzz pics trying to decide what to do! ;) p.s. you REALLY like the fixture? I may have to have a little more wine to work up the courage for that one......

I really like it too!

I think waiting until after Christmas to wrestle with the fireplace is an excellent idea.

BTW, I like the dark curtains! Mayb a little uplighting in that area will make it look a bit less dark, or putting something there the downlights will catch could help, or just tilting them toward the curtains, will help to give a bit of dimension.

AN ADVANCED DEGREE IN SHOPPING!!!

Remove the paint from the bricks.

I have a few methods.

A heatgun is like an industrial strength hair blowdryer. The temp is much, much hotter, some are digitally controlled, and the airflow is normally lower. You can find them at hardware stores and big box stores (lowes,HD, Menards, etc), normally in the paint dept.

I am guessing sandblasting is not an option, so Peel Away !
http://www.dumondchemicals.com/

Or
Fireplace makeover done with Brick-Anew Fireplace Paint Kit in 3 designer finishes.

Sandblasting? Heat guns? Chemicals? Girl, you've got more patience than I have. I'm more about immediate satisfaction. Think I'd paint it all pink before I tackled that! Seriously, do you not think it would look a lot better if I demo'd those columns (I think that will be easy) , tear off the mantle and crown and get some stone like this on it? If the brick was a little more rustic, I might like it better, but it's kind of plain solid red to me. Or I could just do the dab method, turned out pretty good for the guys on the right i thought....

now the brick-anew is more like it! I'd rather dab than peel!

Me too!

Or set your house on fire with a heat gun!

Stone would be great if you are up to big projects!!

I would suggest removing the existing brick columns so you have a flat surface to work with. If you like the stone, the veneer stone is a perfect application that can be applied directly over the existing brick with incredible results. There are many great suppliers of stone so your biggest challenge is finding the stone style and color that fits your taste.

I would also add lighting. There are two options. One is to put sconces on the fireplace itself so the light lightly cascades down the stone to create some beautiful shadows, or place can lights off center of the fireplace for nice even lighting.

A new fireplace grate adds a beautiful touch to the new finished fireplace. I will attach a before and after picture of fireplace that we completed that had a brick H shape featured that was then covered in another material to cover the brick. We removed the H, prepped the wall, installed a new beam mantel and stone without a mortar joint.

Also bookcases really add a lot to a room and creates a nice balance.

www.northstarstone.biz
or aandrews@northstarstone.biz for any questions about stone veneer for your fireplace

Well, after shopping today and online last night, I now have 3 light fixtures possible to replace the fan. The 1 I mentioned above with the rods about 33 inches wide I ordered online. Then today I found this beauty. It's 24 inches diameter. Couldn't resist bringing it home to see how it looks in the room. Also have a welder friend that is looking for material to custom build one.

I suggest getting rid of the side sections and facing over the brick with a 12x12 or a 12x16 slate look porcelain tile in gray tones with a touch of rust/copper color. A simple square mantle shelf could replace the mantle. This would give a more streamlined contemporary look. Those who say keep the fireplace as it is are missing the fact that the rest of the room is contemporary. I see a more bronze tone fixture but simple geometric lines and close to the ceiling. Try Hubbardton Forge.

Hi punkey90, Marie here.
I love the new stone you are contemplating. Quick question, is your fireplace a gas insert, or natural wood burning?

You may need to adjust your sub-strate if you tear this down and re-build properly if its a natural wood burning fireplace.

Below I have two photos. The brick was simply painted out white.
Added a more rustic mantle, because a painted brick lends itself to a more industrial look - so the raw wood always looks great.

Then you can play with your accessorizing. As you can see, same fireplace - two completely different looks using only furniture and accessories.

Ask yourself,
Is it the fireplace we are unhappy with?
What does the final result actually look like to us?
Find a picture of a room with a fireplace that you love
then work towards getting that end result.

Do what makes you happy - be in love with your choice, not just an OK for now.
You will always be happier with the love, Love LOVE than temporary fix.
Do it the way you always want it to be done.
I hope my images have inspired you to do what's right for you, good luck with your project.

Thanks for the insights Marie, very helpful ideas! The fireplace is set up for wood burning, but we have ventless gas logs and will probably never burn wood. Thinking of putting in an insert or glass doors for a more modern, streamlined look, but will at least paint the firebrick black.
We decided to keep the light fixture we bought and got it up over the weekend. Actually wanted a bit larger one, but we got a good deal on this one, and like the modern look and feel of it.
Also picked up a 12x24 porcelain tile sample, that's sitting on the mantle. Attached a pic of a similar tile. Thinking of using that for the fireplace resurface. It's around $4 sq ft compared to $20+ for stone veneer and we like the look as well or better. I'll get a close up of it, but is has a really natural stone look to it. Thinking of doing it in a running bond pattern and removing the columns for a flat surface.
Also having dilemna over coffee table replacement. Can't find a coffee table we like so we're thinking of going with an ottoman but can't decide on round,square or rectangular. Looking for input on that too! Due to the recliner mechanism in the sofa & loveseat and the furniture placement we can't center the ottoman/coffee table under the ceiling light fixture.

Stick with the stone. You need layers of texture and although the tiles are very nice, it is too smooth and will not create the proper balance in the room (because you have so much leather). If you had some fabric upholstery in the room with cleaner, tract arms for instance and a highly textured fabric, you could get away with it. Also, do not get a leather ottoman in any shape. That is way too much leather. Stick with the cocktail table idea. The price per square foot difference for the stone is inconsequential in the long run.

I agree!