A picture of the fireplace and the room would be helpful

I prefer the squares and strips pattern myself, but it is hard to say without seeing the context it will be in.

Here is a link that might be useful: Quarry Cut

Thanks so much. Here is a picture of fireplace for your reference.

I'd worry that either would be too stripey with the ceiling. You aren't messing with that lovely ceiling are you? :)

That's a good point about the ceiling, thanks. We are not changing the ceiling. The tile floor on the other hand is gone when we have a chance.

We really wanted to like the fireplace and gave it a year since we moved in. It's real stone, but too light, peachy and pinky for us. Are we crazy?

FWIW we are changing out the hearth and mantle as well.

I think the current stone is beautiful, but if you don't like it you can change the color. I had stone that had a lot of orange and black in it. I took gray acrylic craft paint and a whole lot of water to thin it and it really toned everything down. You could use brown or gray or whatever it is you prefer.

Gracie - was it like a stain or paint? Did you apply on select stones or the whole thing?

We are putting in a new wood burning insert for sure. The installer said that changing the mortar/grout could made a difference, too. Any thoughts on that?

Thanks!

Would you be able to replace the tile first and then see how pink the stone looks? You do seem to have a few pink ones in there but I bet the pinky tile really accentuates the pinkity of the situation.

Philly---I would leave it and paint the just the stones you don't like--the peach/pink ones...it's worth a try. I think what Gracie meant was you take the paint and thin it out a lot and make it almost like a wash. Try a small one in a corner and see what you think Also, I think maybe a beefier mantle. You can also spray paint your brass/glass enclosure. I just did mine with Stove Bright paint bought at a fireplace store---I was amazed how it came out...looks brand new. I bought Pewter--but it was too light a silver--like SS...so I bought Charcoal--it's not as harsh as black. And it was very forgiving..I made some drips but they wiped off...I sanded a little and sprayed again..you can't even tell. I did it on the advice of the fireplace store---took my doors in and told them I needed to replace them..she said it would be minimum $500 and suggested I paint them since they were still in good shape.

We considered staining some or all of the stones with concrete stain. Do you think the paint/wash will produce a similar effect?

I wouldn't touch the stones, they're beautiful and compliment the warm red tone in the ceiling. You could use a watered down cement/stone stain, to grey/brown up a few of the more pink stones, but if you say, replaced your clay colored tiles with a similar wood as the ceiling or even a neutral colored carpeting then I think that would help you see the greys and browns in the stone more than the other tones. My other concern is that the stacked/layered stone look you are considering would clash with the wood in the ceiling and make it feel way to geometric and no longer organic.

We totally agree about a beefier mantle and plan to change that as well as a charcoal insert. I know that will help. Changing the floor tile may help, too, but its likely to happen later.

I love the stone, would never replace it, and agree with all the suggestions for painting the stones that seem pink to you and then replacing your flooring. If you can't replace the floor now (although maybe the $ you budgeted for the fireplace could pay for that?), I would simply put down a large area rug to cover it.

I'd change in the fireplace insert, first, then decide based on its shape and design and any changes to the hearth opening whether to strengthen the visual proportions of the mantle.

The stone is really beautiful. And I love the visually contrast between the large field stones and the finer-textured wood strips in the ceiling. Makes both elements really attractive.
HTH

L.

You could use high-heat paint or barbecue paint to re-do the doors on the fireplace ....

And yes -- do experiment (on a couple of out-of-the-way areas) with lightly (VERY lightly) with a almost dry brush -- painting the stones with a more watered-down gray paint ...

.LOVE the idea of a good thick chunky mantel! :)

Just wondering what color are the walls? Perhaps if you tried painting the room in a medium-toned gray -- which would balance the visual "weight" of the dark ceiling ...

OK great suggestions everyone. We are reconsidering replacing the stone. Our initial thought was that the room had a southwestern look, but we are in Eastern PA. We subsequently found out that some of the red coloring is local red shale and that all of the stone is likely local.

We need the insert because the fireplace is very inefficient as is. All of the gold will be gone.

The color is BM Weimaraner, which is like a gray/brown. DW chose it to pull out more gray. It was a creamy color before which neither of us liked.

Would you still keep the stone color if our kitchen opened up to the room and had carrera countertops and white cabs?

I really like your current fireplace! I agree a more substantial mantle and new insert will make a world of difference. I suspect your wall color isn't true on my monitor, as it's reading kind of a gray purple. I too wonder about changing up the wall color.

I'm curious about your white cabinets and marble. Looks like your home has some really lovely wood trim and that stunning wood ceiling. The fireplace doesn't read southwestern to me at all. It might be the floor tile that's making you see southwestern?

I agree with what others have said...leave the stone, recolor the ones you don't like, beef up the mantel. I think it looks great. So many full height fireplaces are awful and dated, but yours looks wonderful. I think it's the tight joint in the stones that make it look good...it's a more expensive, quality job than the ones with the wide joints.

I think it's beautiful. Beautiful stone placement, lovely keystone too.
We have a grey stone FP. (Pennsylvania mica) very similiar to
yours.

You would benefit with a chunky mantle stained darker. We made our mantle
from walnut and its 3" thick. Also, the doors should be dark, a dark bronze
would look nice.

You wall color is also taking on a pink hue...is it from the lights?

Is your mantle set in the stone, or scribed into the stone?
The reason I ask is because I think it could go a bit higher, if
possible.

You can stain stone...I would first try beefing up the mantle.

Before thinned gray paint applied:

And after, before mantel re-attached.

You have a beautiful native stone fireplace. It seems that a very talented mason placed those stones. You can't see the mortar, and that is very important for rubble stone masonry. It is one of the most difficult ways to lay stone, requiring an artist's eye for piecing it all together with tight seams. Don't worry about changing the color of the mortar, it is nearly invisible.
The wall color reads purplish, which is probably bringing out the pink in the stones. Weimeranar has a lot of red/brown in it. A lighter, truer gray would work better, something like Half Moon Crest or Winter Solstice by Ben Moore. Touch up the pink stones as mentioned by others. I also think this room will beautifully complement a white kitchen, especially if you can do a wood floor throughout. I'm sure the savings from not replacing the fireplace would go a long way toward a wood floor. Good luck and keep us posted!

Your stone work is similar to the beautifully laid up field stones commonly used in PA bank barn foundations. It doesn't look Southwestern to me at all.

L.

That is a beautiful fireplace! I agree with the others, I think it's the wall color that's pulling out the pinkish tones. I'd try a grey that runs toward green. See the stone immediately to the right of the reddish one (three stones up from the round thing on the mantel)? I'd go for a wall color similar to that. Then do a chunkier mantle.

I had a brass insert once and simply sprayed it black with a heat proof spray paint. It was really easy to do and made a big difference, if you didn't want to replace the insert right away.

Good luck - be sure to show us pictures of your finished room!

I successfully used a solid stain diluted with water to create a wash that toned down some pink stone I had (not a fireplace, though). It was applied with a rough natural sponge, which kept the patterns more natural. You could also experiment with several tones of the stain/paint, so that the natural variation is retained. I recall having to treat all of the stones, not just the pinkish ones, as the wash looks odd when it appears on one stone and not the other.

The stones don't look like they were sealed. They may not have been. You might try wetting the stones to see if you like the colors better...if you do, there are sealants that you can use that bring out the colors more, similar to what they look like wet.

Amazing before and after Gracie.

Lots more great comments -- we thank you all for the input! We have ordered a sample of different stains in gray and brown and plan to strategically stain a few stones and see where that leaves us. We tested one, and it looks much better. We'll post a picture in the next few weeks once we are done.

We had white cabs and marble in our last home and loved the look. We are planning to do that here after saving some money and then opening up the kitchen to the room in the picture. (Kitchen is now dated oak, and the whole house had that burgundy/gold theme that everyone seemed to have in 1990.) The trim in the house is not consistent - white in some places and the wooden color you see in others. We will have to make it the same at some point.

The floor might definitely be making us think southwestern. The lights in the picture may be contributing to the pink look, but it looks pink in natural light as well.

The mantle sets on top of stone which come out a little farther beneath it than the stone directly above it - I'm assuming that the height of the mantle cant be easily changed.

Yeah, the stones don't seem like they were sealed. When we wet them we do see the colors better and not as washed out. Additionally, the stones on the top are probably dusty - I'll be up on the ladder to wash them before staining. Should we seal them? Will that give them a more artificial look or can we get a matte-type sealer which wont look glossy?

I would replace the stone if I didn't like it. Off hand, that pattern is not something I like much and wouldn't hesitate to put up a stone pattern, mantel and hearth that I would love.

Yes sealers can come in matte finish. But don't seal them if you want to paint or stain as it will block it. If you want to paint/stain, do that first and then decide...you can always seal later.

I have a similar but smaller fireplace wall and my stone was too dark with really dark grout. I took four shades of gray and tans and diluted them with water and just started laying them on with a rag. Of course the stone would absorb the first layer but I kept on and on until I got it to the tones I want. It looks so great now and you can't tell that it's not the original color. It's an easy job so do it before you would ever consider anything else. The one you have has great character to it.

I think the stonework is beautiful! I have a lot of stone work in my home with thick mortar lines and an ugly orange rust color overall.

I wanted a white kitchen, dreamed of a white kitchen, longed for a white kitchen but we just renovated it and I just knew that the white and marble look that I longed for wouldn't fit the bones of our house. I have to say that our wheat stained, chocolate glazed maple just works in our home. I will always want a white kitchen but I know if I had gone with the white it wouldn't have looked right with the other elements in our house.

If your heart is really set on white cabs and marble I wouldn't open up the kitchen into your living room, I would keep it as a space unto itself.

Your home, what I can see of it, is just glorious!