I would try to reface it with tile either in granite or porcelain. Level it with the mastic or liquid nails.

Thanks, do you think it would look out of place? Although my decor is transitional, the design of the home is still rather traditional. There are elements of colonial style throughout.

Hang a sharp looking TV over it and call it a day :) It will give the whole room a modern feel.

I'd hire a person in a heartbeat to wrap the brick to create a new, colonial look!

a few examples of "updated" colonial fireplaces. not sure if these are in the budget, but maybe something worth saving for :)

xoxo eva @ MONARCH SOFAS

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@ MIACOMETLADY i love it !!! how much does something like that cost approx. (i know depends on the area, just wondering if you had an idea)

xoxo eva @ MONARCH SOFAS

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How about 3 shades of "white"? I think the FP design on the brick is interesting where the inset is above the firebox and the rectangular brick insets flanking the box. Soooo, just barely accentuate the design. Get a "white" paint chip that has a hint, hint of gray on the darkest paint chip. For the mantel, paint it "white, then the bricks the off white, then the grout the gray white? I don't mean a lot of contrast, just enough to notice three shades. I think it would be interesting and lovely and still keep the original design. The hearth may be able to leave as is, with the barely gray grout lines. If the grout "gray' doesn't look right, you can simply paint it all the "white" and the recessed, rectangular sections an off white.

The good thing is, it's just paint so it won't be costly to give it a try.

Thank you for the ideas! I like the idea of wrapping the brick with trim. I can't do the crown as there is already thick original walnut crown.

Darzy - I like the idea of the paint, I'm just nervous that if I ever want to go back to the original brick I'm screwed. At least if I wrap it with trim I can remove it.

What do I do with the mantle? It is solid walnut stained to match the trim in the room. It's original to the house so I hate to paint it. But if I did trim on the firplace I'd want it to be white

My first thought was that your fireplace looks fine, it just needs a big mirror above it.

The fireplace doesn't seem "dated" to me. It's simply of its era. If the fire surround is all that bugs you, replace it. I took one of those brass surround/screens off entirely and liked the look without anything, so I left it that way. But you could always put a decorative screen in front if you prefer. While I paint brick fireplaces, I probably wouldn't in your case. I might (repeat, might) consider painting the mantle a lighter color for contrast (perhaps a white or off white drawn from one of your fabrics).

Had you thought about replacing the wall sconces with something a bit taller or more glam?

I would make some of these smaller changes first, and see if they get you where you want to be with the space, before undertaking something more permanent and expensive that you can't change back.

This post is 15 months old.

Art work is very personal, but here are a couple to show how you could mix your fireplace with semi-contemporary pieces and with your "gray and earth tones" in your room.

You have to measure the space between your sconces and top to bottom between mantel top and crown molding (gorgeous!) and then leave 4 or so inches from your sconces and about 5" down from crown and up about 3-4" from mantel top. Roughly 2/3rds of that space for art. So size is important to this space. Also, bringing in some different "textures" would be interesting. Everything is pretty soft and smooth, so the piece above has a little bit of dimension to it. Something like that. Or,This particular one is pricey and probably to large (at least too long) but it is the idea that I like. Some vertical shapes, and some colors that typify your palette with just a tickle or two of color, like the yellow. It's interesting, and again, brings some texture or at least the feeling of texture. this one is also probably too tall, but brings grays, whites and pops of aqua and yellow/greens, etc. Those are my thoughts.

Just noticed this is old post. Did you fix it? Wondering now.

PaintColorHelp.com revived this 2014 dilemma!

Thank you - I'm glad it was revived because my fireplace still looks exactly the same lol. Paintcolorhelp.com - The fireplace was updated in the 70's so its not original to the house. I have no idea what the original looked like but I am trying to simulate what a fireplace would have looked like in a colonial/arts and crafts home in the late 1920's. I do plan on changing the sconces

Flo Mangan - beautiful pieces but I am trying to stay away from contemporary in the house. All of my other pieces and mirrors in the house are very traditional

cmeister419 - sorry about that. Houzz has an unfortunate tendency to put articles in the sidebar just based on subject - (they will relate to a question you just answered) and if you don't look closely, you won't notice that the dilemma is months or even years old!

On the fireplace, maybe I'm not seeing it clearly from the photo, but it sure comes off as more 20s than 70s. Perhaps they made an effort to imitate the style, even though it was done much later. Whatever the case, I stand by my original suggestions. Like Flo said, you have a good eye. I'd experiment with sconces and a mirror, and then call it good. Hope it all works out for you!

Thank you!!!