Granite is going to be like the avacado appliances of the 70's soon. Keep in mind that when something once luxurious becomes standard in new construction, it is on its way out.

@Carolyn, that's exactly what I did as well! Lol great minds think alike. @Manon, hope you don't mind I used your mockup to change the wall colour. I like the mantle and painting you picked.

Oh!The new wall color looks great!

The yellow-orange in the wood floor and in the stone/brick of the hearth is a problem for me that the wall colours merely exacerbate.

Melanie I like the colour - I was getting tired so I just popping in a gray, but I like the softer gray. Here's some inspiration.

Consider a simple gray iron and glass or stone top table to the right of the fireplacewith a nice lamp and you could put a pouff under it. Also an iron and glass cocktail table I've put the in as best I can.

Also consider a larger scaled piece of art to the left of the brick.

Image

I have a wall of similar brick in my home and find it looks great with light gray or cream. Your wall doesn't have to be rustic. I think of exposed brick walls as boho or loft feeling which can be very contemporary. I believe there are some brick washes that don't cover the brick but slightly lighten the color and would do that before painting the brick. A large beam for the mantel would give a contemporary feel in black, stained wood, wrapped in stainless steel or concrete. I think I would hang it a little lower than the current one and extend it past the fireplace or alternatively, remove the mantel completely and hang three art pieces or just one large one.

MY living room is so similar!!I also hated my brick fireplace, and I ended up painting it white (I love the mid century modern style) and put a large long mantle on thats clean looking, but its a statement. People told me not to paint the brick, but now everyone LOVES the grand look of the white. (please excuse the carpet and the rest of the room, we have since done a lot more decorating...)

OMG! THANK YOU!!! :-)Thank you all for the awesome images and feedback. Seeing the potential has really helped me change my mind.

I love the neutral grey tone on the walls. I'm going to post more pictures of the room in natural day light later today so you can what the room looks like without the track lights on. I see what you mean about the brick and how nice it could look with the walls painted a different color. I won't cover it now.

I've attached some paint colors swatches I've been looking at for my walls and I'm really liking the Revere Pewter. What do you think?

Carolyn and Melaine I like what you have done with your images. I think the white mantle really makes the wall pop. I love all the colors but would use a neutral rug with no patterns so I can use patterns on the pillows. lea_daigneault suggests using something other than granite. What are other stones work well around the fireplace?

lea_daigneault- What else do you suggest instead of the granite? Every person I've spoken too tells me its the strongest stone for the heat around the fireplace. Suggestions welcomed.

Many thanks to you all :)

revere pewter is an AWESOME color. It is definitely on the grey side of greige. I love it.

Why not wash the brick with a color. Apply color and use a rag to remove as much as desired. I could see then building a new mantle, in painted wood that incases the fireplace opening and goes vertically up maybe filling 2/3 of the height of the brick.

I love the Revere Pewter. I would get a testing pot or half litre and try it on the walls in various places to see how it looks with the brick and the sofa. You may need a gray with a bit more warmth, but it's worth trying.

You could do a marble or soapstone, also Cambria, Silestone and Caesarstone have some great selections.

Thanks Carolyn. The stone options are great. I really like the way the gray soapstone looks with the white mantle. After we paint I will get a few sample pieces to see what works best in the room. Thank you.

Manon- I couldn't download a copy of paint.net b/c I'm at work, but will tray when I get home. Do you think a dark wood mantle would look better than a white mantle? Or do you think it would blend too much into the brick? I'm kind of torn b/c I do like a wood mantle, but would want white to keep the room bright. Your thoughts? Thanks again!

I did this for my clients who have a similar type of wall.

Leave the brick. I like Maria Billingsley idea, but instead of floating shelves, I would trim it out a little more traditional for a transitional look. All done in your white trim color. The brick background will look great. Trim out fireplace portion as you planned but include mantle area into the sides of shelves, make it seem larger. Then continue with the white painted wood to add shelves with sides, with trim on front edges to make shelves look thicker, make them all tall shelves, tall enough for books as well as art objects. Finish the left side in the same wood and cover the brick edge around the corner. Leave the center open above fireplace to show the brick. Cover most of that area with a very large, tall, framed, mirror. At the bottom, build it out a little further, to the front of the platform and make that area with doors for storage.

wow... i would keep the brick and really play off of it. i would go for a beautiful mid-century modern look in the room... especially since your home is mid-century modern... or built during that era. you can still brighten the room quite a bit, even if going for that look. a web site i highly suggest for some gorgeous mid-century modern inspiration is "brick house". i would not change a thing with that fireplace. also, type in "mid-century modern living room" here on houzz, and you will see many stunning examples of this type of design with that type of wall. the only thing i'd consider doing to the wall is adding some type of paneling... not a rustic or tongue & groove type, but a flat, one-piece style with a smooth finish... something you might see in a mid-century home like in the attached image...

We have a family room with a brick wall that same tone. I just finished painting the walls BM Revere Pewter and love it!

Please do not paint the wall and regret it Later , have a good art like a abstract by Shari , SPKCreative Abstract Art www.spkcreative.com

Another option would be to have a fairly bold granite/marble surround (I am using that word loosely) running floor to ceiling with a "floating" white mantle. The surround will be just slightly wider than the fireplace - maybe a foot to each side. I will try to post a picture later - the description does not do the concept justice!

Agree with the others on lightening up on the paint colors surrounding your lovely brick. Painted brick is dated and everybody ends up hating it after a while.

Rather than cover ALL the brick, build a heavy white mantel all across the fireplace, wall to wall, with your desired shaker cabinets or bookshelves on each side, below the mantle only. You'd have a GREAT mantle for displaying art, tall vases, etc., and you'd brighten your room substantially. It would also make your room feel cozy, but you wouldn't lose the texture and color of the brick.

dbaune- That sounds awesome! would you happen to have a picture of what that may look like. i like the idea of the shelves on either side.

I agree with many others that the brick is an amazing focal point for the room. I think the paint color could be switched with something more complementary toward the brick. Install a nice vent over the fireplace and a new mantle 1.5 to 2x as large as the one you have and perhaps painted white like the trim and crown molding. I like Carolyn C's pick of the mantle style. LARGE piece of art in the center with some decent size vases or other on each side to frame it the art. Lastly, choose your couch throw pillows whose color matches something with your wall color. Awesome room you have! I love it. That's just my taste thrown out there. :)

Lisa, here are the pictures I promised, reading more from you regarding this project it may not be what you're are looking for but I'll let you decide. Also, to chime in on the fireplace surround and hearth, have you considered concrete, I may be biased as it's one of the services I provide, but an experienced concrete artisan would be able to provide you with a stunning surround for your fireplace, for ideas - type concrete in the search bar, and if you'd like you can visit my profile page to view some of the pieces I've created. Hope this gives you some ideas and helps with your dilemma!

I personally love the brick. I think the wall color is not helping the brick stand on its own. they fight with each other in my mind. Instead of a white mantle, perhaps keeping what you have and stain it darker. it may actually lighten the brick feel because of the new focal point? I also keep looking at the white trim at the top of the brick at the ceiling line. it has this weird outline effect. painting that something less abrupt or a stained wood in it's place might be nicer. no trim at all there would be best. finally, I love the idea of art work that others have suggested but I would place it higher than the examples shown.

I would keep the brick and gray furniture, paint a fresh coat of WHITE on all walls and ceiling, and maybe stain the floor darker.....then add bolder or more graphic area rugs and a few large scale pieces of art.

Thank you all for your wonderful feedback! You've really made me like my brick again :)
OK. I think I'm going to paint all of the walls Revere Pewter. Since I have such an open floor plan... my dining room and landing upstairs (which you may see if the attached pictures) are also a warm golden color so all of those walls need to be painted to help balance out the brick. I also think a nice, stately mantle with maybe grey soapstone would look nice. All of the art work and decorative suggestion I have noted. Any other suggestion now that you can see the entire room and adjacent walls?
Many thanks again! :)

I am not a designer, but I think the rug should be centered on the fireplace, maybe a larger rug. Is that possible?

Wondering about your furniture arrangement. Is there a reason you have it like that? I would at least pull the sofa away from the window and make the fireplace your center point for the rug.
Another option is facing the sofa towards the fireplace.

After reading your initial ideas, I was wondering if you want something to break up the brick wall and give it some verticality. (Is that a word?) I found this photo and wondered if it would fit your contemporary spirit while keeping your cool brick wall mostly intact....?

Here's another idea updating brick to a very contemporary look without covering it all up...

I just saw the bigger room pics. I agree with pulling the couch and rug more in the center of the room.

Everyone has stated the obvious and you can't seem to see it. DITCH THE YELLOW! You compound the horror of the yellow hardwood floors by painting the walls that same color. The floors need to begin to take front stage by turning them darker, a contrast to your pretty furnishings. Then a complimentary color on the walls will allow you to transition into the 80's! How can you think your decortation style is "contemporary" when you have country style colors on your many surfaces that strike you square across the face when you walk into the room(s)? You'd do much better with a dreamy, smooth, soft backdrop color in lace fo an in-your-face screaming yellow zonker. (That hurts!) Has to be said.

Thank you all again. To answer some questions...
The reason I put the sofa against the windows is b/c when I put it facing the fireplace it takes up a very large amount of walking space in the room. As you can see I don't have much of an entrance. When u enter the home you're basically walking into the living room. The rug I agree needs to be centered. I plan on buying a larger rug and centering it properly. The chair and sofa placement may be a problem for the room. The room is not very large, therefore I wanted to keep it as open as possible. Thoughts?

While you're waiting on a new rug, it seems like you could center the rug and just put the first half of the sofa on it. In other words, the sofa feet and maybe 6 ". Then put the club chair half way on too. At least then the sofa would not be so close to the window.
Maybe the pics are giving me the illusion that there is more space than there actually is.
Regardless, I think it's a lovely room.

Greg the PAINT-IT! guy,

Fingers in ears repeating nanananan....

Wow Greg the PAINT- IT Guy! Maybe you should've read the previous comments before posting your obnoxious comment. The wall color is not yellow, it appears that way b/c of the lighting and the floors are certainly not painted they are oak. I'm not going to waste my time explaining anything to you. This is supposed to be a collaborative design site, not a chat room board where people insult others. Keep your comments to yourself.

I am sad to see a comment of obvious disrespect for the process of collaborative design. Not welcome here.

Lisa, so glad to hear you're seeing your brick in a different light. It really IS beautiful! And the idea of a soapstone mantle just makes me drool!

In terms of your furniture, could you leave everything in the same basic position and just shift it all to the left about 18 or so inches? The more the better (to get closer to being centered against the FP). Or, if you were able to put the couch facing the FP with a VERY narrow console table behind it.

BTW Lisa, I did see that you've arranged the way you have to keep a feel of open-ness. I was suggesting the couch parallel to the FP (perpendicular to the wall) because I think it might give you more of a feel of an entry way. Not sure how much room you're working with, but if you did this, you'd probably want to move the chair to the left some as well (closer to what I think may be your kitchen).

Thanks onthefense. Yes, my dining room is right next to the living room. It's one big open room. I will try moving the sofa down a few inches... Maybe I could move the chair to face the fire place, it is a lot smaller? I will get the exact measurement of the room and let you know. I appreciate your feedback. Thanks again :)

Sean Franklin - I'd like to take the credit for the mantel, but it was Manon Floreat's design, - well done
:-) Manon. I like it as well.

Book shelves would take away the bold brick look, a large area to fill, depends on your needs, I like the brick, just needs some ,some, something. I have a foto of a brick wall some place, by the time I find it, you will probably have done something. I'll post it anyway.

A rough image of what I tried to explain: A stone "surround" with a floating mantel shelf

Here is another option to consider that you could combine with the mantle and picture ideas you like.
Instead of painting, you could white-wash the brick.
http://www.beneathmyheart.net/2012/08/how-to-white-wash-brick-bathroom-update/

greg the paint it guy is correct. he may have expressed himself in a negative way, however his points are correct.

this post is over 2 years old.

So glad you are not going to change the brick and instead repaint the walls. Revere pewter is beautiful as is Stone Hearth, also by benjamin moore.

OLD POST!!!!!!

I realize this is an old post, but I have a similar colored brick wall and floors. We are trying to redo the fireplace with a granite hearth. Any suggestions on the color/style granite?

Depending on the color you would like for a surround, you might consider slate. We have black slate as a surround for our fireplace. I love the brick, the mantle is throwing the wall off.