Here they are :)

Clean it first & let it dry for a few days. Then white wash it. Not paint it; so brick shows through.

I think you should change the lighting, not the stone! When the sone is cleaned and you change the screen/cover it will be handsome. The stone looks to be original to the house and in good shape. Fighting a stone color is more challenging than accepting it and choosing a paint color that pulls out the hue that you want.
the center fixture could be replaced with a track that would allow you to spotlight the stone, a piece of art or a piece of furniture . . .

Also, Since the hearth has been removed, you could cover that area with a large simple base molding that would wrap around the entire stone area.

So sorry! just saw the next photos, your lifting is great. Forget the track but make sure you have a dimmer!

lighting, not lifting!

my husband said he can over the bottom . Also I will be putting a light fixture above the table. I like whitewash a lot, we are planning to do it outside on our redbrick

This puppy is clean , i can't get that black smoke off

There is fire place soap.

Yes do spotlight the fp.

When I loved in Florida, we painted the exterior of our brick house an loved it! The interior stone is a different story.

There is an acid that may remove the smoke.

Example of cabinet for coats and such that should match your cabinets.

thank you, yes I was planning to put up a huge beam , and ya that ugly gate needs to come off, I kinda needed it there for inspection. And yes the bottom hubsand will fix

TSP didn't work:( we have tired it out before . Anything else that will work ?

Did you try cleaning with vinegar and then forming a paste of salt and dishwashing liquid. You'd let the paste stay on for a few minutes and then wipe away.

A paste of baking soda and water might work. You'd need to leave this on longer. To remove a stain from my granite, I've made a paste of baking soda and water and put plastic on it for 8 hours, and the stain was gone to my surprise.

You have a beautiful kitchen and lovely floors. Have you thought about taking the stone off the wall, opening the wall and making it into a built-in server with storage and leaving the fireplace? The space is already within the boundary of your kitchen. I realize this is a major project. Just another idea.

We had a similar dilemma in our mid century home we just purchased. When learning about the history of the home, I refused to paint the brick! We are the third owners of this home, built in 1950. Ed (the original owner and builder) saw that a building was coming down in downtown Oshkosh, WI, would go there every day after work and grab a truck load of these used bricks. His wife sat and chiseled off the old mortar. The bricks are from the Lyme company, Cook and Brown, that used to be on the river. He built this home from those bricks. I would never want to cover that history. There is more to the story, but I will stay on topic. We decided to build the mantel as old barn beam (super easy and cheap), we will change the fireplace cover to an aged bronze color. I just wanted to show how to use the awesome brick or stone to add to the area.

Shirlpp, can u please tell me exactly how it's done? I've never hear of it . Thank u so much

Mspro, we can't remove the stone it's too much work we did think about it, on the other side of this fireplace is another fireplace , they are kinda connected . The other fireplace I did paint the ugly red brick .

Danielle, I agree if the history is there keep it going . That's a sweet story , but here is no story home was build in 60s . The stone is pretty , just looks dirty I guess. Your room looks a bit dark.. Is it just a bad photo ?

That's a lot of stone! Seems overwhelming for this space; what's behind the brick to the left of the fireplace next to the fridge? Could this whole thing be reconfigured to work better for this century?

I posted more photos of the space below first comment . Yes fridge to the left

Using baking soda:

www.wikihow.com/Clean-Fireplace-Bricks

Dishwashing liquid:

# Remove any soot that has settled or hardened on the external decorative bricking of a fireplace. Mix equal parts Dawn Dishwashing Liquid and Morton Salt, and add enough water to make a cream. Rub the mixture into the brick surface with a cloth. Let dry for ten minutes, and then scrub with a stiff brush. Wipe clean with water and a sponge.

Hey, thanks so much . I'll make this happen

I don't hate the color. You could apply a greyed wash, I would not paint the wall a solid white. If you add a beam where will it be used, as a mantle? Consider a hearth that runs entire width of wall you can sit on.

Any consideration given to covering the stone [if you don't like it] with 1x2 ceramic tiles ?

Hearth was removed to give more space

If that area can't be opened up next to the fridge I would cover most of this with millworker painted white.

just a thought...

Do you use this fireplace?

Replace the screen. You can find one closer to the correct size--if you don't use the fp then don't even have a screen.

Love shirlpp's idea to build in a closet next to it. It's very messy looking now. That would be your money best spent.

Closet to the left?

I mean to the right ?

Jlsoule, what's that in the second photo ? cover it with building something around it ?

Hotflorida, I added two photos to my ideas book under fireplace walls( first two pics) . These are raised panel fireplace walls in a classic style. Not sure if you want to go through that much work but it's an option.

This is a hot mess

I give up on cleaning it . This house is 1960's nobody cleaned it once . I spend hours and it still looks like shit. I used dish soap and salt . Now I shall relax

Jlsoule, can u please do another photo with the beam going across ? I wanna see how it looks. Thank u

hotflorida, it's just a bad photo.

So, what are you going to do with it...now...?

Shirlpp, I'm looking for a fireplace insert . Electric. If I can't find one. Just paint the darn thing and call it a day. I hate how dirty I looks . I want it to look clean . I don't need to use this thing , I have another fireplace around the corner . I'll paint it in and out , add a beam , decorate with mirror or such

Years ago my uncle moved into an older house and used coke (yes I mean coca-cola) to clean soot off the brick. Don't know how complicated it was but he said it worked.

ME , yes I heard if u put a penny in Coke it will come out brand new . Freaky what we are drinking . Hmmm wonder how it could be done

Not sure. But I would work on a small area with a small brush. Pour a little coke into any container and dip and scrub. Hopefully it will work.

Well believe it or not, I went to Pinterest with this problem and more than one suggested using scrubbing bubbles bathroom cleaner! Now take this for what it's worth but you've tried everything else. They say to wet it lightly, spray it on and let it set, sponge off and repeat. Who knows?

I shall try that thank u. It was such a mess trying to clean it on the inside . It hasn't been cleaned since 1960! :(

Hello - Did you make any progress with your fireplace?

Hi, no not yet . I wish.

I took that gate off , tired to wash it but that didn't go well . I'm looking for an insert . Maybe electric .

It was illegal to remove that hearth. It extended probably at least 18-21" into the room and is why they removed it.

Address the insert or local codes regarding a needed hearth and go from there. I will assume that is like the old Garden State Brickface where they simply stamped or cut out the look of stone on top of the bricks.

Quick fix, I would sheetrock the upper half. You can deal with the difference in depth by building a 3 sided mantle out of simple pine boards. The upper board would be narrow the added depth of the sheetrock. Looking at it you would barely notice the depth difference. Probably $100-150 at most to do.

Good luck.