Do you have a large piece of art work that could go over the fireplace.

Also, could you step back and give us an idea of the whole room/area.

Stand back and take a picture further away so we can see the room, what color is your furnishings,trim,doors...election...also the art over your fireplace is to small, you need one larger piece to go over it,pictures of your furnishings and trim, colors etc will help us help you decide on what color to paint fireplace

Ok I here are 2 more pictures with a little more for you guys to see

Congratulations on your new home! The biggest piece of advice I'll give you is slow down and don't worry too much about rules or perfection. Slowly, you'll start acquiring things you enjoy, and your house will evolve. That being said, there are a few pointers I can give you with what you already have in place: 1) move the painting over the sofa down, so that it hangs only about 8" or so above it 2) you can use the pieces above the fireplace, but they too need to be dropped down some, maybe two or three inches. Then space them a bit farther apart, perhaps about an inch farther 3) move the tall vase with the dried flowers down where the basket is on the floor (you may want to remove the dried stuff and just use the vase 4) remove the pillow in the basket and put it on a piece of furniture 5) drape the throw from the basket onto the chair 6) fill the basket with a taller living plant (fiddle leaf, maybe), about 2-2 1/2 ' tall 7) put a row of some small candles on the mantel. 8) could you drape your window curtain to one side, so more light can come into the room? THEN, take some more pictures of the rest of the room. And show us some of these changes, so we can help you tweak things further.

You want to paint your fireplace - what material is the surround made out of? It looks like the tile hearth extends further on one side than the other.

You have a very good start with your decorating. Do lower the painting over the sofa. Your lamp is very small, keep your eyes open for a larger one. The decor around the FP is fine. Don't consider painting anything there.

I would not paint the fireplace.

Petunia has given you some good tips. Rome wasn't built in a day and for most of us it has taken a lifetime to accumulate things we like and create our own individual style. Lower pic over sofa, remove stuff on mantel shelf. The height of items over fireplace seem fine. Throw the throw over the recliner. Mix the pillows from the 2 sofas. Scoot the recliner a bit into the room.

Regarding the drapery - is that one panel or 2. If one, could you split it down the middle and make 2, so you can open it up a bit and let lite in. Agree the lamp is a little small, keep an eye out for a bigger one.

What is the fireplace surround made of?