it's ledger stone. split face ledger stone. looks like quartzite or slate.

Google Image, "splitface ledger stone tile". tons of styles will come up.

The reason it is getting hard to find is that it is already a dated look

It's not hard to find. Just remember it's a fairly permanent surface. It's not dated if YOU LOVE it.: )

Patricia Colwell is there another material you would recommend? I live in a traditional brick ranch home in the Southern US, so as much as I love modern looks, most just don't go with the style of my home. I'm trying to find something transitional with texture. I do not want my fireplace to look like the floor is crawling up my wall.

Jan Moyer thank you - I actually have a sample that looks just like that. The photo I posted shows much larger individual stone pieces, which is what I'm looking for.

I think we would need to see the space before really advising but a larger stone would be IMO preferable to this . Remember the style of your home on the outside does not need to be repeated on the inside and really a brick ranch can be almost anything you want on the interior . I had a 105 yr. old house before and replaced some of the old style trim but other than that the interior was actually very contemporary . This is that house

Why does ANYTHING need to go all the way up the wall? Why not a simple modern surround and good old drywall? Painted and fabulous art. Post a photo of the space

Very cool space Patricia!

Jan - I was thinking we'd do a light tile or stone up the wall to try to brighten up the room because it's SO dark in my house. I will take a photo of the space tonight and post it.

I can't find a simple modern surround - can you please post a photo of an example? It's hard to be a Southern California transplant living in the South - there are literally NO modern (or even transitional, which is what I'm really looking for) options available locally. I love modern but need to stay transitional because that's what I've done in my kitchen and it opens up to the living room where you can see the fireplace.

Here is a photo of the fireplace I am trying to remodel. The blue area rug is getting replaced with a neutral one (suggestions for one of those for 1K or less are welcome), and the green couches are being replaced with brown leather ones. I just need to figure out the fireplace first. The current fireplace, brick, and mantle are coming out.

Here is a photo of the kitchen, which is adjacent to the living room.

I actually like the rug and the mantel. why don't you use some tile for the brick portion? maybe some carrara? all of these would look great w/your home

or do you want something along these lines?