Your brick already looks fairly muted, and may turn pinkish if you try to whitewash it. I would leave the brick alone, and just update the mantle to a more substantial, modern style.

No.

I would paint all your oak trim white, and paint or replace the mantel, but I'd leave the brick alone...

It would help to see more of the room. I would do anything to the brick, but I would replace that mantel. It is too small and too ordinary. I would want to know what your rug looks like and furnishings or your plans in that direction. the art for over your fireplace will be very important and it should be tall, and about 2/3 the size of the length of your ultimate mantel and have colors that make you happy. That will take your eyes off the brick. As for the trim, leave it alone and get drapery that covers most of it up. You will need drapery anyway. That will depend on the rug and furnishings. So, first things first leave the fireplace, trim and mantel alone until you know what is going in the space. you kind of got thing backwards by starting with paint. Don't worry, many do that. But it is pretty and works nicely actually with the brick. Give us more info and we can be of more help.

I was thinking faster than my fingers were typing, what I meant above was "DO NOT DO ANYTHING TO THE BRICK.

Agree that it would help to know more about the rest of the room and your overall style. For example, you could remove the mantel completely if you wanted a suddenly modern look! :)

Enfield - Westmere · More Info

You will regret it if you do, and getting it off at some point in the future will be a Nightmare. You might think about painting there fire surround that is between the brick and the fireplace; this would lift the blackness.

I would definitely whitewash!

Another vote for a new chunkier mantle!

i like dark brick and I like whitewashed or painted brick. These pale bricks look dated to me.

A new chunkier mantel MIGHT be right, if it is in concert with your other furnishings. If you are doing a "rustic" look that would work. If you are going more modern, then perhaps a different approach. Maybe no mantel. So, you have to have a better overall plan to get the details right.

We wanted to share an open concept design we did. Notice the fireplace design? We painted it white for the client and added nice mantel.

An Open Concept Kitchen and Living Space · More Info

An Open Concept Kitchen and Living Space · More Info

Well, I wouldn't have painted a room gray. But if that's what you're going to do, then you're going to have to do something with that reddish brick fire place and all of the warm wood trim.

Thank you for all your comments. I like the idea of chalk painting the mantel or staining the mantel to a darker color to match fireplace. I have new furniture coming soon so I will repost picture of entire room. Looking forward to hear your comments again. :)

Here's update with entire view of room. I painted mantle, and will probably paint armorie:)

The darker mantel works well and breaks up all the oak you have so that worked well. Glad to see some more photos. The basics are good. However, a few tweaks would help. The rug is a nice color but it isn't large enough. It should fit under the sectional so it sits about 10" behind the front legs of the sofa part of the sectional and comes out to about 12" from the hearth. Perhaps this rug is temporary? The window treatments need to be either roman shades mounted inside the wood framing of the window or outside and to the floor. Those are too short. You also might consider a nice print of some kind to help create more interest because everything else is solid colors. Even a more printed rug would help. If you get a more "active" rug, then you could do simple perhaps linen shades or drapery. If you stay plain on the rug, then for sure you need printed drapery or plain with a trim that is "active" on the leading edge of the drapery. A couple more printed pillows with maybe some cobalt blue would work well with your overall look. A lumbar pillow with a print and blues would be great. You have taken a blah room and have it well on the way to lovely.

The rug is temporary due to my dog...I just wanted a little color and I definitely agree about the drapery - I liked the color though. I thought sheers would be nice too especially if I go with brighter rug and pillows. Thank you for your insight! Back to original question - do you think I should white wash fireplace or leave it ?

I would live with it as is for a while mainly because once you paint it, there is no going back and the room is all soft plain colors, so that is the only texture left. I would just do more dramatic and larger art above the mantel.