Good for you! Experts will be along hopefully - may I ask how wide is the fireplace [and how tall]?

I think the mantel should be the whole width of the fireplace but it doesn't have to (2nd pic), your ideabooks seem to be a bit more modern then rustic so I would go with a would mantel like in the first two pictures

Because the room isn't tall don't stick the TV above the mantel, just have a mantel with some decor/ art....

I would actually try to lighten the room up with a lighter toned pallette everdebz posted but depends on your taste...

Some inspiration....

Everdebz- thank you! I'm not in the house just yet so when I can get into the house I'll measure it. Sorry no numbers yet. :/

Everdebz- I'm thinking earthy but wanting it to be bright and cheery and not so dark. I want to paint the trim and walls.

Shira Sobel-thank you! Those photos have helped a ton.
Lighter colors are a must - you are right, it's a dark space right now. My fear is the moss rock will be completely disconnected if I paint a color that's not with in the rocks. Eh!

I love the colored (white) mantel piece in your inspiration photo. Would that work with the rock we have?

Use the tones of the stone/mortar as your guide -- you could go with a light cream, taupe, or gray very easily. I'd keep it light, both because of the low ceiling and because it will make the stones stand out more. Rustic beam mantel for me.

Bring home a bunch of paint chips and hold them up next to the fireplace to find the right shade.

acm-
Thank you so much! Great idea about the paint chips!

Would you do an accent wall at all?

I think the white mantel is fine if you go with a llight cream, taupe, or gray th shade that goes with your paint color....

don't do an accent wall - it'll just darken the space....

Are you changing the flooring? you mrntioned it is a craftsmens house; you may have wood flooring under the carpet...

If you are then you can add a pop of color with a rug, accent pillows on couch, accent chairs, curtains...

For example;

a rug like this

with this couch from your idea books;

with accent pillows

or something like this;

with this couch from your ideabook

and an accent chairs like this

Shira-

Great advice! No accent wall and that color palette will be great!
I can't thank you enough!

Already said, but the owner's dark curtains would be 'no' for your lighter look... the lamp with sheen, or metallic copper coffee table, etc.... can repeat the darker stone [very pretty].... lighter paint....

I had Sears site opened already, and saw 'natural' green/dark blinds... say carpeting/ paint is light, and you like Pier 1 look; what about over these -- over them cotton ivory curtains [or matching the paint]....

http://www.sears.com/oriental-furniture-burnt-bamboo-roll-up-blinds-multi/p-00842571000P?rrec=true#

the width of fireplace seems a bit out of proportion to height of room so might think about a strong color for mantel and not make it full width - then place a element in middle that draws eye up. bold color could be light or dark.

Traditional? sleeper -

everdebz-
We have those blinds in the up stairs bedrooms! Great suggestion!
I love the browns-
Sleeper sofa! Perfect for guests and additional areas for sleeping. I'm going to save that sofa.

Thank you for the advice! I've needed this help

j e-
Thank you so much for the help! What color would you recommend for the mantel? I'm hoping to brighten up the place.

Distressed is so 'in' it might not matter if you have traditional furniture - 72" is widest for $275 [ratings are high].

Everdebz-
Perfect! That example in the photo even had the rock we have at our new place!
Super excited!!!

What a great find! I love it!!!

Not white mantel, good, but white background - if not too busy a look idk...

High ratings for aged microfiber chair at $233. Next is $280.

Does house have any contemporary lines? the fp has no mantel [with traditional look]! so would you like hip animal hide chairs with chrome legs, etc... and skip a very tradtitional sofa?

Like 2 of these over by a window? for a second sitting area...but $253:

Your lighting could echo those shapes, if you like rounded....it won't have to be all Western.... would you like a jute rug by fireplace / tv?

A couple of tips not yet mentioned. The mantel would be best just about 6" beyond the width of the firebox. Second, it should be a minimum of 18" above the firebox for safety and some code restrictions mandate no combustibles within 6" on sides and 18" above. Just from a design point of view, with 8' ceilings (guessing that is about your ceiling height) you will visually lower the ceiling more if you stretch out the mantel across that whole width. Second, make sure you know what the floor is going to be before you select paint colors. Flooring has a very big impact on the way colors look in a space along with natural and artificial light. Is there hardwood flooring under that carpet. Is that area rug hiding a ugly on the carpeting? Some things to understand. I would wait on any mantel or paint until you get in and better understand your furniture and flooring. But I understand wanting to lighten up the spaces. But that depends on your furnishings. A nice neutral color that would blend pretty well with anything is SW Worldly Gray. You could try a sample of that. It is neutral and a lovely backdrop to stones and other wood features.

Flo Mangan-

Thank you so much for the dimensions about the mantel! Exactly what I needed.

Luckily the area rug was gone when we walked through the house to check it out. No uglies hidden. We are going to stick with carpet for now until our babies are done crawling, we have two (one walking and one just about to crawl- and hoping for a few more.) Then we will do hardwoods in the living room. I've tried talking my husband into hardwoods with a nice large area rug....but he can't imagine wrestling around with the kiddos on hard wood...:/ so I'll wait a few more years for nice wood floor.

I am very fortunate that I can look into some new furniture (or stuff we have now will go to the basement).

I'm a grey kinda gal- but sometimes my grays I pick are either on the blue side or purple side. I can't find the perfect grey that doesn't pull an undertone (or at least an undertone of what I'm wanting!! Ha ha)

SW paint I hear has been the best brand for many people I know. I'm excited to use their product. Thank you for the help!!

Everdebz-
I love the size of the horse painting but I don't think we will go western with it. Fun chairs for sure.

I do love the real chair. That color is magnificent!

BM Gray Owl is a good neutral gray and SW Worldly Gray is one I think might work really well for your space, but you will have to do sample boards to check them out in the space. That carpet is going to impact as well, but at least it is lighter so that is good.

First, you need to determine what type of fireplace this is. If it is a standard site-built masonry fireplace, you would use these clearances in most of the US.

http://legacycodes.iccsafe.org/app/book/content/2015-I-Codes/2015%20IRC%20HTML/Chapter%2010.html

If there is an insert in the fireplace, or the firebox is a factory made assembly, then the installation instructions of the particular model will need to be followed as well. You can usually find the installation instructions online.

This direction maybe? BM Cinnamon slate paint - long shot! which the designer paired with Natural Wicker paint:

[https://www.houzz.com/discussions/what-is-the-contrasting-paint-color-to-the-cinnamon-slate-dsvw-vd~513807[(https://www.houzz.com/discussions/what-is-the-contrasting-paint-color-to-the-cinnamon-slate-dsvw-vd~513807)

NWicker is just one:

Stain or paint the rock, but I would not add a mantle.

Here is a room, similar to the other rooms shown, but it has an elegant feel with the white trim painted out and soft creamy walls; any paint taken from the stones in a light color would work; blue, grey, taupe, cream as long as the color is present in the rock......you really need to select paint chips in the room and then try for three your like and paint a large swatch on the wall to see how it looks with rock and lighing in the room.....paint the room last after your have your furniture; much easier to find one paint color to go with sofa etc.

Would love to see all your windows trimmed out in moulding and painted a white tone to add depth and architectural interest to the room....built in shelves would be pretty and help balance out the very large fireplace that is dominating the room; shelving will give it a frame and finished look.

Check out more info under picture to see other parts of house and any info provided by designer....I love the furniture placement in the room.....nice and comfy with a lot of empty space.

All of the pics are pretty nice in any room.

Beverly-
I never considered staining or painting to rock! That's awesome!

Fred-
Thank goodness you shared this with me! I'll check to see what type of fireplace this is at our inspection. Thank you sooo much!

Susan-
I have saved your photo! It is a perfect match for us. I love the tones, built in might be hard since we have windows right next to the fireplace. But painting the trim and brightening up the room was our goal and you have shown it here. Thank you so much!

well if was me I'd likely get a few options to play with and see what I like. the challenge visually is the cool grey of the concrete vs the warm colors of the rocks. in the first example a colored concrete mantle could be really nice and could be similarly reinforced with a new surface to the horizontal of the seat - leaving verical surfaces exposed rock. alt - in idea 2 rustic wood. a driftwood mantle might be just the ticket in terms of the grey color. would still resurface the horizontal seat element

Why do you think you need a mantle? It seems to me it would just add visual clutter. If it were mine I would find something natural to hand up there - definitely not a mirror! Like a 2 dimensional sculpture made of wood.

Do you like copper items? so big right now, and won't it be too late if you paint the stones? $71... but you'd still have the texture of plain ol' stones... boo. ;-)

No biggie, but an items like this might not 'show' against current rocks... popular item though:

I'd like to see you try fp as it is: this color is so pretty, and repeats the warm stone:

Doing a mantle could work, but you could also paint the rocks to make them work more for you. It depends on what you are wanting in your space.