Have you asked the installer if the valve part has to be in the front?

What material is fireplace made of? How deep is the bumpout part? Why not art there, which is typical as far as I can tell.... something like:

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Based upon your style, I'd leave the firebox alone and do some awesome tile surrounding it.

Given what you said about your style, keep it simple. Think ZEN.

Large art above which you love and call it a day.

Great FP.

everdebz We have no installer/contractor yet, but that will be one of my first questions. I hate that valve! The surround is made of whitewashed cement, and is about 4" deep. I'm planning to top it with a mantel that's 6" deep so we get a bit more space for decorating.

Thanks to all for your suggestions. My husband and I both really love art, so the piece(s) above the mantel will be exciting for us to find. Before we get to that, I need to spruce up the interior. Great call on the length of the grate, w93639. That's what my eye wasn't catching.

I'd like to avoid refacing the firebox/surround if we can and select good quality (and pretty) products for the interior. Does anyone have a suggestion for the material we should use to cover the firebox floor? Also an attractive option for logs?

The grate and log set come as one and are sized so that they work together. If you want larger, then you would need a new unit. Paint the interior of the fireplace to look like blocks (see Darzy's picture posted above). Have a fireplace company come in and put the rock and rock wool on the floor of the fireplace to cover it (again see the details in Darzy's picture). The pipe provides the gas to the unit. Not sure what you can do with that, except that some fireplace companies provide non-flammable pine cones and other decorative items that might be used to hide it.

I would add a battery operated picture light above the art, if you have no electrical there, that will wash down onto the fireplace and bring the eye level up, I don't think you want a mantel with the feel of this I think art would cap it off nicely and become the focal point.

I would like to see the bottom of the fire box painted/stained with the appropriate substance, black.

Even all the interior walls if you want to go for drama.