Without seeing the whole room I think it might look nice. And while you're at it I'd either relocate or hide the wires if you leave it where it is. I'd get a new fireplace screen & mantle, definitely something more substantial.

picures of the whole would get you better recommendations

Call an electrician to help you figure out what to do with the wires. Then clean the grungy brick super well and see what you have before deciding to whitewash. Good luck.

More photos

I'm definitely planning on reprinting the walls. Maybe a warm gray?

Is the brick wall behind the dining table a different color than the fireplace? In my opinion, bricks in line of sight should match. But maybe that is an outdated view? Another outdated view that I hold is that generally natural brick is cooler than painted brick, unless it's a horrible color. Yours looks like it just needs cleaning?

Unfortunately, I think this is as clean as it's going to get. The bricks were really soot-stained, and these photos show the results after an afternoon of scrubbing.

The brick wall in the dining room is a different color (pink and red) than the fireplace (yellowish brown). I agree about not liking painted brick, which is why I though whitewashing was a good compromise

I really like that idea of a new mantle! Im a novice DIY'er. Think I can do that myself?

How about a different colored screen and a bigger mantle? Right now you have two black boxes competing.

No, you should paint it white and paint the walls white as well. Your fireplace is not a focal point…at an odd angle and not trimmed out, it is awkward, but blended into the room, it will be great.

Chunkier mantel, brass painted out black with high-heat paint, whitewashed fireplace, and three warm grays:

groveraxle, that is awesome. Thank you. I love all 3 but probably the last one most.

Grover does such great work, huh? This is the look I would go for (given the other brick in this space especially). And to answer your question, a mantle is definitely a DIY project. LOTS of YouTube videos about how to do it.

Wanted to show you all what you helped me do. Here is my whitewashed fireplace

And here is the rest of the room

I think you should paint the brick. You can remove the brass doors and just get a screen -there are some really cool ones around. Getting rid of those doors will give you a cleaner look to go with the clean lines of your furniture.

That looks great!!!

I think a bigger mantle, get rid of the brass, and the other brick wall should match your mantle brick.

You have made such a nice room! Good job! And thanks for sharing the after pics.