I like the idea of white washing it but I think you need to be a good DYI person to ensure it work out well!

I would hire a professional. I think it may require spraying because of the dry stacked stone.

It's a bit odd, because the top outweighs the bottom...

I see what you're saying. There should be more trim work.

NO!

(sorry)

I think it's a problem due to the fact you seem to have a cool gray on the walls and it's having a bit of a battle with the stone...

OH! ok. I think thats why I am not liking it anymore. I just painted the walls and now it looks awful to me but I like the paint color. I was sick of the tan tones.

I agree with northpoint2 and pennydesign. it seems top-heavy. I wonder if you would like it better if you removed the details above the mantel and painted it the same as the walls, picking up a bit more brown of the stone.

Kelley, I think you mean antique, or now it's called glazing. Whitewash is something you would do over a dark color to make it lighter. I do glazing over furniture I sell in an antique mall. I use a Rustoleum glaze in a medium brown color. You can either use a brush or a rag to apply the glaze, then you just wipe it off until you get the effect and color you like/want. It isn't difficult, but a bit of patience is required. If you're a perfectionist(me!!)it will take a little longer.

If you want to learn more about it, look on line or you tube for more info.

I think this could be a gray color glaze.

http://www.rustoleum.com/product-catalog/consumer-brands/chalked/decorative-glaze

The thing that worries me are the deep crevices.

There is a definite disconnect between the brownish tone of the stone and the gray wall. It seems as though the best solution would be to whitewash the stones of the fireplace.

Here is a similar stone fireplace that she white washed. you can read the story here"

http://lifeonvirginiastreet.com/2014/04/white-washed-stone-fireplace-html/

I don't think the boxy trimmed out top goes with stacked stone no matter what color it is. Or wainscoting for that matter. Can you replace the stacked stone? Or remove the top and just have a mantel?

I don't want to get into ripping out the stone. One thought I had was to have something built over the stone. I'm not sure if thats something that can be done.

What about dry wall above that is painted the wall color and a mantel that is a better fit with the stone? I don't think the fireplace is the problem. Maybe someone will do a mockup (not in my skill set). I think white washing or painting the fireplace would be a mistake.

That's what my husband said! I guess out of everything, for me, it's the stone color. I am tired of those tones.

One more question. After considering all the comments are there any suggestions on wall color? My sofa is a camel color. You can see the edge of it in the photo.

Can you remove that white paneling? It looks like it's sitting on top of the mantel.

Then add a more rustic mantel.

I like your wall color, or do you want to go t?

I'm sure it can be removed. I will have to get someone here to look at it.

If you were able to add more trim around your fireplace to balance it with the top section it might look better.

Show us the rest of your room, so we can see your style preferences, please?

How would you describe your style? Maybe looking at pictures of other stacked stone fireplaces will give you some ideas on changing the look of yours. Stacked stone fireplace images

I agree that it looks top heavy due to the upper white part being wider than the base, and the dark gray wall paint emphasizes that, bringing it to the forefront.

I'm with suzieq and garryoak..to me the disconnect lies in trying to marry a rustic stone with a very traditional trim, wainscoting, mantel etc

the walls don't help either but they're easier fix

if you're tired of stones you can rip them out..it's just a lot of work I guess

or you can drywall over the top as garryoak suggested, pick a more complementary mantel, and paint the wainscoting the new wall color

or-the easiest-you paint everything -over the mantel, wainscoting, the walls one color. different color, it shouldn't be very cool because your stone is not-and as long as you have the stone it'll boss you around some

and-if you ask me-it shouldn't be white. or cream, for that matter.

it can be greige, taupe, green, tan..

and no, I wouldn't whitewash the stone, because it'd be still whitewashed stone plus very traditional trim.

as much as it seems to be a color problem-it's not.. in my opinion at least

you can use a color though to make it more coherent

(and then just put art on it and treat it like any other wall)

that what i was going to do with the fireplace we inherited from previous owners and I didn't like. It was (a very) busy slate with a traditional while mantel..

what happened to it? well I just redid it fully. not completely pleased since the drywalling and consequently tiling went bad, but at least I was free to decorate to my liking without slate bossing me around

it's highly personal since somebody else would love slate(my DH did)

but then I'd make sure to find it a proper mantel..

some things, you can mix and match and be very free in doing so

some permanent elements-much harder to, since the ideas they express are too different.

I have to disagree with a disconnect, since rustic and formal(aka:traditional)have been mixed together for a few years. Since you don't want to do glazing, and you already have gray walls, how about painting the wainscoting and area above the fireplace a very pale, light gray? IMO, the stone would blend very nicely with an all gray room.

Personally, I like the look of painted brick, but painted stone looks artificial. Just my 2 cents.

I see a disconnect between the wainscot with raised panel trim and the FP with recessed panel trim. There's crown on top of the FP and some at the mantel but none at your wall/ceiling where the new paint color is; another disconnect like things were left half done. Perhaps unifying the trim would be a step in the right direction. Add more crown to the room and add some raised trim at the chimney breast. As for color, my bedroom is almost the color of your walls (Valspar Urban Pulse) and my drapes are a coppery bronzy color - works well, so I don't feel the stone is the main issue.

The heavy top piece needs to disappear - either by painting same color as wall or removing it. Best of luck to you, I know how difficult to change/remove fixed elements. Stone color looks fine to me!

What about picking colors from stone below and painting the area above one of them and the mantle another so it all coordinates?

I also think the stone work and the color of the stone are nice.

I honestly think cream color above and below on the walls should be a very pale version, with the same undertones, as one of the stone colors. Even though the light color of the walls is very creamy it's still too stark compared to the stone. If we could see the rest of the room maybe that would change my thoughts on that. I'd personally leave the stone alone.

Or I'd paint the upper part the same color as the walls so it's not as visually chopped. Even if you would use my first suggestion I think the upper part of the fireplace may look better painted the wall color.

"I have to disagree with a disconnect, since rustic and formal(aka:traditional)have been mixed together for a few years"-Patty, I'd love to discuss it more! but probably not here since knowing myself-I'd hijack the thread with long illegible posts on "sometimes yes but sometimes no", full of theories and hunches and everybody will hate me for it, starting with myself..:)

But I do think it might be a very fine topic for a separate discussion because while I seem to have a lot of hunches and gut feelings, I don't possess enough knowledge, and I'd jump on such a thread and read everybodody's opinions and examples greedily..:) It won't be specific question, well so what..it might be a great thread.

Can't open it myself right now(hosting relatives from East Coast), but if you/somebody else who's interested will open it-I'll be there..:) when I can

sorry for the off topic, kelley! it's often like that-a specific question makes you think in many directions..but that means the question is that great.

I appreciate all the input, it made me see things differently. Because I look at this everyday I didn't realize why it was off. I have decided to hire a contractor that I know and trust. I will discuss tearing out the panels above the FP or adding more moulding to the sides. He will also do work in the opposite corner of the room where there are built ins that have to be modified to fit a new TV.

I found a few pictures to help describe what I am looking for. I will post more when the project is underway.

These are some of the pics I found. Whether the top is removed, left alone or added to I am definitely having moulding added to the sides.

Thinking it would be a lot easier to redo the wall/trim color to mesh w/ the stonework, than to paint the stonework. & making the fireplace white against that dark gray might look even more out of sync.

Even a glaze/wash over the dark gray walls to lighten & soften the color seems easier to me....

Apologies if someone else said as much already - skipped down to comment. And did anyone yet suggest changing the white woodwork to a light gray/greige - a shade between the walls & the fireplace? That might work too...

Sherwin Williams has a handy tool for selecting/adding colors to your own photos:

https://www.sherwin-williams.com/visualizer#/active/scenes

Hi, I had the walls a light caramel then after some years I changed to a creamy color. I was sick of those colors and wanted a change. That's what prompted the wall color. As I am still working on the walls...small area left... I will definitely look into a glaze. I appreciate the input.

I get that you wanted to get rid of tan walls, but maybe instead of the clashing gray you have, you just need a gray with brown tones - it would still read as a gray, but just look better/more harmonious with the stone. And with your couch - I notice your couch in foreground is more brownish gray so its not like the fireplace is the only brownish element.

As is with gray, there are an infinite no. of whites to choose from, so if this one is too stark in relation to the stone there's bound to be some others that work better.

I like the idea of adding the sidepieces on the fireplace - that would pull it together nicely.

Lori Sawaya, a color expert, suggested a brand of paint for changing the color of stone on this recent thread on the Paint Forum:
Stone Painting

You can trust any advice you get from Lori on paint and color.

Sorry, I didn't read everything. The problem is there is too much trim work. Remove the overmantel and paint that part the same gray as the rest of the walls.

I'd start with cleaning the stone. We just used a product called paint n peel chimney saver to clean terrible spot stains off our brick fireplace - if the stone is fresh and clean it will look better.

groveraxle, you make that look so easy! What a simple and effective solution!

and the dog is a lovely addition to the pic as well :)