Ok I just saw the trim or what ever that is between the floor and the base of the fireplace. What is that ?

You could paint the brick, paint the wall. add a much thicker wood mantel and put some larger art over the fireplace to make it more attractive. The pieces currently over the mantel should be arranged on a smaller wall.

It's crown molding.

Please forgive me if I came off rude. I always get so mad when I read comments that are negative and snarky. That sure wasn't my intention. The fireplace has a lot of potential

well what should i replace it with? Any pictures of ideas? And I know the paint color is bad that's why I asked for help lol.

Paint the fireplace wall in the same color as the rest of the room. Remove the white trim on the bottom. The brick should go right to the floor.

On the $1K budget you mentioned in you other post, paint is probably the best you can do with the overall makeover for now. Later on a beefier mantel and a remedy for that white crown would be in order.

What does a "beefier" mantle look like?

Your mantel might be fine, especially with uniform look of same paint... and 1 - 3 or whatever larger [maybe?] art pieces there.

It's a 'baby gate'!.... show more photos please?

look at the pictures. It's not just a baby gate!

At first I thought metal stair railing....

For an inexpensive fix, I would remove the crown molding, paint the wall to match the rest of the house, install black fireplace doors, and move the fire tools to the other side to break up that large plain brick wall.

Paint it white...

fabulous! Melissa! Thanks so much!

Do what you can with what you have....

Personally, I think the fireplace is fine. Agree remove the molding on the bottom...get rid of everything you DON'T want or like (or put it aside) so you can start with a clean slate.

Clean the brickwork.

Remove the brass fireplace surround.

https://merrypad.com/2014/02/19/removing-fireplace-surround-flagstone/

So far, you've spent zero.

Painting the brick won't get you where you want to be. The colors in your brick are fine...

No problem! Yes, remove the brass. Google young house love blog. They painted theirs.

If that white trim scares you to remove, paint it darkest color in brick. It could be hiding a bad interface between floor and brick so removing could cause more costs. Given your budget go slow and conservatively. There is heat resistant paint to paint your brass fireplace with. Use thin coats to avoid dripping of spray paint. Depending on your DYI skills and style preferences you might want to consider installing wood above mantel and wrapping existing mantel in matching wood for a beefier look. I will post some photos to help you visualize. Bbl

Here are a couple ideas. You can choose style and paint colors or rustic woods.

my thoughts were 1k for paint etc. I wish I had someone to come over and tell me where to start. Thanks to everyone that gave me such great ideas. Yes I'm in a old home with popcorn ceiling etc..... but now I'm in a position to makes changes and I don't know where to begin.

Kat,,,here ya go,,,some ideas for you. want some drama? paint the brick a black or dark charcoal and top with a reclaimed piece of wood. here is what chunky mantel looks like (by the way, you can make one of these mantels for about 50 bucks using a 4x6 piece of wood you can get at HD. beat it up, stain it and install it)

or you could do the brick white and paint the wall above it in a black, charcoal or dark navy. Below is the chunky reclaimed wood piece.

remove the molding piece at the base and replace it with some quarter round molding, stained to match the flooring.

paint your brass insert:

This blogger/blog is amazing. she has so many tutorials and cool ideas. This link will walk you through how to paint the metal insert. If you want to whitewash the brick, she'll show you how to do that too.

http://eastcoastcreativeblog.com/2012/11/brass-fireplace-update.html

I like the look of the dark grey. Paint the fireplace and wall dark grey, mantel black and add a beaut big art canvas, a couple of big cushions for end of hearth perhaps.

Great ideas Beth! Would really update and totally change that wall!