no theres only one window.... and the door to the yard

can you post a picture of the room from the opposite angle. I'm trying to see if the room is centered on the fireplace.

As I see it, the biggest issue here is going to be the lack of natural light.

I'm not sure if the paint is wet, but, it looks shiny in the pic? I would paint the brick and the wall behind it in a matte paint and the surround in the same color one shade darker and in an eggshell finish. I would replace the door if you can with a french door, and get a new white translucent shade for the window and hang it from the ceiling. Put a mirror on the left wall where it will reflect the window, and see if you can get one over the fireplace as well - it might do double duty, reflecting the french door and the other mirror. I would put the sofa against the left wall in the pic and put L-shaped shelves (black, red, grey?) the same height as the window in the corner, wrapping from the side of the fireplace to just short of the window. Put the TV in there.

Anyway, that's my guess. Good luck with it!

I agree with HERE about turning the sofa around but, to avoid a galley look, I would first experiment with placing it to the right. With the little light that you get, you need to maximise it. Even if your sofa is off-center for the fireplace, place two small seats/poufs to the right of the sofa (now against the wall) so that you can move them in front of the fireplace when you are really sitting watching the fireplace.

To bring in more light, add a large mirror on the wall to the left side - this bounce light further in.

Some color ideas for you.

Feel free to check out my site for inspiration.
http://angelina-vick.artistwebsites.com/

I would NOT paint the bricks red (or any dark color). That will just make the fireplace intrude even more (visually) than it already does, and that room is too narrow for that.

Decide what color you are going to paint the walls, then paint the bricks a slightly lighter shade and paint the wood trim the same color as the baseboards and trim. You might paint the side panels of the fireplace the same color as the bricks. Hang light-colored artwork above the mantel and hope that it disguises the fireplace.

I'd get rid of the ceiling light completely. Lights in the ceiling cast nasty light, no matter what kind of light they are--it's harsh, flat, and casts hard, deep shadows.

That's a very awkward room. I'd put the couch along the fireplace wall (makes the fireplace blend in more), put the TV on the big wall where the doors are (on a very shallow shelf/wall unit) with a couple of chairs.

May of 2013......