if you paint this stone, then it might really look cheap. it's not that bad. remove those little ledges and the mantle on the left, and hang the tv over that spot. get a nice art piece for the other spot.

Remove all the other stuff (when the holidays are over). keep decor to a minimum w/this type of fireplace. the stone itself is the decoration.

save your money and when you have enough for a real redo, get some nice tile or marble or whatever look you want, and do it right.

Painted stone looks cheap. Don't devalue what you have.

Unlike brick, I don’t think painted stone ever looks good. I do like some whitewashed & painted brick however.

Its the shelves and the second lower mantel above the wood box that are making for an odd look. A replacement mantel over the firebox will have to allow for the vent openings there, so that may be tricky. The mirror and abundance of stuff are not helping either. Keep with the theme of sleek and simple here. If you can eliminate the protrusions on the left side of it, the right side may look better. Try to adjust your eyeball lighting so there are no dark spots on the stone like the upper right corner. If the removal job isn't to your liking then show us the 'after' pix for more ideas.

Hello. I would advise you not to paint a brick too, your fireplace looks quite not bad. The only thing that I would change, is a decor.

I would remove the mantle over the firebox and the small ledges and leave it alone , I think it looks nice and please don't put a TV above you will break your neck. I just don't understand that tread it looks weird to me.

I like it as it is !

What a beautiful statement piece! Updating both mantels to a white painted wood- look the match the color of your trim and shutters-, or even a dark stained wood in a box beam style would help create some contrast and break up the stone a bit. This will help refresh your fireplace without the commitment of painting or resurfacing all of the masonry. Best of luck with your project!

Yes...remove the ledges and left mantel.

I'm going to step out on a ledge here. I think your fireplace is gorgeous and quite frankly, I think it should be the focal point of the room. But I'm not sure that is really what you are wanting.

Do you have an insert? The pictures don't really tell me what's going on there. Why is there an electrical plug next to the firebox? Is the 2nd opening intended for split wood to be stacked?

Is that a mirror above the fireplace?

Why is there a couch sitting right up against the stone to the left of the hearth? I'm assuming it's because there's no room / the couch is too big for that space.

What I would do: get rid of the insert. return it to it's wood burning glory days. (The slots above the firebox are there to push warm air out into the room). Put split wood logs into the other opening. Remove the mirror and replace with artwork.

Now, if you really really want to, you can remove/grind down the 2 small ledges. Leave the one over the log storage opening. There is where you will put your TV if you want it there. IF you put the TV there, you'll have to find a way to deal with the wires, which probably means drilling holes in the stone to run the wiring through the wall behind. I wouldn't put the TV there if there is no way to conceal the wiring.

Move the couch that is crowding the hearth.

Rearranging the room is a whole other ball of wax. I'm assuming your 2 easy chairs face the TV wall. You might think about having 2 seating areas, one around TV, one around hearth/fireplace.

The fireplace itself is beautiful. What might help is to remove the mantels and replace the main one with a dark brown rustic wood mantel to create some contrast. You can get them very inexpensively on Etsy. Remove the decor that you have in the smaller fireplace, to simplify the look and replace with different sized candles. Good luck!