Thanks!! I honestly can't stand the fireplace but we've never really been big into fireplaces or really ever use them (it's been snowing here and we still haven't used it). But it being so big I figured we might as well use it as a decorative focal point for the room. It's just SO big I feel at a loss when I look at it as to what to do with it. We definitely plan on painting the walls and we've been talking about different grey shades. I can see how that could help!! I don't know if they whitewashed it or what but it is constantly producing this dust that I think is just coming from the brick or the mortar between. It's infuriating cleaning-wise.

It does look like it has been whitewashed. You might visit your local hardware store and ask if there is a sealer they would recommend to keep the dust under control. I would probably go with a matte finish.

So sorry you dislike it so much. There are plenty of tutorials on the internet about painting brick fireplaces, but maybe get your whole room the way you like it to see if you hate it less. ; )

absolutely turn it into a focal point. paint it dark gray or black, add a rustic wood mantle.

or, paint the lower bricks and do a wood trim work on the upper portion:

or, tile the entire thing,

I believe the whole thing is curved. Is that right?

Great ideas!! And yes it's curved so painting may be the best bet cost wise...

Like Beth suggested, I had thought about how you could have someone build a beautiful wood mantle to surround the current brick one to add rustic charm, but it might cost quite a bit to have a curved mantle made for it.

Our entire house needs updating so I'm looking for cost effective ways to fix it up. painting may definitely be a good option. I hadn't considered it but now I'm excited about it lol

shelby,,,i searched convex fireplaces.

this one is identical to yours. notice the firebox insert. that would jazz up yours in addition to painting it. I don't really like this shade of gray,,,,,like the black better

this shade w/the black accents look better (but not that mantle. do the solid wood one)

there's always white

or you could do a sort of gray white wash w/a few black ones.

I like the insert that makes it look much better. You're brilliant!!

Enjoy your new home!

Shelby, you’ve said that you’re not a big fan of fireplaces. It makes sense to me that you might minimize yours by one or both of these methods: reduce the contrast between the brick & the walls; reduce the amount of visible brick.

To reduce the existing color contrast, select a water based paint that is similar to your wall color and add water to it. You’ll have to play around with the ratio of water to paint. (Start by adding water to a half cup or cup of water. Keep track of how much water you add until you get to a satisfying translucent product.) In order to minimize overlap marks, wet the brick before applying your mixture.

With regard to the amount of brick that’s showing, you could cover a good portion of it with a sandable cementitious product like One Pass (available at Home Depot) or a product like Faster Plaster (burlap impregnated with gypsum. Google to find the manufacturer). Alternately, you might hire a contractor to install a plaster finish. These days we have some beautiful plasters available in a very wide range of textures. In this case don’t think of plaster as a building material. Take a cue from the Europeans. Many of their lime-based plasters don’t need to be painted. American ingenuity has come up with a wide variety of synthetic plasters that are worth considering. Good luck!

I had no idea there were so many options. I will definitely be googling and going to hone depot in the near future to check this all out. Thank you!!