I've painted the brass on fireplaces with tremclad black bbq paint.

Before you paint the brass, be sure to sand it lightly with emery paper or the paint won’t adhere. You might also add a mantle.

Tight budget = paint. That's not a sin. I agree that you can paint out the metal on the fireplace = excellent update. I would choose a colour for the walls. Even if all you did was paint out the cubby over the fireplace with a dramatic accent colour and then threw up a cool but cheap print (think Ikea's selection of awesome prints for $45 - $90). And then an area rug that is big enough to sit underneath all of the furniture (or at least under the front of the feet of sofa/chairs).

Use the area rug's colouring to inspire the bold paint in the nook above the fireplace. Done! And you spent $20 on a quart of paint (just for the nook), $20 for the can of metal paint, $100 on the print and $200 for the area rug.

How about $340 worth of update? Is that on budget?