Or maybe paint it all white, or from the mantle down white and stacked stone or stones look tile above? Thank you !

I think painting it white is your best bet. It would go so much better with the rest of the room.

Thank you – actually I think we are going to do a stackstoned mixed media tile from the mantle up and on the little side that is part of the fireplace and then stain the mantle including the “columns” going down, do you think that would look good? Let me show you a picture of the tile and some wood that is the color we will be staining it ( and the 12 x 24 tile that will be on the floor)

that off center would drive me crazy. why is it like that? the tv just accentuates it. last thing you want stone, and wood and diff colors. Too much. doesn't matter what you do, it's going to look off center. Agree w/sophie on this one.

Sophie has nailed it. Brick would look great and it needs to be centered.

Thank you for the comments, unfortunately fixing the off-center issue isn’t an option, I would have to move the fireplace to make it centered and I can’t do that. We haven’t done any DYI, all we have done is paint the walls and bookcases which were that same orangey wood. I had thought to do stacked stone on everything but the mantle and stain that a dark brown, but it would be too thick (and expensive) do around those “columns” and also the stone would stick out from the mantle. A designer friend agreed with the stacked stone tile (which is much thinner) and suggested the dark staining on the mantle and the “columns ”. I am worried it will accentuate the off-centerness but the fact is, it is what it is and there really isn’t anything I can do about it. But I would love any suggestions. This is kind of an awkwardly small room off and open to our kitchen.

The fireplace room is to the right of the Kitchen

And that is a real fireplace so I can’t tile over the black part there is venting.

Is the "little area for a fire poker" framed in, or is there brick behind the paneling? It seems to me if there was just framing, you could center the fireplace by eliminating that area so it was the same width on each side of the fireplace

I would drywall above the mantle, re center the TV over the fireplace mouth, and place a vertical decorative element on the mantle's left.

NO to the stone.

Thank you, haha I thought the stone so pretty with copper elements and sort of some greens and blues picked up the light bluish green tiles in the kitchen, but it seems pretty unanimous that it it is awful! Dang, good thing I can return it but I have someone coming in the morning to install it! I like the idea of drywalling over the fireplace although it might look funny with all the painted panel right next to it, I did plan to center the TV once the stacked stone tile was installed. And I had thought about the decorative element to the side because I figured that was my only real option. If it would look funny to have it dry walled next to painted wood paneling, any other suggestions? When people have said brick could you send me a picture and would it look OK to only have it above the mantle because I can’t do it very easily below.

I wonder if it is even up to code with all that flammable wood around the firebox.

Many ,many thanks for the comments, this is really helping me.

Built in 1983, I know the fireplace was used by the previous owner but we have actually never used it in the four years we’ve lived here. Even gave some thought to just getting rid of it but that seems a shame.

From reading these comments, I’m holding off on doing anything, so thank you. Still all ears!!

Since you have the nice white wood cabinetry in your kitchen and have continued that look with the painted white wood shelving surrounding the fireplace, I would continue with that for the framing around the fireplace. But I think I would remove the wood that is there now, since the boards go crosswise which looks odd with all the vertical lines of the shelving (and the diagonal paneling on the side wall), and then replace it with a more traditional and bland wood fireplace surround that can be painted white. And then I would drywall the area above.

In other words, make it pretty traditional and plains so it recedes in the woodwork of the wall around it.

I can't tell what is on the hearth in front of the fireplace, but it looks like ceramic tile. If you are totally in love with the stone look, maybe the ceramic tiles there could be removed and replaced with stone tiles.

Here are some Pinterest photos -- many show the same stone tile material used on the hearth as well as surronding the firebox opening, inside the wood mantel & columns. Most use white-ish stone tile, which isn't the color you like, but imagine! https://www.pinterest.co.uk/simplyhome21/fireplace-tile-ideas/?lp=true

Thank you – my only concern is if we remove all the paneling and put drywall will that look strange? The drywall throughout the rest of our house is knockdown texture and wouldn’t that look strange in the middle of the painted paneling? I do think for the centering issue I should replace the mantle with one centered over the fireplace and then maybe paint at least that extra side white but you are right it would be funny to have the paneling going different ways, ugh! It seems like I solve one issue in my mind and another pops up!