Enjoy it?

I would fill the wood box opening with some nice birch (smaller than what you have on the right). I would paint the brass fireplace screen with black stove paint, or just get new black screen. If budget permits, I'd replace the current mantle with something more rustic--an old beam, live edge slab, i.e. It looks like a great place to sit when a fire's going so I might consider some pillows/cushions available for that purpose.

Love, love that you have that large hearth space. We had one, but smaller in our last "river house". It was such a "hang". I don't know if you have pets, but they loved that hearth as well. I made some simple cushions for the sides and even a back rest of the same for one side of ours. Used a "faux leather, pliable polyester?", kind of an alligator natural print which I cut and wrapped over the store bought foam cushion (which I cut to the specific size). I was going to sew it up properly and then realized it could be wrapped like an envelope underneath where no one saw it (and then I just hand stitched the end to hold it, or maybe you could glue it?). It was much more fire resistant than a cotton fabric, and so much more durable. When we sold that place, we took the cushions with us because they held so many memories of gatherings, etc. Our cats LOVE them. We keep one stored under a sofa today and when we have a fire we pull it out for the cats in front of the fireplace. Our place was a mix of rustic and traditional but the hearth room was pretty natural. Our fireplace only had a gold bar at the top (which we painted black). Agree to losing the gold. Our wood box was USED for actual wood as we had many fires. And the mantel? Depending on the style of the rest of the space, you could go various directions. Ours was the rustic beam that tied into beams on ceiling, and it spanned the whole brick wall. Attaching a pic but this may have been off-season as the box appears empty. So many great memories by the fire! Congratulations on your new lake house.

The fireplace mantel needs to go ALL THE WAY across, IMO. It looks goofy like that.

Cut your firewood so it fits in the wood box. That’s what it’s for.

If it were mine, I’d buy a fancy new gas insert and use it. But that’s just me. (Our last house had 3 (!!) fireplaces. Enough already.)

You could paint the fireplace and replace the mantel. My friend did that to hers and it looks amazing.

It looks like a heatilator fireplace so be aware those vents have a purpose IMO the mantel needs to be gone it does not look right on that fireplace larger or not

not a pro, but I am a fan of whitewashing.

I agree with prior posts regarding the mantel....It needs bulked up and changed to a more rustic look vs the formal look it currently has. I have never done it, but perhaps others might add some insight as to possibly painting the entire facade. That could update the look.

What's that hole in the ceiling on the right? I'd want to put an LED can light there and fit out that recess with glass shelves for a great display area. If that's out of the question, you can custom cut logs to fill that to the ceiling for a stunning look Agree, the mantel is not working.

The wide hearth looks like a back killer for loading logs into the fireplace and the wood bin.

Jackhammer and start over.

Hang some art on the wall and build a fire?

What do you see that causes you to think you need to do something? Without specifying the problem you'll only get random solutions to other people's perceptions of a problem. The answers are very different if you think the problem is the proportions of the firebox vs you hate the color red.

Your taste may be different from mine but the brass, brick and mantle dont work. something about them dates the room. i would at least get a better mantle and replace the brass. However, I think painting tbe brick as well would add a crisper cleaner look to the room.

R

Simply replacing the existing fireplace doors and adding some great looking gas logs will make a huge difference. Here are some examples:

Craftsman Fireplace Doors

Add some great looking gas logs:

Charred Mountain Birch Gas Logs

New Charred Colonial Oak Gas Logs

Greg Tillotson

Fireplace Expert

Hansen Wholesale