Can you post a photo of the entire fireplace and built-ins?

It looks beaut as is, can we see more pics of the room.

Would love to see more pictures, but great ideas. Here are some more good ideas for a fireplace makeover I like to revisit from time to time: Fireplace Facelift

Additional photos (it’s a mess right now) :)

It’s a long living area that runs into the dining/kitchen area. Because of the odd long layout I don’t have perm furniture yet. Shots of either side of the room. We will eventually paint the walls a light grey/greige to open it up. The darker color I feel makes the ceilings seem even lower given it’s a step down room.

I vote for painting the mantel and cabinetry and perhaps a stone tile for the fireplace surround.

how much do you want to do to update it?

first things first,,,

the 'hole' for your tv needs to go. That and the Green tile make it dated looked. (the oak is 2nd, but it's livable).

your tv is so small that it would look better off to the side.

decide if you want to retile and what you would like to do to cover that inset.

here are some ideas.

A lot of these will include painting everything white. I see how that wood ties into everything else around that room.

I will say, that particular oak trim is nothing special. It was mass produced and even looks like it has that plastic like coating on it. If you want to paint, then do it. It will upgrade your room immediately. the white will be a nice contrast w/your wall color.

paint the baseboard, door trim, window trim. do a little at a time if it seems like too much. Personally, I'd replace all of the baseboard w/4"-5" plain white.

Agree with painting out the wood to a bright white. I'd also consider rethinking the molding around the TV and the fireplace to get rid of the fluted trim--seems overly traditional for that unit. As for the tile, I'd go with a simple marble or porcelain that looks like marble.

Gray or greige walls may not go well with the wood, unless you paint the built-ins wood too. But before you paint the wood, you need to decide if you are keeping or covering the niche, which is not big enough for an average tv. You could cover the niche with a larger piece of art. A TV is best at eye level to a seated adult, and the mantel may be too high for comfortable viewing. You could place a tv on the counter to the left or right of the fireplace. It will not matter if the tv covers the first shelf on that side.