Very nicely done. Love the height. It lifts the eye and changes everything for the better! Great example. The black hearth is brilliant because it grounds the wall. Text book before and after!! Kudos!

Thanks Flo, means a lot coming from you. that black hearth is soapstone, took three burley men to bring it in and place it!

Love it Sandra!!! It’s gorgeous!!!

Truthfully, this is one of the best fireplace makeovers ever. Your light chair and pretty green plant just create the most best vignette! I have saved in my “fireplace wall” idea book and will use in the future. Why don’t you contact Houzz and do an article on how to remake an outdated fireplace wall! I can help you make contact if you wish. Just email me at manganflo@gmail.com.
Beautiful!

Wow, would be fun, I’ll email you.

I would definitely start with painting the stone and mantle since it is the most inexpensive way to see a dramatic change!

Thank you everyone for all the advice & tips! I’m planning on doing the AirStone from Lowe’s this summer. I’m getting my kitchen cabinets professionally painted in a couple weeks so this expense will have to wait. In the meantime, I picked out 3 gray colors and began the painting! It’s already looking much better! I will post a picture of the final look when I’m done. This is the beginning of my mess! Ha! Anything is better than what I had!!!

commenting to follow. painting those rocks might turn out pretty good! post pics when you finish.

I would paint the stones all one color, a deep gray, much darker than the colors you picked out, so that the stones recede. And paint the mantel the same deep gray. Also, there is too much going on....I would remove all those knick -knacks...

....Hang a mirror over the fireplace. Keep it simple.

Thank you Amanda! I plan on removing a lot of the accessories in my living room. I just haven’t gotten to it yet. I have a mirror that will be put onto the mantle as well. I was going to paint the stones all one color but opted to add a couple other grays. This is temporary until I install the AirStone this summer. I’m trying to lighten my entire first floor because my walls are SW Latte. My kitchen cabinets will be BM Natural Linen. I will post pictures when it’s all finished. I hate my river rock so I think the AirStone is going to make it look much better!

I think that those rocks once when they are painted would give nice texture to a room.

Next I would remove small items around fireplace (small shelves and wall decor) and I would try to built symmetry around it: either matching shelves on each side, or narrow cabinets or wall lamps etc...

If you like having more small items rather then few big, then I would built a gallery around it:

Sandra Martin

Would you mind sharing what kind of plant is that? It looks beautiful!!

Loving Beth H.'s suggestions

I agree Scott! I’m installing the AirStone from Lowes this summer. This is a temporary fix so my eyes don’t bleed. LOL Making progress!

Better, but would still prefer a deep, dark gray over the whole thing and mantel....

Get rid of brown ones. Looks a lot better.

Yes Flo...brown ones haven’t been painted yet. Halfway done!

I agree Amanda but I’m installing AirStone this summer and I had these colors on hand.

It is coming along nicely. Your surrounding décor will change the entire scene as well.

We have a lot of different custom fireplaces we have done, feel free to check them out for ideas.

https://www.houzz.com/projects/users/prmcustombuilders

Look forward to seeing the finished product!

Looking way better already!

Well I’m finally finished!!! I still have some touch-ups and decorations to change around and some to eliminate. But this is much better than before!!! Now I can’t wait to install the AirStone and get rid of the river rock! Thanks again for all your input and help!

Before/After

Wow! What a differenc. Looks great!

Thank you! It’s not magazine ready but I’m happy with it for now.

Tisha - great job. So glad you stopped the "bleeding". lol Now you can at least live with it for a while. What in the heck were the previous owner's thinking???? Yikes!

I had a relative who had a fireplace similar to yours with different colored large stones. So, when she had it painted white, it looked like wall of marshmallows. Nuf said.

Thank you Flo! I’m not sure what they were thinking! What’s more shocking is I’ve lived with it for almost 15 years!!! Ha! At least I can tolerate it now. I’m so excited to install the AirStone this summer.

That is funny Relsa!!! I’m so glad I went with all grays. My hubby won’t let me paint the mantle but what he doesn’t realize is I’m changing it when the new fireplace gets installed! Haha!

We do have our "ways"! You go girl! 15 years! OMG! Are you in counseling for overexposure to ugly rocks? Just kidding.

Haha!!! I almost spit my water out!!! I should seek counseling!!!

Glad you laughed. You needed a good laugh for sure! Good things are on their way in abundance!

Sandra Martin, gorgeous fireplace re-do. Putting it in my folder to use as an example for when we are easy to replace this guy:

wow, that is a massive improvement! nice job!

I believe you were thinking of changing the mantle too? I like the idea of something more squared off. OR stain it a dark color so it matches the little shelves you have off to the left.

edit: never mind, I see you're going to do air stone in the summer. that'll look good!

Looks much better. Good job toning the colors down.

Rosieone, remove the tiny paintings on the mantel. Find a very large piece of art to hang there. Your fireplace will look immediately better.

This fireplace has become an obsession! Ha! It’s going to be the death of me!!! I went back and attempted to add some depth to the rocks. I added lighter paint to the darker rocks and vice versa. Here is the final result. Not sure which way I liked it better but I think this way blends better. I’m not touching it again until I tear it down! Hallelujah!!!

Looks great! gives a whole new look!

Thank you @PRM It was a labor of love!!! I think at this point it’s the best it’s going to get. What’s crazy is we are removing the rock this summer to install the AirStone. At least I can tolerate looking at it!!! Ha!

Too funny! It came out great, DIY's are not as easy as they look! Airstone is going to be awesome there. As a home owner it is hard when something is just not loved in the home, awesome fix until you have what you really want :)

It looks really pretty!

Wow it came out very nice!

Project finally complete! Decided to paint the mirror! Ha! Why not...I’ve painted everything else in my house. It’s so much brighter! I’m finally happy with the fireplace. Thanks again for everyone’s help!

Probably time to hire a professional if you are not brave. Lots of work to be done.

Paint is your friend. There are too many (5) colors and too much contrast in the stone veneer. Pick three, more similar-toned colors for the stonework. Paint stores often have folders with different color combination ideas. If you don’t plan to change the carpet or paint the walls, I would use the same color as the hearth for one of the colors. Some of the stones already seem to match the hearth. Select two more colors which coordinate nicely with the hearth color. Instead of the mirror, hang a painting above the fireplace. Reduce or remove the small shelves and accessories. Bring in an additional color with a couple of print fabric pillows. The coffee table seems a bit small and lightweight...something a bit larger and more bulky, but in the same color, would be good.

Not a Pro.

What a transformation! The fireplace looks so much better. A great start to a beautiful room.

At the beginning of your thread you mentioned giving your entire living room a face lift. Post pictures of all the walls in the living room and dimensions and let the transformation begin with a new furniture layout and new look.

My first suggestion would be to take down all the wall hangings on both sides of the fireplace. They look out of place. There is nothing grounding them.

Wow. Looks SO much better for now. I don’t know how you tolerated the initial look for so long. Paint is the easiest way to cover something even if you are planning a major redo soon. Much easier on the eyes.

So much better!!

Tisha, do you have a picture of your air stone?