I kind of like it the way it is. The natural brick seems to be a nice backdrop for your leather chair.

Really just wish you could show us the other side of your room with the painted cabinets?? It may make a world of difference to paint the brick or not

Don't paint the brick, I think it would be too much white and you wouldn't be able to undo it.

The brick is perfect and you have the white mantle on it for the touch of white. Any chance the shelves could be streamlined a little more so all that white would show a little more?

Leave the brick as is, but lower and widen the mantel. Replace the fire screen. That is not good.

I like the brick as others have said. If you have a substantial amount of white in the room, then maybe paint. Like the way they are best.

Maybe you could paint the mantle brackets white. I think they need to go together in the same white color.

Stain bricks whiteish:)

What color is your wall?

I agree with Judyg and would do as she suggests.( remove several bricks to lower and see if you can find a mantel that is thicker. If not , lowering will help a lot anyway by itself.) Also, would remove the green fake plants and replace the picture with a larger one on mantle for better balance.I would try to declutter as much as possible. The shelves looked to be overstuffed with books, etc.
What a cozy room. Best of luck!

The most you should EVER do, IMO, is use a very thin wash. NEVER paint brick. When you paint brick, you lose texture, color variation, pattern, and end up with a big white blob. And if you don't like it, you spend 10 times the effort getting it off, or paying for sandblasting.

HI -- I love the bricks but..... paint the mantel black and also the back of the bookcases plus that bit of wall at the top , after thinning out the shelves contents a bit . Every room should have a bit of black . I think this will add some interest and a little elegance for the room . That's all I would do here .

That's a nice idea too 'lefty47'

Thank you all for your opinions, and suggestions too! Lib McC asked about the wall color; it is a creamy, pale tan which we do like a lot with the white trim. Donna Dixon, the cabinets on the opposite end of the room are under the dry bar; there are only two, and the staircase there has white trim as well. abbyjean, I think streamlining the shelves to show more white is a good idea too. A couple of you mentioned lowering the mantle. How could we do that, as it is on brick brackets that are mortared into the brick face? Again, thank you everyone for your kindly comments!

IMHO, the mantle looks fine as it is.

update the mantel design.. and lower it .. if you can.

I agree with BSB - lower mantel, and add a large square painting over it.

I think i would make the mantle match your lovely timber floor, and i like the suggestion of lower it , look lovely , you have a gorgeous home!

I agree with JudyG, I would leave the brick as is but replace the fireplace screen. It is a focal point, it would be better if it reflected the shape of the opening and was not too shiny.

I wouldn't paint the bricks but agree the mantel could be beefier! Get ruthless with your book collection and thin them out. The shelves will look much better with 1/3 books, 1/3 decor items, and 1/3 open space plus no fake plants on top. Replace the brass peacock cover with a black FP screen and update the tools and kindling bucket with black heat-proof spray paint. The capiz lamp is very 80's (my mom had one) so I'd replace it with an updated one. Looks like the space is very beige with no special accent color. If you select one, add it to the back of the bookcase shelves. You might beef up the shelves with some trim applied to the front edges and consider adding some LED lighting to the interiors.

I would sail the fake greens out the door ;)

As stated by others- paint the mantle brick brackets, get rid of greens, change out fireplace screen (can find on clearance at target - I have even seen them at goodwill (new ones). get rid of brass bucket. Eliminate books, use decor, lay some books flat. Also- decor on mantel could be improved. Remember to decorate in odd numbers or if you like symmetrical, go that route. I like the white built in.... Good choice!

Agree with thinning books, laying some sideways, and a different screen.

Painted brick is one of my favorites. You should do it! It will tie everything together.

I agree, lower the mantle and add a large colorful painting over the fireplace. then I would suggest to paint the brick a dark beige cream color for contrast with the white shelving on both sides. If you paint the brick white in my opinion you won't have pop to the room.

I truly appreciate Everyone taking the time to vote and comment! That's a great suggestion, LB Interiors, about painting only the mantle brackets white; one we had not thought of at all. On a side note, we will work on the books, accents and greenery; "sail it out the door," lol, Margo C.

Love the pics posted above by decoenthusiast...they are fresh and modern. I would leave the color of the brick unless you bring in color else where like the back of the shelves. Also, if I can make a couple of other suggestions, I recently read in a high end designer magazine that fake plants are a no, no. Consider editing the books shelves, with less books - study the pics above by decoenthusiast. Also someone said to replace the mantle and fireplace screen. Those are good suggestions. They are dating your room a bit.

I think it looks great.
What I would change is the fireplace screen. (I slipped a sample in that appears to have copper or brass and nickel.)
Plus, it's always nice to have a large mantel over the fireplace And keeping the mantel white would match the built-ins.
Perhaps what bothers you is the floor stain isn't the same color family as the brick. Maybe there's an area rug that can merge the two or soften the contrast. The red boarder of the current rug is closer to the flooring color family. Maybe a plain area rug color would make it less busy.

Leave bricks alone..I would do a stain grain mantel ,paint back of cabinets and change out fire screen

Agree with keeping brick and widening mantle- get rid of fake greenery. I am going down to throw mine away now, too. Who are we kidding...yuck- so 1990! Not dissing you- my house is full of them!

Just painted my White brick greys and taupes, and beige. please don't paint the brick white......

here is a pic that I think would be lovely for your fireplace. your mantel is a little small, you should try something like this.