I am not a pro by any means but if you want to leave the red brick id probably do a lighter mantle (white oak?) to make it pop a bit more and replace Paneling/shelves on either side with beefier built in shelving/ cabinets. A more budget friendly option would be to just paint the paneling white to match your trim and replace the shelves with beefier shelving in either white (to match wall behind) or wood that matches new mantle. Lastly id spray paint the fireplace surround if it’s not in budget replace. I used a heat resistant matte black spray paint on mine and thought it turned out nice.

I don’t love that particular brick. It almost looks dirty. Since it’s indoors,painting would be a breeze and last a long time. I would paint it white, pull out the brass insert, and get a nice decorative screen. Or paint it black - pretty dramatic.

I think the brick is fine. Right now it looks heavy and dark against the white/blue shelving and the plywood floors, but once your wood floors are in, it should work. I'd wait until your floors and furniture is in to change anything. You may not need to.

I would replace/paint the surround, get a lighter wood/or paint the mantle and paint the blue the same as the wall color. Having those horizontal shelves on both sides and the heavy dark mantle and the brick make the ceiling feel low and the room dark. Can you remove every other shelve and do the opposite on the other side or add some vertical interest?

It does sort of weigh the room down a bit. First I would definitely paint the mantle white, there is just not enough contrast with the color of the mantle now and the brick for it to stand out. I would trim out the end of the built ins so that does not have to be a crazy elaborate trim, but I would extend the trim over the brick 4 to 6 inches. And this might be a bit wild for you, but I would cover the brick on the front of the hearth, either with the same slate that the hearth has some painted concrete tiles. or plain smooth plaster or stucco but not done so smooth and perfect that it looks like you dry walled over it. If you are open to covering some of the brick and only need to have some exposed, I would consider replacing the mantle with one that goes the full length and doing wood or the stucco/plaster look above it. The rest can be fixed with some accessorizing.

Maybe the brick could use a washing, but I like the wood mantle and would not change it. I would paint the backs of the cases a dark gray or another dark color.

First thing I would do is get rid of the orange bucket...

But seriously, here are some ideas. I did notice that the mantel was warped, so it needs to be replaced. What I have done here is actually not much work but can tone down the brick and make it less overwhelming.

The blue walls are making everything look strange. Panting the shelves neutral ivory, changing the mantle to a pine or lighter wood and spray painting the firebox surround will help. Lastly, if none of that works, you can always paint or shmear the brick (I.e. leave some exposed to make it look more interesting). After your new floor is installed, it will be easier to get color ideas from the pros. And consider covering the long brick hearth even if you don’t paint the fireplace brick.

Why is everyone in love with brass cabinet pulls and light fixtures for kitchen, but brass around the fireplace is ugly and needs to be painted or replaced? Just clean everything and get you new floors in then see how it looks. I like the red brick too

Rachann61: Today’s brass kitchen fixtures are brushed brass (more like really old faucets from a long time ago). It’s shiny brass that is unpopular now. Wait 35 years and shiny brass will come back, but in some other form. That’s why many people suggest spray painting brass fire boxes.

My son and his wife had this same dilemma. They did Sheetrock over the top 1/3 of the brick on up to the ceiling. Be sure to put in electrical behind the rock so you can hang a TV or for lighting. Then they whitewashed the remaining brick and hearth which took away the heaviness. They then redesigned the shelves a little and put cabinet doors on the bottom shelves to add some grounding and stable feel. The whitewash ended up awesome! Unfortunately I don’t have pics. Here is a link to Bob Vila on whitewashing brick https://www.bobvila.com/articles/how-to-whitewash-brick/

Post pics of of what you end up with!

Would you consider a German Smear look on your fireplace. The brick would still show thru at least partially. Here is an example.