Yes you could paint white and the hearth also.

I think a whitewash would make it special on your whitish wall, unless you will paint the walls too in a cobyradt color.

Whitewashing will keep some of the original color to blend with the hearth, without painting the hearth.

It depends your preference.

Some different finishes below

Why don’t you let the new owners decide how they want to decorate? The fireplace might be the one of their dreams if the brick is original. I am befuddled by sellers who waste time, energy, and money trying to decorate to an unknown buyer’s taste. Concentrate on cleaning, cleaning, cleaning. We rented a storage unit. We boxed up half the contents of all the closets-buyers are looking for space. We stored extra furniture-you know,that bench that is a little too big for the entry hall. Clean out the linen closet so buyers can see the house isn’t too small for all their sheets, towels, blankets. Minimize your kitchen overflow. I boxed half the glassware and dishes and utensils so my cabinets looked spacious and neat. Remember, they are buying the house, not your collections-you are taking everything with you, so it will need to be packed at some point. When it is time to move, half your things are already packed!

I agree to leave it and let the buyers decide. The housing market is so hot right now it won’t matter,

IMO bestto leave it alone .I do agree with the whole decluttering and also the biggest thing IMO is to clean and then clean again. Fix any items that need fixing and let the next owner decide decor.

Another vote to leave it alone. Spend your time and money decluttering your house, especially your bedrooms and kitchen. Someone else might love it.

Thanks, everyone! Very helpful! Would you still use that painting on top? I was just trying it on there but in my mind, the colors would’ve match more once I painted the fireplace.

Buying and selling today has changed.

Most buyers are wanting ready to move in 'updated' homes. Very few buyers want fixer uppers, which is why staging and updating will continue to rise. Fresh, clean, uncluttered homes sell for more money and in less time. And still there might be buyer sacrifices.

Staging and updating has proven to be more successful for many reasons.

We are in a different world today. Sellers have more competition with updated homes vs needs work. Know your area of homes for sale. Do not over update, if homes are similar to yours. You can have an edge by some updating if... your area is doing it and update will be financially worth it at the sale. It depends on your finances and what will be updated. Many updates balance out or come close to the financial reward at the sale.

Some updating has an edge. It's the nature of us that we are taken in by our visual emotions when viewing a home. Within 10 seconds walking into a home we get a 1st impression.

Home location, size, layout, condition and price are at the forefront. Each buyer has different priorities and tough decisions for those needs. Most of the time there are sacrifices.

Adding to that, people do not have time, energy or finances to do the work, even if it is their best intentions. The DIYers benefit financially for the work to be done but still need the time. People are trying to keep jobs, deal with education of children and have budgets for necessities.

For you, the simplest solution is... I think the brick is fine. It's a nice color, in great condition. It can work really well if your decor blends with it to make it work. You only need a few things to make it a purposeful canvas. Its about presenting the big picture as a whole (emotional vision) with making it put together and aesthetically pleasing. It will show buyers the possibility of what they see. You take your decor with you.

Add the brick color and lighter tones of that color, in accessories or art. And some brighter current accent 'contrast' colors in fabrics and/or accessories. You just need a few. You might have some already. Accessories can be very inexpensive. Thrift stores or Marketplace finds.

Painting is the least expensive update. If you haven't painted in a long time, I would start there. I would choose a light neutral gray (the trend that is waning a bit), buyers are still liking it, but it will also be great with your Art. You could also choose a neutral warm white, warm cream, or warm beige.? Your art is great if some of the colors in it are repeated in the room in accessories, along with some brick color tones. It can all come together. Adding brighter contrast colors in accessories will be more interesting. What accessory items, vases, bowls, glassware, art, pillows etc. do you have in contrast colors currently?

Late on this discussion but my vote would be keep the brick bare (I’m diggin it!) but upgrade the mantle.

I think that would make a great return for little $

NO! not if you're selling! if it was ugly beige 90s brick, I'd say yes, but what you have here is a wonderful mid century feature. it's not dated, it's vintage and very trendy right now. for some people a fireplace like that is coveted and would love for it to be as original as possible. let the buyers decide whether or not they want to paint.

if you want to up the appeal to buyers, stage it with mid century or Scandinavian type furniture. choose light colors if you want to brighten the space.

These are the colors from your Art that you can work with for staging and light colors for wall painting.

LB - That’s awesome!! And I’m assuming the homeowner could use lighter or darker shades of those colors?

urchinsushi thank you! Yes any tones.

Thank you! I do have items that match and others that complement the gray, the blue, and the silver. I’m pretty partial to those cool colors so I’ve repeated them in a few areas of the house. I’ll concentrate on decluttering and fixing whatever needs to be fixed in the home. Thanks again. I really appreciate all the input!! 💙

You bought the house with that fireplace. Someone else will too.

A painted fireplace would be a turnoff for me as a potential buyer. Leave it.