That front Summer cover is fantastic and worth $$$. I wish I had it ,I had a beautiful one at my last 1890 home.The one I have now in my 1910 house isnt heavy steel. You are sure you dont want to open the chimney and line it and insert a gas log fireplace? Otherwise you can do an unvented gas fireplace. I am not a fan but according to the safety councils the new ones are fine.

You can purchase exact subway tiles to replace the burned ones.

Another plan , and I did it in my 1890 home to a 5 th non working fireplace , I had 4 open ones , is have the inside bricked nicely so its clean and secure and keep the beautiful cover in front.

This one doesnt have a cover but is vented.

You can see the cover propped at the side and the original coal basket and its vented as well. Good luck

We have a hearth that looks a lot like yours. I'm pretty sure it was painted at some point in its past. We use the fireplace, too, so the paint is has stood up well to use.

I like your cast iron fireplace cover. You can paint it, if you want. It might take a lot of coats for white, but doable. The firebox is losing mortar. If you cleaned it up, you'd want it repointed before you painted. In fact, you should have your chimney inspected because too much loose or missing mortar can be a structural issue.

We had to have our chimney repointed (not cheap, but then, the scaffolding to get to our very tall chimney cost more than the repointing) because enough mortar had fallen out that we were going to lose bricks next, then, we'd be in danger of the whole chimney coming down like a Jenga tower when one too many bricks fell out. We live in an area subject to period high winds, your mileage may vary.

OK it hasnt been cleaned in a gazillion years but - totally worth the effort I think to get it functioning. Everything looks to be intact and original. Not sure about the white tile, whether that is some kind of heat damage or just baked on crud that can be removed Have you gotten an estimate to clean and restore? Not rocket science, but very labor intensive. Could we see a close up of the wood? Looks to be a quality hard wood of some sort (walnut?) and certainly the mantle is of a nice simple design, not overly frilly or victorian, that would work with a variety of decorating styles. I would definitely want to refinish and keep it intact as part of the house and its history.

I'd try some oven cleaner on those tile.

The cast iron fireplace cover, mantel, and overmantel are absolutely beautiful! I'm surprised that the tile surround and hearth are so utilitarian, but it appears to be original. If not original, it would be exciting to add a decorative tile.

Oh yeah everything around the fireplace is gorgeous—sorry I should’ve mentioned this. I’m more curious as to how to clean all the junk inside…but, also where did it come from?

From what I gather, I could pick up all the debris and potentially scrub the brick??

Debbie, who would one typically call for a quote to clean? We’d likely keep it non-functional as we don’t use fireplaces. Thank you!!!

@M many chimney sweep companies do repair as well as cleaning. You will need to let your fingers do the walking and ask what services they offer. Use a black paint with a sheen to paint the cover… please keep it black. We had a brick layer clean and rebrick the inside of our nonusable fireplace. There needs to be a lintel in there if you want it closed off. A chimney inspection is first though to make sure that there no major weaknesses .

As far as the subway tile ours is original to 1910 . Yours as well is very common original tile. Our mantels were beautiful til the stupid PO painted them. I have found they aren’t strippable due to the wood grain so I am stuck with white. You have a gem . You can also use battery operated tiny copper wire lights to make your newly restored fireplace beautiful . lots of ideas on pinterest

https://www.google.com/search?q=tiny+lights+in+your+fireplace&rlz=1CDGOYI_enUS676US676&hl=en-US&prmd=sivxn&sxsrf=AOaemvJSjEr8VAxLCqvYrTQTacTx88oZfA:1642030106016&source=lnms&tbm=isch&sa=X&ved=2ahUKEwjwo7fprq31AhWLoHIEHR4HAFYQ_AUoAnoECAIQAg&biw=414&bih=716&dpr=2

Look up chimney and fireplace cleaners - aka chimney sweeps. The black is soot and/or creosote from the burning of wood or whatever - needs to be cleaned periodically because it is combustible and can cause chimney fire besides looking a mess. No need to use a fireplace to enjoy it. Some people just decorate it - pictures / art pieces on the mantle and/or plants or pottery display inside the firebox. If you celebrate Christmas you can't beat a fireplace for giving a place that homey holiday feel!