Adding hardware to cabinets and want to change lights. Bought a few items.

Broad tips for choosing a paint:

1) If you can, prime first, before choosing a color. The existing wall color will reflect onto you paint samples, and also the way you perceive a color is affected by the color that surrounds it (lots of optical illusions play on this).

2) Rather than painting sample colors directly on walls, paint large samples on foam board that you can move around the room. If you can't prime first, it's important to leave a white border around the sample color so that your perception of the color isn't "colored" by being next to the green of your walls.

3) Maybe you are past this stage already, but before I get to the large sample stage, I start with lots and lots of small paint chips that I move around the room and look at at different times of day. I pare them down at each viewing. It helps me weed out the clear losers before investing the money and effort in large samples.

4) Paint colors will look different on different walls and at different times of day. They just will. Figure out what you can live with. What room is it most important look best? What time of day? Or would you rather have it look pretty good everywhere/all the time but not ever "Wow, that's amazing!"

modernize how?

forget colors right now.

what is your furniture? that big brown sofa?

rug? the blue/white one? (rug is fine, I'd urge you to look at other sofas though)

plans for the fireplace?

if you want to leave it as is, give it another coat and do the mortar joints too. I'd also get a diff wood mantle that goes across. should look like this

or like this. (knock off the corbels and install a mantle like this on the brick.

you could opt to do a solid stone hearth. maybe marble, or a black basalt, slate or granite.

I realize this stone is diff from your brick (but you could easily tile over that brick w/anything you like), but the sides are like yours. this is simple open shelving with easy custom trim work to hide the gaps. White mantle w/some cool art, nice furnishings, plants, accessories.

**If you want to modernize, I'd start w/this fireplace and build back from there.

here's a bunch of pics w/diff options so you can see what's available to you (a lot of good ideas that will certainly 'moderize' that room of yours. ) **

You can tile directly over brick if you like. or you can do a cement overlay or even a roman plaster.

heres a brick fireplace that got an overlay, (you can smooth this out and paint it. see pic 2) and benches.

i photoshopped it on your photo

here's the one that is painted. you can easily do the built ins and shelving

this just shows how to use the billy bookcases (which they also used in the photo above)

Here's a close up of that Billy Bookcase Ikea hack. for your brick, take some marble tiles and do the surround, add a mantle surround, do some MDF lap panels to the ceiling, and paint.

you could possibly do something like this (at least on the top portion of the brick,,,this is electric)

and on the firebox surround, you could tile right over the brick (or you could fir it all out and tile on that. diff ways to do it)

Here's how you cover the top portion of the brick with trim work molding, shiplap, wood planks, whatever you like.

here's how you 'fir' the top so you can put wood trim/molding,mdf, cement board, etc, above

I love this one too. vertical shiplap material, firebox stone surround, tiled hearth (which you can do) and accessories. This doesn't have to cost a lot. (and it isn't overly difficult to DIY) I think Jasmine Roth did this one

This one is pretty cool. You could easily copy all of this. paint the brick,

and do this vertical white tongue and groove, built-ins on the sides w/sconces.

something really simple. try black on the brick. white walls, and more modern furniture.

found some style design pics that have a brick (or similar) fireplace just like yours, and how the layout is done around it.

are you in to Boho or modern farmhouse? here's a few "how to's"

https://www.decorilla.com/online-decorating/ba-boho-interior-design/

https://www.thehappyhousie.com/modern-boho-farmhouse-spring-decorating-home-tour/

layered rugs, chair in the corner, floating shelves, thick mantle,

I like both of these too. same layout as your living room. notice the floating shelves, similar rug, (but not that big brown sofa like yours!)

cute coffee table, and black brick fireplace w/white walls.

you could have the sofa face the fireplace. easy open shelving bookcases flank the brick fireplace. everything in white. bring in color w/accessories.

gray walls, lighter, neutral furniture, half built-ins

another boho. notice the plants, and facing sofas.

close up of built-ins on the side of the brick.

identical fireplace.

read the link on how she styles it

https://emilyaclark.com/2019/11/mantel-styling-big-branches-mini-lamps.html

Thanks so much! So many great ideas. Getting rid of the sofa and just started priming the fireplace.
Do you think all white could work?
Really appreciate it.

Thanks so much.

Paint colors are going to look different on each wall. There is a decorator who generally tries to her walls and ceiling a uniform, flat-looking white and she sometimes has to use different shades of white on different walls in order for them to look the same. This is just a function of where the light is coming in, which direction and so forth.

i've shown you many, many pictures. of course white would work.

you haven't said which of those styles in the pictures you like. or what else you'd like to do in the room.

do you view all of the pictures in both of my comments? any of those you like best?

I like these if you want to keep the white brick. the shelving on the sides are paramount to the overall look

I would do a diff mantle, something slighting darker than what you currently have.

Can you do something like this built ins? I gave you a bunch of examples and a tutorial you can try.

get a black firebox insert (or paint yours) This is a white mantle, but the reclaimed wood one would also work.

(look at how this picture is style w/color and textures. this is how you get away w/doing a plain white wall,,,,,color through other items in the room)

if you can't do built ins, then get some simple white shelves (or paint some raw wood ones) and install them like this:

You could do the black hearth if you want to go w/black contrast (see further down) (get a solid piece cut to fit, or, take a look at large Basalt tiles and cut those to place on the hearth. you should only need 2 or 3 of them (18" or 24" size tile)

I also like this black. what do you think about all white walls, your rug, a darker brick color, and these other elements?

what if you did the white, darker wood mantle, and a black accent wall (and do the others in white)

(diff stone, ) But what do you think of this look?

I think you have a similar bench. just get two sofas that face each other, some art for the mantle,

two match chests or cabinets for the black wall (you could even do the angled black shiplap if you like) some lights, accessories.

or, try painting the brick black (or charcoal, navy, gray,) , white walls

(do a better wood mantle that goes all the way across)

do black brick on the bottom part, and a white MDF top portion that covers the brick (like the other pics I posted earlier)

Then you could decorate like either of these

Or, if you rather would have the white brick, here's plenty of design options. just pick one of these photos you like and copy everything!

very white, boho type of look.

Exact same fireplace. get this type of wood mantle (doesn't have to be quite this thick, but just make it look like this) Style like any of these pictures that I've posted.

White brick? try these items in the room
Furniture options.

How about a nice deep navy or forest green accent wall w/the white brick?

Here's a nice blue like BM Gentlemans Gray or Newburge Green

Pair it w/a leather sofa. (Try Article Sven Sofa) looks great w/the white brick and thicker mantle!

another blue wall shot

Here's your room size w/the forest green (imagine your white brick all the way up)

This is modernized. Love this

I really love a few of the pictures. The dark wall looks so good with the white fireplace. I really appreciate your help. Thanks

These are the ones I really like.

Check off-white paint colors for walls

Silver Satin BM

American White BM