Can you load a picture of the whole wall?

Sometimes, we make a mistake. And that mistake costs us money. Hopefully, you will get some helpful suggestions, but this looks like a tough fix. Best of luck.

Pictures of the entire wall and the whole room would help. Is the fireplace a DIY design mistake or did a professional help you with this? Based on the photo, I'm more concerned about how the part that goes over the soffit looks than the other issues.

What did you have planned for either side of the fireplace?

Not a pro ... but I like your fireplace. I feel you just need to get the rest of the room finished and furniture in. Look how nice it looks with what Paul F. has done.

Aesthetic wise, I can’t say how it’ll look with the room finished and with your furnishings/decor, but I really do like how it looks now. That’s very nice-looking brick.

I’m mainly chiming in to say I went from a house with a hearth like yours to a house with one barely off the floor — I miss the taller one so much. I like to sit on a hearth when a fire is going, and now it’s not do-able. It was also more convenient to start and attend to the fire, to not have to kneel all the time (floor stayed cleaner, too).

But, it needs to make you happy, not me. I’d just discuss with your contractor for ideas.

Would like to see updates! Good luck.

If you add dark decor next to the firebox that would help…even if it’s a dark pillow on one side and a dark vase or box on the other side to hold firewood or fire starters. Then if you add a dark wood mantle above, that should make the whole firebox area seem more in scale. I do like the higher hearth, brings better viewing for the fire and with a smaller box, you’re not looking up into the flue. Play with decorating and perhaps a mantle…light a fire and enjoy!

It looks wonky now, but once the room is filled and decorated you might feel very differently about it. I know you are mid reno - but get the buckets and microwave out of there, put some furniture in the room, tape up a big square of paper over the fireplace to mock up artwork or TV that you will hang there, and then see how you feel.

It needs to be integrated to the room. Right now it’s all by itself. Paul’s mock-up shows you how easily it will feel “right” once it’s not the only thing your eyes can see.

Post a full shot of the whole room. Do you have furniture? A rug? You will get more help when the “full wall brick fireplace” is seen in context.

I think it’s nice. It needs some company.

You will ❤️LOVE❤️ your raised hearth when you bend over to add logs to the firebox and when you clean out the ashes. Having to bend way down to toss a heavy log into a burning fire is awkward. Opening and closing the flue with a low fireplace is really awkward! It’s also an easier perch than hearths that are closer to the ground. I’ve perched on my hearth with my back to the fire many a time after coming inside on a cold day. WRT the brick, it needs to be seen in context with the entire finished room. I would keep it as is and finish the room, then decide whether or not you want to change the brick. Limewashing and painting are easy, inexpensive changes, but you can’t undo them.

The hearth is not that high, picture a beautiful fire you can see over coffee table, or taking a seat after shoveling snow. All the opinions on leaning and kneeling are important. Furnishing the room will help you see it. It’s unique, and you’ll enjoy it❤️

Thanks folks! Here are a couple more photos from the room from different angles. Sorry there's not a clear, large shot of the whole space. I'm taking screenshots from videos we have - I'll try to get a better photo next time we're there. It was helpful to see comments about the room being unfinished and everything looking extra off because of that! And that there are definitely benefits to the height, from a functional perspective.

That big beam lying on the floor in front is similar to the mantle we're putting up, although ours will be a little smaller (6x6 inches, not 8x8).

I'm leaning towards not doing anything for now, getting furniture in place, then seeing what it's like. I appreciate the thoughts!!

I really like it and you may too once the space is furnished.

Since I'm leaning towards focusing on decorating, I'd love any ideas on good directions to go with that!

I'm planning on getting the Ikea Uppland 3-seater with this sage green cover from Comfort Works. I'd like to find a rug and 2 armchairs, and I'm leaning towards decorating with colors in the red/green/pink zone (although the armchairs could certainly be something like leather or pleather - I could see that looking great with the couch and fireplace!). The rug is the trickiest one for me to figure out. Maybe something with green and faded pink/red in it to tie the fireplace and couch together? Open to going other directions too, including different colors. I was hoping to stay away from blues, although they might look really good next to the brick.

The exterior of our house is painted Red Barn by Sherwin Williams, so you'll be able to see glimpses of that color from the interior (that's the same brick cladding the foundation).

Any thoughts on good armchair or rug options? Or color schemes? Thank you for any thoughts!!

I think your colors look great! I would focus on the rug first, to let it set a color pallette for the room. Advice I've seen here before is that if you are ordering online, order a small one first as it's much easier to package and return a 3x5 rug than an 8x10. I think the pinky reds are a good starting point and see what you love.

Thank you Jenny - great idea to order a small rug first!

Love the whole house!! Finding a rug you love will give you a good starting point.

Agree that starting with a rug is important. It will help move you to the colors that take up a lot of real estate in the floor. If you like greens/reds/pinks, look for a rug with two or all three. The rug will also make a style statement - modern, casual, traditional - so that will help you as well.

And do as Jenny suggested. Buy the smaller size FIRST.

I just ordered for myself (Christmas to myself) and received a red/green/pink pillow made from a Turkish kilim. Great colors.

It's hard to imagine that someone, the GC or the mason, didn't try to guide you in these decisions before it turned into this folly. Short of tearing it out, IMO you can paint or limewash the brick to minimize its presence on the room. I would not add a mantle.