Not sure how you translate Country French and Modern.

Hi Beverly, I think our ideal look would be more clean, more in line with the last pic, but we would like to try to keep the current mantel, so not sure we could get exactly that look. Perhaps we just want more contemporary, not necessarily modern? I am not sure of the terminology.

I don't see French Country Modern anywhere in that. I'd paint the whole thing the same color as the walls so it blends in.

IMO that whole surround is out of proportion and micro cemnt not really French country in my head . Waht else is going into this space you do not design a room one element at a time. so post pics of all the other things then we have context. Is the rest of your home French country ? I am all for a guest room to be different but a library maybe not so much.

BPMBA, yes i think i just want it to blend. i will try painting all one color. thank you!

Maureen, thank you for sharing your fireplace pic. that is really lovely! I think you are right about the brass. i will paint it black and hope it will subdue the look more.

Patricia, that is great advice! this space used to be a formal living room that we just converted to a guest room. But we plan to use it as a library most of the time. We also are planning a wall of built-ins to serve as storage/wardrobes. For furniture, we will put a convertible daybed in here, a table/chair or accent chair set, a rug, also plan to do some linen curtains. here is my working plan. Would love your thoughts!

The mantle and surround in French Blue, and the plaster in Terra Cotta. Similar to this mockup.

Thanks for the like. Lots of inspos online using those colors as search terms. Lots of French Blues and Terracotta tones. Go with yellow walls. Color is very contemporary.

I've updated a couple of fireplaces. One had fluting on the side columns. I simply removed the wood, turned it around and reinstalled it with the flat back facing outward. Had to sand and paint the back, of course. I also have reworked the mantle shelf (top portion) by removing portions and/or adding stock trim pieces. You have to be a bit of a diyer but you can also hire a carpenter to help you make modifications. Good luck!

Wow the micro cement looks great, such an improvement. Can you share the material/ source? Looks like a pretty neutral fireplace to me- not thrilling but not offensive.

tracefloyd, thank you for the inspo pics and ideas! I love the french blue and will try incoporating that color in.

Norwood, thank you! that sounds like some very doable options. we may revisit and do some tweaking later with a carpenter. we did a quick fix for now so we could have the room ready for our guests coming next week.

Hallett, thank you! I found several videos online on microcement. You can check out Drew Scott of Lone fox on youtube. He covered an entire bathroom with a waterproof microcement product called Meoded concretta. For mine, i didn't need it to be waterproof, so I just used Ardex feather finish which many people use to get concrete countertop looks. Here is one link I referenced while doing my project from Young House Love (https://www.younghouselove.com/trying-our-hand-at-ardex-concrete-counters/).

Thank you for the suggestions everyone! I went ahead and did a white plaster paint over everything. We are happy with it for now but may paint it later if we get tired of the look but wanted to get it done before guests arrive for the holidays. Now onto styling! Thank you all!!