First you need to be sure this is veneer I have ahuge FP and chimney but the stone is actaully part of the house construction so no stuck on stone at all. I guess the asy anwswer would be paint it and be preapred to do so every once in awhile

Thanks @Patricia Colwell Consulting - it is indeed veneer, we had another chimney when we moved in that was cracking and it would have been very expensive to repair, so we demo'd it and added a gas fireplace in its place.

If you can change it, and do decide to change it, I would match the stone that you have added elsewhere because two different rustic stones will be busier than just one.

I would be more concerned about the amount of what looks like soot around the top of the chimney. That indicates creosote buildup or that it's not drawing well.

Tha'ts actual rock. You would have to demo half the house to redo the chimney. It likely supports some joists. And no, it doesn't "date" the house. It's a great part of the original character of the house that has not been obliterated. The new stone is what is the issue. It was the wrong choice, and clashes.

It looks dirty - maybe power wash it and see how it looks?

I have a lot of the same fake 70s lava rock on a 28 foot chimney inside and out, and based on extensive searching over two years, there is no way to make it look different/great. I have seen one decent update where she limewashed it on the exterior with Romabio's Riposo Beige, but the whole house was 70s contemporary so it fit the vibe. You can't german schmear it because it looks like cornflakes floating in milk. The texture is un-disguisable. If yours is veneer, then my vote is definitely to bite the bullet and remove it, then redo it with whatever appropriate material you have already started to use around the property, whether that is the wall rock, or the brick topping the wall, or wrapping it in the house siding or trim material. Repeat your materials, don't add more.

There are lots of options for your stone.

You can LIMEWASH THE STONE so the variations in color still show through the limewash.

You can German Mortar Schmear the stone which not only covers the stone but fills in the voids between the stones. You wipe off the mortar to reveal some of the stone color.

You can fill the mortar lines between the stones to get a more unique appearance.

You can fill in the mortar lines and then smear mortar over all the stones to get a plastered appearance.

@ShadyWillowFarm the top is dirty, the rest is the actual shade/texture of the veneer. I tried powerwashing it last year and didn't see much of a change.

You had 2 chimeys / Was the other just exactly the same as this one . I still think this is not veneer but you know I guess .It would aslo be really helpful to see the whole house I agree the stacked stone was a poor choice .

@Patricia Colwell Consulting the other was the exact same as this one, and when we demo'd it we found that the backs of these stones were flat and mortared onto cmu with metal lathe. Yeah I don't love the stacked stone but there's so much of it around the house, it would be costly to replace all of it.

@BeverlyFLADeziner thank you for sharing ideas -- I'm kind of partial to the one below in terms of blending the texture and just making it white, vs attempting to re-veneer it, which would be a costly undertaking. Is this just mortared and painted over?

Can we see the rest of the house?

Now that we see the rest of the house, I'd paint out the rock white or gray to match the roof and ignore it.

@BeverlyFLADeziner can you share more of your thinking? Do you think the rest of the house doesn't warrant highlighting the chimney? I'm trying to find a designer to help us give the entry a bit of a facelift, not sure if that would change the chimney.

You have invested a huge amount into the ledgestone used to terrace your front yard. It will have a limited life span compared to a more classic stone veneer.

I don't see any reason to draw attention to the chimney. I just stained it the color of the roof to not draw any attention to it.

Darkened the front door also

The front steps done with pavers on the risers is visually pretty jarring. They should have been flagstone or plain concrete steps IMO.

Beautiful house and grounds. This is where less is more. Paint or plaster the chimney white so just blends in.. For interest in the entry way can try: some colorful plantings or pots of flowers changing with the seasons: a pretty welcome bench also with pots of flowers; or a garden sculpture. However, I do not like the overpowering mailbox out front. Hides the entry and spoils the balance. A simple lamppost with plantings and move a simple mail box near the driveway.

Never one to cheer on painting stone/brick anywhere ever but you have way too many types of stone/brick going on. Neutralizing the chimney to disappear into the house will eliminate one anyway.

Thank you all - my working plan right now is to remove the flagstone in the landing and stones around the trees, spend some time revamping and cleaning up the landscaping, creating more groupings, adding color, and revisiting our tree selection and placement (we have a lot of deciduous, and want to bring more evergreen in), likely stucco and paint the chimney (might try limewashing but I don't know if that does much for the very prominent and unique texture and shape of the stones), and we'll be demoing the front column (too bulky) and redoing the walkway in the next few months (likely widening it, changing the material, and building two smaller columns for symmetry, spacing them out so they don't block the visual of the entry so much).

Please post the finished product even if a year away.