photos from farther back and other walls will help. does the chimney go through the 2nd floor?

The stone on top is all wrong. It looks heavy and precarious. Dry wall that part. Then choose a nice stone or tile for the hearth.

before you replace your flooring, remove everything, piece by piece up to the firebox and mantel to see what the base of the firebox is sitting on.

you said it is not adhering anyway. Looks like some electrical wiring too. get it secured and safe. You can always address the top and surround when you settle on a style.

In the meantime, remove the mirror, it just adds to the visual clutter.

Valinta - Here is a picture from farther back. Chimney goes all the way up.
Kay - we actually like the stone! I feel it fits the contemporary style of the home. I have always wanted to grout it but I don’t think we will ever cover it up.
Lyn - I would like to maintain a contemporary (natural materials) style.
Thanks!!

We thought about wood at the bottom to balance the stone at the top

Sorry Lyn - I got your response and Kay’s mixed up!

The stone is quite busy, and since you like it I would choose a hearth material that is solid colour and very plain, so that the hearth does not compete with the stone for attention. Wood is too busy, especially in an eye-catching diagonal pattern.

I think the stone would look best if it were grouted with a light colour similar to the stone.

Your fireplace is bold, and I would remove the wall decor on either side, and also any plants, pots or candles. All these things are too small in proportion to the size of the fireplace. I'd also paint over the brass on the fireplace insert. and add one large rectangular piece of art work sitting on the mantle. The mirror is too busy.

Your gas insert fireplace is on an inside wall. I t is a B-Vent, meaning a vent pipe goes up through the ceiling.

There is no chimney; the stone is applied to try to mimic one. (Stand out side and look up to see how the vent ends. More of the stone up there? I doubt it.)

Who ever installed it should have investigated how to make it look authentic and failed.

Can you get more of the "stone"?

It’s a wood burning fireplace.

I shouldn't have said the stone is busy. The stone veneer itself is not busy, but the dark grout makes each stone stand out, a bit too much in my opinion. That's why I suggested similar-coloured grout to blend in with the stone.

Stone veneer seldom looks like a fireplace actually made out of stone blocks. But I like the colour of the stones themselves on this one, and the OP says she does too.

Thanks for clarifying oncape! There is actually stone around the vent pipe coming out the roof as well!

I don’t think it’s a veneer, at partim, but I have wanted to grout it for awhile. It’s a bit job though

You can cover the front in the same stone or similar that you having in the fireplace

Then you have a wood burning insert. It still has a verticle pipe on an inside wall. And from your recent photo, the stone is applied. Just be careful and do it right. Should a spark start a fire on all the surrounding wood, your insurance company would not reimburse your loss.

Luckily we have all the info on the fireplace from when it was built. I will double check it for sure

What about something like this?

You are replacing wood floors with carpet???? Why ?

No, the carpeting is in the hallway and bedrooms, you can see it at the step down before the wooden floors.

Lose the mirror. It actually makes my head hurt

i like the natural stone. id try to get the same to surround the hearth. the tile on the hearth floor needs to be s darker color. id try dark charcoal or black to match the fireplace insert. theres too much going on around the hearth competing with the stone and making the whole area look too busy. Id remove sll the little pics on the wall on either side. id remove everything from the mantel and would probably just lay a small linear piece of driftwood in center of mantlepiece. id remove everything from the hearth and place log ends cut to size in the open cubby next to insert

That is a smart idea. And find the permit that was pulled when it was constructed. If you can't go down to your town's building department. It will be on file there. For your sake, I hope there was a permit pulled. Please, follow through on this...if I am correct, that build is dangerous.

Thanks everyone! Laughing at how strongly everyone feels about the mirror and decor. I think budget and time will be my biggest limiting factor. We will be doing the work ourselves too.

"so need to address the base of the hearth for sure" @LeAnn Kitchen,

👋something like this for the base?

Contact us for unique works👋

If you don't have the budget currently to find stone to match what's currently been used, I would do something inexpensive on the face of the hearth - similar to what you posted in your last comment - for now.

HOWEVER, the color needs to work with the colors in the stones. The color that you have used in your last photo is a taupe - your stone is not.

You can then save money + search for matching stone - and eventually replace your "temporary" fix.