I love your fireplace as is. The arched opening is unique and very pretty (and very custom looking).

I would say no mantel if you are adding a television (it will just be in the way and the TV will have to be mounted too high).

This is my personal preference, but I agree with Brenda, most TVs mounted on mantels and fireplaces are mounted too high. If I were you, I would put it to the side at a comfortable viewing level. As far as remodeling the fireplace, you can white wash the brick or cover it with tile, but painting or white washing is going to be your most affordable option. I would not change the fireplace too much, they can be very tricky, and old brick fireplaces can add value to your home.

Ibitonti,

You have many many options here! The white wash is a great idea.
If you were interested in a mantel, you could pick a short mantel or a custom mantel. It is very common to mount a television above a mantel - it appears as though you have sufficient space to place furniture at a comfortable distance. As a fireplace is often the focal point of the room, and so is the television, it makes sense to mount the television, almost creating an over mantel.

A fireplace can really set the mood and style of a room, and you are very fortunate to have one in your basement! Have fun with it!

I like the arch opening, too. One thing to consider is your ceiling height. We had a flat screen mounted over the FP in one house and it did fine, but in a previous house it felt warm over the FP. Not sure if it was the gas FP or the lower ceilings...

BTW, painted brick is so pretty. How about a soft grey to contrast the white walls?

You could lighten the brick, will brighten the room. Shows a mantle too

This will darken the room. But, you can keep it light with light painted walls and accessories. Add color in a rug and a few accessories and maybe seimi-sheer woven linen type drapes. Your room does not have all this natural light and high ceilings.

Another

what did you decide to do ibitonti?

I, too, would like to encourage you to keep this fireplace. It has character but I see it as a team player.

I would like to start a discussion on burning with a TV above a mantel.

We remove our TV for every winter power outage because of the heat flowing up and around the mantel onto the TV. We have vent-less natural gas.

For romantic evenings, we open the damper.

Our TV is 10 years old and I would like to stop worrying about it.

mcs0430. Your fireplace looks so nice . Good job!

ibitonti --- what did you decide to do with your fireplace?