Since the rest of your room has a neutral palette, I would suggest sticking to the theme- however, since the mantle is bold in size, you should go darker in color to make it appear more proportionate to the rest of the fireplace. You have beautiful brick tiles and a great wall color- I would suggest going with a dark brown (almost black). Another thing you could do that would really modernize your fireplace is to whitewash the bricks. This is a timeless, classic look that will allow your room to remain bright and beautiful. A great area rug and a mirror over the fireplace will complete the look!

I hope this helps- feel free to ask any questions; I am happy to help!

Yours in Houzzing,

Andie P., ASID
Interior Designer
Purehome.com

Agreed, an expresso color for the mantel would be nice.

Agreed I'd go with a dark brown too

I do not think you will be happy with a dark brown. I would go with a mid-tone as in your darker stones.

The mantle shelf is very large and looming, compared to what is underneath it.

When it is in your budget, I would recommend legs, or at least corbels for your mantle. That would better visually support the large shelf.

I was thinking of the behr color called mocha accent...what about that? Also, we would like to add corbels now... Any suggestions on size or style? The mantel is 93 long, 10 high and 6 deep at the bottom.

Mocha Accent definitely looks more like what cdr is suggesting. It's always easier to go lighter first and then if that doesn't suit you, you could try the dark brown.

Definitely espresso.

If this is it, I'd go darker brown.

http://www.homedepot.com/p/BEHR-Premium-Plus-Ultra-8-oz-UL160-21-Mocha-Latte-Interior-Exterior-Paint-Sample-UL160-21/202180298/CJRedirect?cm_mmc=CJ-_-500871-_-10368321&AID=10368321&PID=500871&SID=-8466030610764757468&ci_src=9324560&ci_sku=202180298&cj=true

http://www.homedepot.com/p/BEHR-Premium-Plus-8-oz-720D-5-Mocha-Accent-Interior-Exterior-Paint-Sample-720D-5PP/202179632#.UqjSo-CVjFI

IMO, the mantel is too big; it looks unfininished as is. Consider trimming out the sides with wide boards, sized to the mantle.

I would paint it your woodwork color.

I suggest a rich charcoal for the mantle with a touch of brown to go with the tones of your fireplace.
http://www.benjaminmoore.com/en-us/paint-color/onyx
I agree with iamjudy about the mantle feeling unfinished, if you extended the fireplace out to meet where the mantle ends or trim out the fireplace with more woodwork in the same color as the mantle, it will help a lot.

It is not that much paint, so I would try a mid-tone brown to pick put the tones in the stone. You can always paint it darker if you want. Something like this:

Corbels: It is a large shelf, so I would go with beefy corbels.
[houzz=]

Dark brown or black for sure. You'll be happy trust me. Look at the black in the opening for the fire. It will offset it nicely up top. Drop the behr paint and get a quality line from Benjamin Moore or sherwin Williams. Their are affordable options from both, just ask the associates

Thanks for all the input! We have been really happy with the behr paint though I'm sure BM and SW are great too.

Another vote for dark brown ...

We took our mantel off and had it stripped to reveal the pine wood. The natural wood grain looks great with the brick painted a buttercream color. When you decide how you want your mantel- have fun decorating (: !

To each their own. Just a word of advice though, do not always rely on what behr claims to be paint and primer in one. It works well in an interior setting but on the exterior of your home it can leave you with costly damage. I've seen entire sides of sheds rot out so bad that you could push your hand through them because they were not properly primed.

Have used the Behr plus primer for interior and loved it. Used BM for outside. IMO, the worst paint on earth is Glidden. After using some Marth Stwewart Glidden colors I found it was thin and impossible to keep line-free.

As Cdrdesign says, corbels. Look at Pure Home's Chastain Park pic above to see how well they work placed to either side of the fireplace.