Hi! I have a few ideas for you :)

1) have you considered white washing the fireplace? I think that my look really nice.

If you did end up white washing it, you could do some awesome wallpaper in the back of the shelves. Here are a few suggestions:

The particular wallpaper I am suggesting is easily removable, so the installation process isn't complicated.

http://www.deciture.com/shop/decor/7/zee-tempaper-wallpaper/

http://www.deciture.com/shop/decor/7/honeycomb-tempaper-wallpaper/

If you want to go light & bright white washing would be nice. Using some mirrored surfaces behind the shelves would add some glamour. If that's too much for you pick a beautiful paint color to pop out of the background of the shelving. Editing & adding a few interesting decorative pieces on the shelves will give it a whole new look!

We love your idea of using stone! It's a relatively easy process and makes a world of a difference. You could even add a stone hearth to really update the fireplace.

perhaps changing the gold surround and installing a larger mantle might make the difference.

Thank you all for your advice, but I was thinking of something more contemporary like the photo attached.

The gold surround needs to go.

If you want a more contemporary look, paint the trim a deep coffee color. Don't bother lowering the cabinets - not worth the $$$, DO switch out the cabinet doors for more modern style.

Glass shelves will look great - splurge on the thicker ones - 1/2 inch. The sides of the shelves need more substantial trim.

I assume you've got a plan for a new couch?

Personally, I would not start off whitewashing nor painting the fireplace. I would paint the back of the bookshelves the same color as the shelves themselves. If you can't change the gold fireplace screen yet, pain it a matte black. I would change the art above your fireplace to something more round in shape. You have a lot of square corners in the room.

It is a pretty room with tons of potential.

You could also paint the bottom of your built-ins antique black and leave the top an antiqued white or off white.

We did our fp with Dutch Quality Stone. We love it. The one we got is cypress dry stack but they have several different styles

The least expensive and quickest fixt that would make a big change is to pain the brick white. Then the whold wall becomes one big element, instead of three. You won't believe how much bigger the room will appear!

In looking at your "love the look" photo, you might consider this approach: 1) Leaving the color of the hearth tile, do a complementary tile treatment over the brick, using tiles that sort of mimic a wood grain, and do the apparent brick bit below the hearth in the same material, paying attention to the look of how the joints in new tile look from above, below and with those on the hearth. This would give you the rather smooth look as in your photo. (horizontal or vertical orientation, take your pick). 2) Leave off any mantel. 3) Paint the backs of the shelving section a darker tone that goes with the tile. 4) Replace the shelves with the glass as you want, but leave off the lower one on the right. Just do the matching shelf lines side to side. 5) Replace the bottom doors with a simpler style, with hidden hinges. If you're going to paint the area, use some wood putty to fill in the old hinge holes. They'll never show once painted. I'm not sure where your TV magic boxes are stashed, but I did framed glass doors under our TV so you can use the remote through the glass without having the dang doors hanging open all the time. Means the right hand bottom side needs to be rather neatish, but no problem with pretty organizing baskets inside for the movies, etc. 6) Spray the existing fireplace surround with fireproof paint. 7) Consider seeing if your existing fan has a retrofit kit available for the light component. On some, you can keep the fan, and switch out the four hanging down lights for a smoother bowl shape. 8) Switch out the log look on the gas insert for a linear flame one.

Thank you all for your recommendations. Still not sure...just paint the brick, get rid of the counter depth cabinets on bottom and call it a day or tear out the old bookcase/cabinets and start a new? The TV can go above fireplace, but does not have to. I will be getting rid of the gold fireplace surround. I will be removing the light fixture/fan. Everything in the room is going bye/bye.

Because the ceilings are only 8ft. I thought maybe going horizontal with the design would make it look better, but maybe not? I have attached another idea/photo.