What are your room dimensions now? Is that the stairway in the left lower corner? It looks like your room is very narrow....could we see a picture of the end of the room now that the wall has been taken out. As for painting the fireplace....not sure....it is stone so not sure how it would look but I would paint the gold colored fire screen black and the mantel also. I think that woul dress it up with your sage paint and white woodwork. Your fireplace looks like it has been smoking...I would check that out also. You could put your TV on the wall to the right of the fireplace with your chairs/sofa facing both tv/fireplace unless your room is too narrow.

Not sure on the dimensions. If you were standing and taking this picture, the stairs are to your right. This picture was taken at the foot of the stairs, front door is on the left. We just bought this house in the summer and have been remodeling room by room. We have used the fireplace and it does not smoke, so the other owners must have not opened the chute?? Not sure, but the fireplace works great.

The room is narrow, but not too narrow to put a sofa facing a tv next to the fireplace. The room is just awkward and confusing. I guess b/c the fireplace is not centered on that wall. And it's terribly hard to picture something nice at the moment... it's hard to get past the awful green and 2x4 unfinished wooden trim. I'll take some more pictures tonight though and post them tomorrow.

Up to date pictures would help so we can see the space you're actually working with. I find floor layouts and multiple pictures of the room to be helpful, but at least an updated picture would be important. Also, what is the style (exterior and interior) of your home?

Personally, I think your fireplace is fabulous and vintage. I am no expert on fireplaces, but I think cleaning the soot from the stone would make a big difference. I would then pick a paint color that complemented the stone and go from there.

To clarify: I mean pick a paint color for the wall that complements the stone. Personally, I would absolutely not paint that beautiful stone.

The fireplace is not awful, at least compared with everything else you need to do with the room. I would clean it up first (check the web for cleaning soot from stone face), paint the doors black as suggested above, and then do your carpeting and painting. Live with it while you renovate. You might see a solution different from painting it white. What did you have in mind when you suggested "start new"?

Pictures would be very helpful. Since the room is so narrow, and you might want a sofa to face the fireplace and a TV on the right, I would look at smaller-width pieces, not massive and overstuffed.

The house is a raised ranch, which has complications in and of itself b/c it makes it hard decorating wise - you walk into this tiny foyer with stairs going up and a main living area. Upstairs is the dining room, another living area, 3 bedrooms, and a bath. The double garage takes up a lot of space on the 1st floor too. Here is an outside picture of the house:

I don't think the FP is awful either, but in the old picture it's the surroundings that aren't great, not the FP. Can you post a new picture so we can see what you've done so far?

I'd leave the FP alone and change out the doors on it.

Yep, definitely will post new pics tomorrow. It's still a work in progress, but coming along.

I just want the room to look super sharp. My husband is very handy, but we both are terrible with interior design. If we have a picture to go off of, or any type of idea, he could probably do it. I just don't want a basic empty room w/ new paint. I want something that is different, something to be proud of.

I think the fireplace would look much better if you cleaned the stone and changed out the screen or painted the brass black it would look great. What is the mantle made of?

The mantle is made of concrete :( I have no idea how to make that look pretty!

You can have a wood mantle box built that would cover the concrete one. Maybe a light colored mantle to match your trim in the room?

I saw on HGTV where Sabrina Soto cleaned the fireplace soot with oven cleaner. It's worth a try.

I also agree about painting the brass insert. There is high heat spray paint that you can purchase. It would be a simple task.

It's a nice fireplace!

I guess I am just not a huge fan of it b/c it has a pink-ish tone to it. But I will take your all's word for it and finish the room 1st and see what I think of it when it is done. I will definitely paint the insert black too.

dawnp - oven cleaner?? That's worth a try!!

I would leave the fireplace and paint that paneling white or cream in a red hot minute. :)

There is a way to refinish concrete. I am buying a house in Flordia with concrete that was painted and it looks like tile! Google ways to paint concrete.

Excellent suggestions above!

Yes -- a vote to first paint all of the walls and woodwork in a soft creamy white or soft gray (look carefully at the stone and choose a tone from that)

Yes -- paint out the fireplace insert to simple black.

Then add shelving around the fireplace area.

Yes -- add a painted wood "box" around the mantel to create a larger wood mantel to match the walls. Google ideas for creating one ....

If you are looking for a Wow! factor, the fireplace has a certain Arts and Crafts potential with those brackets holding the mantel shelf.

Flank the fireplace with two substantial built-in looking bookcases about 3/4 the height of the fireplace. The stone does not look natural - is it concrete? I would tile it over with earth-toned tiles with a hand-glazed look, all but the brackets, the shelf, and the tiles on the flat surface of the hearth. If only the brackets are exposed, they'll look natural enough. Perhaps a couple of decorative tiles in there also. Or you could stucco over the stone.

Paint the firescreen dark bronze or black. A couple of sconces over the book shelves.

There should not be that much soot deposited over the opening. Either there was a bad one-time flare-up or there are chronic problems with a smoking chimney.

If I am understanding your original post, you tore down the wall on the right? How far does the room extend in that direction now? In other words, how far from center is the fireplace now? It looks centered in your original picture. Is the room more square now?

That will make a big difference when considering bookcases, etc. Looking forward to seeing updated pictures. Several views would be great, also include one taken from the end of the room where the fireplace is that shows the staircase.

Ok, here are the pictures. Sorry about the mess, my husband has crap everywhere! He also hasn't drywalled around the fireplace yet so it looks pretty bad! And you will see all the pretty light fixtures that the old owners put up (outside lighting fixtures!!). But at least you can get a better idea of the space we have to work with!

View of room from the stairs/front door:

Other side of stairs (front door is on the left, the 2 other doors are for a closet and garage, we still need to buy new doors btw):

Fireplace (and wall to the right knocked down):

Extended room after wall was taken down:

Another angle:

Hallway going back to a bathroom (on left):

More views:

Hope those help!

Another vote for creamy-white bookcases or shelving around the fireplace (plus adding some insulation first of course!) -- AND at the opposite end of the room. Plus a larger -- and more substantial mantel.

Yes -- do check for the problems with a smoking fireplace -- check to see that the chimmney has been checked and cleaned -- and that the height of the chimmney stack itself is indeed high enough (above the rise of the roofline) to carry off the smoke.

Any more suggestions of where tv and furniture should go? Husband wants tv and fireplace viewable from the sofa, but if we put the tv in the middle of the fireplace and window, the sofa would have to be on the opposite wall, and that pole is a bit in the way.

What about this sort of layout w/ bookshelves around tv (tv in the middle of fireplace and window on the right):

Looking at the last photo above -- the ideal place for the TV would be in a corner cabinet -- built across the left-hand corner of the fireplace -- between the large window and the fireplace. Then you could see the fireplace AND the TV.

In our one-and-only living area here -- our TV is in a cabinet across a corner (and in front of part of a window) -- and this arrangement works so well!

Then you could add shelving/storage/desk? to the inset area on the wall of the bathroom (5th photo) -- and then a small sectional and seating (maybe a couple of swivel-type chairs in front of the fireplace area itself)

That pole doesn't give you much wall space in front of the fireplace. How about putting your TV on the wall to the right of your fireplace and your couch on the wall opposite the TV (would be left of the pole)(other side of the doorway). You could have two small swivel chairs with table/lamp between, in front of the fireplace, to the right of the pole. On the wall going toward the bathroom, a built in desk, bookcase to give that wall height should work. A low bench/storage ottoman would look good under the front window.

Loranium,

If you would go to Photo and reduce your pictures by about 50%, I think it would help us to see them better. You do not have to re-post them, they will show up corrected here. Sorry to be a pain but they are hard to look at so large and I want you to get the help you're looking for!