Good idea w/the slate hearth - I don't know the yr/style of your home - but there are lots of great mantles at salvage yards - You need the measurements of your firebox opening, as well as length & width you would like - If the mantle is wood it's considered "combustible" by code & there are limitations as to how close the material can be to the firebox - Ck w/your local building dept to find out what they are. I think for the brick you have 3 choices 1. Paint it 2. Remove all the paint, exposing natural brick 3. Use either tile or stone slab to cover it up like this http://images.vrbo.com/vrbo/images/47340 Here's a thread w/lots of before & after pics http://images.google.com/imgres?imgurl=http://www.homebedazzle.com/images/beforeandafter/Q_L_Fireplace_reface_After.jpg&imgrefurl=http://www.homebedazzle.com/gallery.htm&h=307&w=461&sz=19&hl=en&start=40&sig2=DTixUb3RogcK7Pw1ZpIJHw&tbnid=kMmRwKSXB1mjxM:&tbnh=85&tbnw=128&ei=75SxR6idG53MggKrhZWmCQ&prev=/images%3Fq%3Dfireplace%2Bwith%2Bslate%2B%26start%3D21%26gbv%3D2%26ndsp%3D21%26hl%3Den%26sa%3DN I would make it a focal point - i think once you begin working on it you may change your mind good luck! Here is a link that might be useful: Salvaged mantles

Thanks to all your wonderful ideas and for giving me a new perspective on our bath tile. Parma, I had to look up "moorish" -- and you're right -- how cool! As much as I agree with the tans/browns idea to disguise the tile -- dainaadele, your photoshopping was awesome -- I think I've decided to go outside my comfort level and embrace the uniqueness of this tile (like someone here mentioned) vs. disguising it. Plus, after 12 years with a brown bathroom (we had tan walls and brown rugs and towels), we're ready for a change. I went to BM today and had help finding "sweet innocence", a grey/blue tone vs blue/grey. I just put a second coat of sample paint on and I'll see if I still like it tomorrow, but I think it's a keeper. The idea of making the grout a darker color still interests me, but I have no experience doing this. What product would I use? Is it hard to apply? Are the results on such old grout consistent? Would it hold up in the shower? Maybe I should leave the grout alone if I'm going with the lighter wall color, yes? Laurie, the darker blue/gray color on the left is Lowe's Valspar Woodlawn Silver Brook (5001-1B). It has a green undertone that I hadn't realized til I put it on the wall. I've never worked with grey paints before and boy are they tricky! I'll post pics when I'm done to get your consensus as to whether I pulled off a moorish, contemporary, warm, and fresh updated master bath! :)

Thanks so much!! Yes, I painted all of those. The vintage ones were either missing their paints, or the paints weren't useable, so I just kind of made it up with acrylics. I did each pair in the same color scheme, but mixed it up between the pairs. More so because I wasn't happy with it until the last set, than trying to be creative. LOL! That painting for the bathroom had that background drybrushed in the directions, but the whole thing looked a little flat when it was finished. I added a crackle medium to the whole surface, then stained it with a glaze. The whole thing took a few hours of painting each evening for a few weeks. I'm working on one now that's going to take months, if I'm lucky. Tacky or trite? I don't know, but I enjoy doing them. I have a high-stress career, and I find it very relaxing to just chill out and dabble in the paints. And (to paraphrase Magna) I'd rather have something tacky and trite that I did myself, than something ugly bought from the store. Pal, that's a wonderful display! A little too dark and brooding for my taste, but you've shown off the art and set the tone perfectly! I love the blonde girl with the black cat. It looks like Frank -my very black cat.

I think the problem with the mirror is that it's not exactly the right shape and size for that space; also, the color of the frame clashes a bit with the wall but also blends in so it's hard to see the details. Usually you would have a mirror like that above another piece of furniture, such as a dresser or table. A longer, full-length mirror or one of those large "leaning" mirrors would look better on that wall, or else the current mirror with a small table beneath it, depending on what else is on that wall already and what function you want the mirror to serve. Something else to think about: the "use what you have" decorator (Lauri Ward?) cautions against having a "roller coaster" -- things hung at different heights around a room. That is, she says the tops of similar objects, such as artwork, should all be aligned within a room.