Have you ever thought of painting your fireplace? I did my own fireplace and I posted it on my blog. There are a few options out there so I made it informative. It was super easy. I wish I done it years ago. Here is a link that might be useful: Fireplace Decorating

There's so much you can do with your fireplace now, the finishes seem to be endless. I would look at the veneers, too, or any finish you want, really. I think real brick might look nice, but your room is so light, am wondering if the paint finish a bit more distressed to reveal some of the undertones of the brick might look nice. But veneers are great, would change your entire room.

Well, I've painted the bricks and area above the shelf. It really helped lighten up the corner area. I'm not sure if I will paint the shelf or leave as is. Lesson learned: the area above the shelf was wood and at first I used a satin paint to match the trim. I felt there was too much shine from the ceiling lights, so I painted over with a matte finish and like it much better. No more glare. I understand where Fori is coming from. I still don't love the fireplace. While painting the bricks I had covered the surround tile to protect them. And I really liked the look of the painted brick w the tile hidden. However, when I pulled off the protective cover to reveal the surround, I felt the same sense of "ugh" I had before painting. Not only is the fireplace dated, but the materials are not cohesive. And painting the brick doesn't change how odd I think the surround looks. That said, I'm glad I painted as it is less dark/dreary. Also, when we are finally able to tear down and replace with a more modern design, the new fireplace will be in the same general light color. It's nice to be able to visualize how the lighter color plays out as we decorate around the area. Any advice on the shelf? Paint the same color as trim? Or try to stain darker--like an espresso? Unfortunately, I can't easily remove to replace the shelf. Sanding would be challenging. Also, there is a groove on the top of the shelf--not sure why it is there (??).

All good suggestions. Thank you everyone. So we have had many discussions and have made some progress and now we are leaning towards the following. We are going to "cap" the ceiling at the triangle, just above the second beams. So we eliminate the high triangle, thus regulating the room temp better and allowing for lighting install. We will drop the fan lower, keep it centered, and add recessed lights on either side of the fan (front and back) on the flat/new ceiling. Add sconces above the mantle (wiring behind the new drywall). Rather than paint the brick and while we have scaffolding here anyway, we think we will box in the brick from new flat ceiling to the mantle (not with shiplap) and run trim down either side. We will then frame out a new mantle down each side and across the brick. We will keep the brick as is around the fireplace and on the hearth (I don't like the idea of floor to ceiling painted white brick and felt that since we use the fireplace we are better keeping natural brick so it won't show soot and dirt), but put a new piece of stone in for the hearth. Smooth the outdated plaster walls (since plasterer has to come for the new ceiling). Paint the ceiling, the trim and fireplace walls/mantle white, and the walls a soft gray (Edgecomb BM). Cap the track lighting unless we decide down the road we need it. I'd also love to consider refacing the brick with stone veneer but maybe not this time around. So yes, our budget is blown but it seems to be a situation of go all in or don't half spend. Trying to resemble something like this but not with shiplap and with our brick not whitewashed: Thoughts/feedback? Good news is that my contractor knows us and works slowly so I can modify as we go if something doesn't look right. I toyed with keeping beams but they really aren't nice beams. We've also done away with the wood beam mantle but I think if we keep the look more robust and less delicate that we might be okay -- more thick/shaker than formal crown. Also adding trim to the supporting beams that connect wall to ceiling to make them look more "finished" - they look like planks or 2x4s now and I never realized they were actually beams until we just put the window in and broke into the wall. They are just above the windows and you probably can't tell from the previous photos. Any thoughts - would love to hear them. You've really turned me around on the shiplap - thank you!