What else do you have going on in this room, as far as draperies, any art work, a carpet, chair cushions, your furniture? Also, what style do you like; country, traditional, contemporary? Also, if you care to, you can post over on the "Discussions" side and get more input. (You can post pictures there as well when you are asking for help, in fact, you will probably get more responses!)

There is not any wainscoting below the chair rail and to be honest, I'm not sure what the color on the walls is currently. It's quite dark and dreary and was painted by previous homeowners. I actually matched the the trim paint and painted below the chair rail a few months ago in an effort just to brighten the space up until we decided what we wanted to do with the room. We do have a formal living room on the other side of the foyer but there is not another room that is off of the dining room. There is the hallway and kitchen on other side and that opens to the breakfast nook and family room. The wall color throughout our entire house is beige. Again, I don't know the exact color as it's how it was when we bought the house. This room does get a lot of natural daylight in the morning but the afternoon sun hits the back of our house and the dining room doesn't receive any of the sun then. However, we do live in the South and get a lot of sunny, clear days. We did look at quite a few reds last night and trying to determine one that would look good. I love blue and was really trying to lean that way but I couldn't find one that I liked with the rug. Every one I looked at was either too bright or too subdued and couldn't seem to find a middle ground. Someone had mentioned BM Pomegranate which seems like it may be a good fit for the room. We looked at Rustic Red and Sun-dried tomato by SW and they seemed to blend in well.

Sounds like a fireplace re-do might be a longer-term fix. In the meantime, I'd paint the mantle a dark brown, a similar colour to your end tables. It's not trim and shouldn't be white. It pops out too much in the white colour. Another idea that doesn't involve any ripping-out is to go right over the existing mantle using a mantle slipcover in wood. Here's one of many how-to's on the internet. If you stained your brick as well, you could have a whole new look. https://www.fwmadebycarli.com/2011/01/making-of-slip-covered-mantel.html

Yes, arrangement looks much better!! If you are anxious to paint, you could roll out the Natural Wicker, as you are going to need a primer anyway over that deep paint. Won't hurt to use is as basically a primer. I can't really recommend a paint until you are finished with the room. Your next step will be chairs, lamps, end tables, lamps (I would get a nesting coffee table or oval), art and drapes (which are too short).