Poor son. Someone "updated" the fireplace already and did a horrid job. The floors are beautiful. I would not want to ruin the banister like they did the fireplace, with white paint, but the room does need lightening. The walls are already white and any color will only darken the room. Maybe he will need to invest in a lot of light fixtures. Is the ceiling white?

If you google "faux fireplace" there's lots of ideas on how to use it without an actual firebox, if that's what you're thinking. Here is a Candice Olson design where she used a mirror and candles, but I think it would be even better with an antique surround.

You could try dyebrick.com. It is brick/masonry stain. Try on a sample of similar color brick first, though; it only comes off with a powerwash! Assuming of course that you want to keep it....you could also remove the brick and replace with something different. We have done that before, it was very messy but not difficult. If you decide to do that, do it Before you move furniture into the room...

Another consideration is convenient seating directed toward tv viewing..close enough ..and with tv mounted low enough to view without having to lay “back” and lookup...to view...sometimes a challenge in a big...tall room...never mind when there are multiple windows allowing a lot of sun shining in your eyes for daytime viewing