Looking for chairs to go with this table and chest - table has gold metal base. Looking for chairs to dress it down just a little. Comfy, too. For a beach house residence. Elegant but beachy if that is at all possible. The chairs below aren’t comfortable and come only in a cream fabric. Looking for some color. Thanks!

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

Not a designer. Based on examples here on Houzz, it looks like she can use any chair. Even her current chairs.

You have a gorgeous space! It looks like you'd have a bunch of options for adding in some color. You could do any one of these or a combination of them: 1. Add a colorful or single-colored rug to space 2. Add wall art 3. Add chairs in a single color or mix in just a few chairs in color or have all non-matching color chairs 4. Add some tall plants for greenery by your window 5. add a pop of color as your table decoration Or you can go with neutrals like this one: