I think it would be helpful to see the whole sitting room . The fireplace is quite a staement and depending on your style something that nneds to work with that . For my style I would drywall the bottom part to close off those niches , then add a new mantel or strip that one down to the bare wood and just leave the brick above painted to match the walls but i like contemporary so I need to see the whole space.

I would not paint the brick. I would paint the mantle a matte brown or strip the current paint off it and stain.

White wash it and get a new natural-colored beam for the mantle. Then change out the painted drywall color for something lighter and more neutral. You can still keep your country/farmhouse furniture, but it will help update the look. Some inspo photos:

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I really like your brick. I would change the wall color to something softer like one of the colors in the brick and paint the mantle.

I like the colours in the brick and find the rug complements them. I agree with houssaon about the mantel. I'd paint the walls a warm off-white or cream and I think that would complement the green wainscotting. (The mudroom trim colour looks perfect for the walls.) I think that would make the brick stand out more than the current colour. The current yellow is interesting but I'm not sure it's doing much for the brick. Of course, this is my impression from your pictures. My monitor might not be rendering all the colours accurately.

I should mention that I'm not interested in changing wall colours.

I also find your brick gorgeous-all the fireplace, actually-I like the propotions, the niches, the mantle, the everything.

There is brick and there is brick. I wouldn't touch yours.

No, I wouldn't touch it. I'd play with styling it with my most favorite things, art, plants, books etc, and I'd have time of my life with it.

Looks like a great house, in many respects, from what I can see-I'd preserve that greatness in details that exist already, and dance with it. It'd be a cool dance.

I would paint them in a New York minute. I've done three myself and love the results. I'd use a creamy tone.

I would first address the strong green on your walls. It has taken over the room instead of being a backdrop for your furnishings. It may turn out that the brick doesn't require any attention other than stripping the mantel of the paint.

If, however, you then want to do something with the brick, you have options. See below.

I'm usually a fan of painted brick, but I really like the brick on your fireplace and especially like that it wraps around into the mudroom. I know you don't want to change the wall colors, but I think the reason you're unhappy with the brick is because the wall colors don't complement or enhance it. A warmish white or cream on the walls would make a huge difference, and I envision a white mantle with "antiqued" glazing. I'm surprised it's an 80s house because what I can see of your nice hardwood flooring seems that it's older.

Walls can be painted a tad softer color( personally 'd still go with deeper color, rather than white..need to think about my "why" more) -or, as the OP is there and doesn't want to touch the walls and it might be that monitors change our feel of color a bit, especially as we don't see the whole room, but in reality work well and make her heart sing-that punchier interesting yellow-green can be repeated more in accessories, fabrics, even plant leaves, and will already get to be more of a cool background just by means of that repetition.

The brick is subtle in color. I would leave it as is. I would paint the mantle dark brown so it looks more like wood, and paint all the bright yellow parts of your wall in a warm white. The white would work well with your green trim details and the brick, and instantly update and lighten the look of your home.

I like that, Beverly. Nice thought to share, especially since tone is often misread online.

Thanks all. Giving me some things to think about. The house itself is 150 year old stone (to address Jay06's comment above). The house is cold and very dark in the winter and we like warm colours with depth that can still brighten a room and yet keep the spirit of the creaky old place. The yellow is very polarizing amongst our friends and family. People either love it or hate it. Shades of both the yellow and green are in the brick - so the brick just kind of looks like a washed-out version of the walls to me sometimes. I can see the point that many of you raised about trying a different wall colour.

Perhaps the thing to do - like some of you suggested - is to change the mantle to brown.

The fireplace was put in by the previous owner - she broke up a gorgeous, huge kitchen by putting the fireplace/wall in the middle of it. Since it's an old house, we don't have closets or a finished basement so this room is used greatly by the kids and their stuff - hence the bins of lego and toys and craft supplies in the fireplace cubbies.

Above the mantle are three brick "shelves" that make me cringe. They go from low on one side to high on the other. The middle one is positioned just "perfectly" so that I can't put a large mirror or picture there.

Ah, yes, I see those little 'shelves' now. A mason could help you with those.

I like the brick and it goes well with your rug. It would also be gorgeous painted, which will look better with your wall colors. But then, I fear the rug will be the outlier instead of the walls.

Your home looks wonderful!

Kate, I understand the reason some of your friends “hate” the yellow and green while others “love” them. Those colors clash with my complexion, making me look washed out and sickly. When we bought our current house the kitchen, walls, cabinets, and trim were all green. My DIL loved it, saying, “It’s my kitchen!”. I spent a miserable winter working in that kitchen, depressed and lacking energy. We have since remodeled our kitchen with new cabinets and have installed the old green cabinets in DIL’s new kitchen! We are both happy! She has green and I don’t! Win/ win!

With the added info I think you are right to paint the fireplace...if the whole place feels dreary and wrong...a nice cover of satin finish paint would lighten up space and feel fresh and clean...sort of reflect the limited light on the room....a pale shade of the painted trim above would soften the look or a real white would be best for brightening up the space...the beauty of the rustic brick look is popular now in otherwise sleek modern environments...in your space you have enough rustic...and the fireplace is a pretty big presence and an influence on the dark mood of the room

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What type of lighting do you have in the room? Incandescent, fluorescent, LED....?

Your fireplace is lovely and I would never paint over that beautiful brick. If you paint/whitewash the brick a white or off-white color, I don't think you will be happy with the look unless you paint the walls also. Just try to imagine what a big, white fireplace would look like with your wall colors. Your wall colors don't seem really "warm" to me.I think a warm tan would look better and pull everything together. I know you don't want to paint them, but it's the wall colors that clash with everything we can see in that room.

If this space were mine I would paint (white wash) the brick. Mantle - a nice natural finish that blends with floor. Fill those arches with chopped wood (possibly white birch) for looks. Paint walls a light warm white. Love your space :)

Have you thought of testing out the look of a white/light fireplace with a sheet or a dropcloth? You can also paint enough poster boards to cover the fireplace and tape them to the brick. Always a good idea to test out a potentially irreversible change like this.

I like your brick. I agree with stripping the mantle or perhaps using a gel stain over the current paint to darken it and give it more of a wood grain appearance. Perhaps you could have a carpenter construct wood doors to fit the cubbies, which would then give you closed storage. A mason could easily remove the offending brick ledges, cut down the brick, and re-insert them so they're flush with the rest. That would allow for a large piece of artwork to brighten up and break up some of the brick. The age and feel of your home makes me think a beautiful framed landscape would be wonderful hung above the mantel.

I'm part of Team Don't Paint the Brick. What I would paint are the walls in a much warmer color that harmonizes with the bricks--mustard gold, not the harsh yellow green you have. Or a very warm ivory. Wood tones and art work add warmth just as much as paint. The green is . . . yikes--no connection to rug, floors, bricks.

I would probably not paint the brick, though I might whitewash it for a softer look. I'd paint the mantel black or charcoal and restyle it. You can still style around those protruding bricks without an oddly shaped mirror and all that little stuff lined up along the mantel.

I like the dark mantel that Grover shows. I would not paint the brick and would definitely paint the walls to remove the yellow and green. What a beautiful home! If you change the wall color and hate it, you can always resurrect the yellow/green. If you paint the brick there is no going back.

Laughing groveraxle because all those little bits are either things the kids gave me, pottery they made or their toys. I gave up on putting "nice" stuff up there for the time being. The mirror goes on a sideboard but a screw is loose and that's the only place I had to store it. Joys of living in a house full of kids and no closets or storage space. Thanks for the marked-up pics though.

You have some true masonry work with beautiful brick. I love the little arches but your wall paint not so much from what I see on my screen. I think it would a shame and a pain to paint. Neither a thin white wash or a thick bright white on rhe bricks would brighten those rooms as much as repainting the walls. If the 3 other walls were lighter shades they would bounce more light on the bricks to make them appear lighter too. When I painted the wood stained wainscot in our breakfast nook to match our white trim, it brightened our windowless kitchen trenmendously. I understand you don't want to paint the walls, but that would brighten things more. Keeping the yellow in a lighter shade and the wainscot and trim in a warm white would work with the brick and your furnishing. I think a white shade from the brick throughout would unify and brighten the rooms.
I could see covering all the brick in the mudroom with the beadboard like the wainscot and adding shelves and hooks. You could build a storage bench from stock cabinets. And paint it all the creamy color of your trimwork. I totally get the toy decor from the days when our kids were little. My sanity saver was a large wicker laundry basket to toss things in when wanted to enjoy a more grown up space after bedtime. Now that you dont need those gorgeous niches for wood, they are great toy storage space. A wood crate or metal wash tub could be more decorative hidden storage. (I have no stones to throw for plastic tubs. My baby has decorated our dining room with a couple filled with stuff going back to his dorm.)
Also the brick will look lighter if the mantel is returned to a darker wood stain.

1970s. that is 1970s brick.

for what it's worth. I really like it, whatever era...

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