I can't tell from the pictures how much of the black fireplace front is something that can be covered and how much is opening or vents. The windows are pretty close on either side - how much room do you have for the surround? It seems like one might overlap the windows - if the legs fit, there still is where something like where the Bordeaux flares out wider for the mantle. We did a very simple surround by facing it with remnants from our kitchen quartzite. We felt that the stone at the side had to cover at least 6" to not look too skimpy with the fireplace front. I think we ended up making it around 8".

I think the biggest problem is the shape of the hearth. The angles look awkward and hacked off. I'd replace the brick pattern tile with larger tiles or stone and let the front edge run all the way to the baseboard at the left and right. That would give you a larger hearth and a sleeker look.

Hi Houzz friends! 5 years later and I still don't know what to do with this odd fireplace hiding behind the Christmas decorations. It's odd... I've never seen a 2 sided fireplace. Do we close the one side? Would that look strange ending like that? I'm used to seeing a fireplace in the middle of the room... Also, we have to put an insert in there. We were thinking electric. We live in Florida, so it's more for a cozy look and feel... not necessarily for the heat. Do you have any favorite brands? Our house is casual. It's a combination of farm style with a little beach. Any suggestions would be greatly appreciated! Thank you so much!

Thank you again to everyone who is “brainstorming” with us. To reiterate, We don’t necessarily hate the floors, or the fireplace the challenge here is that they just do not complement one another. Either one in a room without the other could work. Following up on some of the comments painting the grout seems like a reasonable thing to try. I believe it would make the floor more consistent and something that we could then work with (wall colours and accents to tie it in). I’m including 3 optionss for grout paint colors aganst 2 different colors of tile. Area rugs would certainly help break up the flooring and make the space more cosy so following up on some of the suggestions we have a couple of options from crate and barrel in the following images. Lastly we have two paint colours that were suggested Blackfox for potentially painting the fireplace brick and steamed milk as a possibility for wall color. Thoughts?