I watched an HGTV episode recently where they placed several layers of compound right over the brick; sanding and smoothing in between coats until they achieved the desired surface. They then built a surround with mulitple layers of MDF and built up a molding. Inside the surround they laid out a light colored stone... something like a flagstone. On either side they built white open shelving to house home theater equipment. Sounds a little like what you want. Now... I'm a HUGE fan of glass tile but once you do it... you're kind of married to it due to expense. The beauty of this "spackle" treatment... is you can change out the color, making it an accent wall or blend it in with the existing cabinetry giving it a real built in look. The episode was pretty cool because the chiseled out the stone to create a thick deep enough groove into which they laid tubing through which they ran the all the wires for the home theater equipment. So many ideas out there.....

I LOVE it and I hope you didn't fill it in because it's amazing. We have a similar sunken fireplace (though not as cool....a former owner re-did the fireplace to make it "tuscan" probably in the late 90s). It is carpeted, but the plan at the moment is to remove the carpet and add a small seatback around the outside, for comfort, visual, and safety reasons. I'd be interested in seeing the final results of what you did end up doing!

Probably not, Margaret, but try turning the rug anyway with the sectional front legs on the rug. My last photo is showing the rug parallel to fireplace…it just looks right to me (on my monitor) The two turquoise chairs are filling the area where part of the sectional is and the arrangement gives you the chance to add two chairs opposite. I think something in a pale wood of your consoles would look very nice…maybe add a couple of pillows to the sectional? Love this Thibaut fabric in your scheme. It’s from etsy.com.

I would find one or two large pieces of art for that wall. Then fill out the seating as calidesign suggests, so that people can sit facing one another -- be sure that the rug is large enough to encompass the whole seating area, and you might try to pick up some colors from your art to break up all the neutrals a bit. You could even make your second couch a bit colorful, with the art above it, so that the color and warmth is integrated into the whole space.