Can you please post more pics, further back and from different view?

Is this what is happening to the left of the fireplace?

"The brick matches the exterior (which is quite pretty) but unfortunately it clashes with most of my design plans."

I read statements like this a lot in these forums lately. This is a more or less rhetorical question and I am not picking on you individually, but whatever happened to making the design plans work with the biggest existing fixed architectural element instead of changing it to match your design plans? People now want to change their fireplace to match the sofa that they will probably replace after seven years...it's become the tail wagging the dog.

That's correct. The right side will look the same once the other wall structures are removed.

Janie, unfortunately I have a small home so I'm not able to step back further. But this is a view from the other side. This is the view as you enter the home. The dining room is open on the left side (which we only use as an office or lego table lol), so we are closing it off to become and office/bedroom, and reconfiguring the kitchen on the other side.

We considered removing the side hearths completely, but felt this would not have enough delineation between the two sides of the home.

We are also filling in the step down section of the floor.

Also the wall that you see on the right side of the second picture is being removed. The space between the hearth and wall feels too narrow and we'd like an open view of the mountains as you walk in.

@AZ Girl no suggestions but I love your Frank Lloyd Wright Garden Sprite!

Palimpsest, I hear what you are saying.

I like the MCM look (and great eye KW on the statue!), but it's really just not where my heart is. I lived in New Orleans many years and fell in love with a more european/french style. Obviously this doesn't really work in AZ or with MCD decor. But this will be my final home, so I want to wake up every morning and look around smiling, and not worry about resale, etc.

But I absolutely agree with you as well. I originally had plans to do a more MCM remodel, but in the end, it just wasn't "me" and would also require me to replace a lot of my furniture that has happy memories. :)

Any possibility of removing it? We had a long and skinny kitchen and a long and skinny living room, separated by a fireplace wall that was 2 ft thick. It was a nice fireplace but just in the wrong spot. We removed the fireplace,patched the floor, patched the ceiling, etc. Our ceilings are 20 ft high. We installed a new fireplace on the opposite wall. The two rooms are now one, and seem so much larger than the actual square footage that was added. If you are going to redo the floors, this would be the time to remove the fireplace, so the hardwood guy could patch the gap.

I don't think they necessarily exclude each other. I had primarily mid century furniture in an intact 1838 double-fireplace Greek Revival LR, and my current 1965 brutal-modernist house now has my parents traditional furniture mixed in. I don't think it's necessary to change architecture to go with the furniture. Integrity of each element is enough.

Thanks for your suggestion Jean. I actually really love the fireplace but I never understood the giant hearth on the sides. My designer and I brainstormed different ideas for it, but in the end we through we could make it more symmetrical and use it for art work or books or something. But I would love the creative minds on houzz to offer ideas I may not have thought of.

I tried to find the original floorplans or designs with the city (it was built in the 70s), but unfortunately nobody has a record of them. I would love to see how this hearth was originally intended to be used/styled. We bought the home a couple of years ago and the prior owner(s) remodeled over the years. So I'm not sure what is original to the plans and what is new.

I would investigate the possibility of tiling the whole thing with a large format tile -- hearth and all. Or cover it with something (like plaster?) that gives it a solid, uniform surface.

You may want to consider steel panels. You can do a lot with them in a wide variety of finishes and patterns.

Since you are redoing the floor, I’d take advantage of removing the hearth, as it’s so bulky. If that’s something you are open to, choices are endless. Your designer can then provide options re: style/finish and I would head towards a light and airy feel.

In design below, it would be a burning fireplace and obviously low.

You drywall it for a minimalist look.

I think the raised hearth in general was used to elevate the firebox visually: it would seem awfully low because of the raised entry for one, and also since it's a see-through firebox, they wanted you to see more through it.

The extra width I think, was partly a design decision but I actually like the open raised display toward the entry. It also creates a visual "base" for the whole thing to sit on since it is so big overall.

There are so many options for covering that fireplace if that is what you choose to do rather than trying to paint it or a lime wash.

Tile would work nicely and the colour choices are endless.

fireplace to ceiling - Google Search · More Info

This one with contrasting grout looks very nice with white walls etc.

fireplace to ceiling - Google Search · More Info

Hard to tell but I think this is just painted drywall. A simple solution for sure.

fireplace to ceiling - Google Search · More Info

This could be applied stone veneer if you like the look of stone more than your current brick.

fireplace to ceiling - Google Search · More Info

This gives a concrete look. Quite modern.

fireplace covered in plaster - Google Search · More Info

Tongue and groove or shiplap - this one is done in a chevon with what looks like lime washed brick on the lower area. Maybe its stone...

fireplace covered in tongue and groove - Google Search · More Info

Go looking at a slab yard and see if anything jumps out at you - these next two pictures are gorgeous.

fireplace covered in quartz - Google Search · More Info

I love the look of this one. This may be a soapstone but whatever it is - stunning. Although I don't care for the orangey wood tones flanking it.

fireplace covered in quartz - Google Search · More Info

Thank you everyone for your suggestions, I’ll post “after” pictures once everything is completed