You dont appear to have much lighting in your room. I would be adding a lot more lighting, before I decided to paint or white wash that fireplace. Without more lighting, the fireplace will still look dark and dreary, even if you did paint it. Also the lighting you have in the dining area, has very yellow bulbs. You might want to change them to led daylight type bulbs, it will make a huge difference in that area Those light bulbs, should be around 3500k also.

Add to and upgrade your current lighting first. LED's in the 3500-4000K range should make a huge difference. You need task and accent lighting, not just ambient (ceiling) lights.

thanks! this is a little seating area in the kitchen. ( not an actual /room/ I can change the recessed lights to brighter/higher lumens-- the walls are SW compatible cream , which is a yellow paint.

What a great fireplace. Love it!

Add better lighting and consider a new wall paint color before doing anything more.

I agree with the others…better lighting, keep the stone, and perhaps select a rug that works better with the stone.

I like your fireplace too…I’d somehow add lighting to your seating area…floor lamp?

Maybe include another picture of whats to the right.

Another vote to leave the stone natural and focus on other changes, especially if you’re ever planning to sell. It’s really pretty.

Your rug is gorgeous! Is it vintage?

Don't add 4000k on lighting that's for kitchen lighting I like the fireplace to and a green floor lighting or Lighting on both sides of bed a floor lamp for the seating area and you cannot install Spotlight on the fireplace at the ceiling or cam lights

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A mineral wash like Romabio.

this home is in a resort area- the painter estimated for a less than 4K ft house it would be 15KI for entire home to be taken from yellow to a better neutral walls OMG! ( paying more because of area's- cost of labor) I will stay with walls. I am not at this house now- so can't add any pics that I hadn't taken some time ago.

What type of lamps would you buy? This is like a wide corridor- to kitchen.

Your fireplace is lovely as is. I would not paint or whitewash it. Focus on other items to change in that room.

You have some beautiful antique pieces but they are dark and are situated in a dark location in your home. What about keeping the stone as is - it's a valuable part of the house - and keeping the rug which is gorgeous. Then trade out the two wooden side chairs for something much lighter in appearance. This chair has amazing reviews on Wayfair and it comes in both white and cream but you could find a couple of chairs that might please you more.

Look for the Warlick 24.8" wide arm chair. However, if new chairs are not an option, consider putting some woven white/cream pillows on each chair. Something textural would be really nice.

Then you might consider replacing the mantle with a lighter wood -- or even easier, keep the sculptural pieces and the larger vertical art piece (currently on the mantle) but rest the art piece up against a larger piece of plywood painted white or cream - or cover a piece of plywood with a light linen - so this acts like a border and makes the art work stand out against the stone.

If there's a wall outlet near the right side of the fireplace then a floor lamp near the right chair would be very helpful. As a matter of fact, I just ordered a lamp from Lamps Plus and it's on the way. I haven't seen it yet but it is supposed to give off a lot of light and I think it would fit well in your room unless you think it might be too tall (72"). Here's the lamp:

Possini Euro-Design Meridian #2T918 - four bulbs with availability of lighting one or more for varied amount of light.

You have lovely things but I can see how you'd like the feel of more light in that part of your home and maybe some of these suggestions would work for you.

thanks to all of you that have suggested other options. You have made me rethink my desire for brighter- lighting and lighter chairs. Without doing this online- I would not have thought of either as being the remedy! thank you (each contributor) for your help!

When I enlarge the photo it looks like real stone. You should be able to tell by touch. If you really want to know, take a small screwdriver and make a tiny scratch one piece on the side of the FP near the floor (or try to chip it).

Either way, I would lighten the area with light, upholstered furniture and a lighter rug.

I would recommend a German smear technique for your fireplace which is simply applying mortar to the surface of the stone. Doing so will fill in some of the gaps and chinks and will transform the color from dark to significantly lighter. Here is an example.

To me, it’s all about the vibe you want in the house. Do you want a light, fresh fresh, sunny look or a dark, cozy, rustic mood? Personally, I value light above all else, so my opinion is always skewed. As you can see, though, I am in the minority.😂 It’s really just a matter of what YOU want to look at each day.

Nini, I'm with you with the light. It's everything.

For me the dark rug, and lack of lighting are the problem, but 35k is the highest Kalvin I would use it will not add blue back in. also a much larger mantel and lighter art over it.

very good ideas- thanks!

That's a beautiful fireplace and two-sided makes me swoon. I'm with others who say change lighting, add lighting (must have dimmers for me) and consider a new wall color. Those changes will make a huge difference. It's just too pretty to paint or whitewash!

I'll post a few - what finish is dining light?

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Maybe this type would have the softening effect you mentioned for your fp.

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I like your fp!

Theta Swing Arm Floor Lamp, Copper Bronze Finish · More Info

15K to paint--easy fix DIY it!! Painting is not difficult. Absolutely the fireplace is a keeper as is. How does it not have a pot light on it? The rug is dark, the painting is dark the lighting is dark...the stone is actually lighter than many bricks would be. The stone is not your issue.