Nothing yet. Still original Brick. I just painted the brick and it looks new now. Dont have $1000 to spend on fixing the fireplace I dont use. I use wood stove now.

So sorry to hear about your fireplace. I hope you are enjoying your new house! We have gas logs with little rocks on the bottom. This year I learned that it is best to clean and rinse the rocks before starting up your fireplace for the year. I ended up with black marks/soot stains all over my white painted mantel. Dust and what not gathers on those stones. So, we are reapainting. I don't know if that is what happened with you? I have black granite tile around my fireplace and it has held up well. I don't have any input on the marble though. Hope it works out smoothly for you.

It can look fabulous. Or tacky. The difference is in the mix of materials and quality of installation. My suggestion is to get a blend of two colors and cuts (notice how in the brochures, most of the best looking pictures are a blend of 70/30%?) and also to train your eye to the good installations and bad ones first, and insist on seeing your proposed contractor's work up close and in person before selecting someone. This is NOT the place to skimp.

If it were my house, I’d either remove the fireplace (since it’s not a real wood burning fireplace anyway) entirely and replace it with a window OR I’d remove the fireplace and replace it with a real one if budget allowed. Either way, that fireplace would be gone! Regarding the windows: I think it might make more sense to leave the shape as-is because, really, spending $10,000 to change the shape of those windows is kind of like pissing into the wind. Plus, the curve can be disguised with the right window treatments.