Right now I think the fireplace is a bit too prominent. I would paint the walls and add drapery panels.

Thank you! I was thinking about taking those black stones off and potentially painting the bricks — any thoughts on that?

I would be a little worried about what is under the black stones and/or if the brick gets damaged when you remove them (and once they are off you're stuck with what's there) - if it were me, I would leave the brick as is (I think it looks great) and paint out the black stones to a creamy white (make sure the color does not fight the color of the hearth) I generally don't prefer a strong accent wall (just my personal preference) and could totally see the room with a light wall color + white linen panels to the floor & bamboo shades on all of the windows for softness and texture

I definitely agree that it’ll most likely ruin the brick or whatever is underneath those black stones. Thanks for the suggestion on just paining the stone though, I hadn’t thought of that!

a much larger rug for all the furniture to sit on, and some drapery panels on the windows.

I would personally add bamboo shades to the window for some color balance. add a floor lamp and you're set.

How much of that brick is on the outside of the house? If it isn't much, you may want to consider Romabio of some sort for all of it.

I agree that once the black bricks are removed there will likely be some mess that will not be easily patched. I suspect the black blocks are there to cover over something that no one wanted to view.

Here is your fireplace with just the red bricks. & your fireplace whitewashed with a limewash.

Again I would vote to simply paint the walls gray unless you have money to burn to fix the fireplace.

Thought a few more photos might be helpful — I appreciate all these suggestions!

It really doesn't look like the exterior and fireplace bricks are a match. Look into whitewashing all of the fireplace to lighten it up.

Might be worth getting a mason or a tile pro out to look at it. I’m on the fence about the bricks but don’t like the black stone at all and don’t think it would look better if it were painted. Everything else you have is streamlined and it looks lumpy. If you take the black stone off and find a mess beneath, you could consider tiling the lower part or even the whole thing if budget allows. Good luck!

Sometimes the link from inside to outside really makes the two connect in a beautiful way. Other times it is just the same brick. The outside only has a tiny bit of brick and the inside is so modernized that keeping the brick just feels a bit out of place.

I would look into tiling over the fireplace with a matte finish tile with some texture.

Have you given thought to your TV placement. It looks like over the fireplace may be the only good place for the TV and you may want to consider lowering or removing the mantle so that the TV is so so high up on the wall. To move the mantle down you would probably have to use non-combustible materials. Assuming this is a wood burning fireplace.

Love this fireplace renovation with a recessed tv.

https://www.contemporist.com/living-room-renovation-with-a-recessed-tv-above-a-fireplace/

Depends on how much $ you plan to invest. If you need to keep a lower budget, the photo above from Beverly, with the painted bricks looks great! Really brightens and modernizes the look. Personally, I don't care for whitewash because the underneath color shows through, but a good solid coat of paint to hide it looks better. You can always make more dramatic changes at a later date.

I like it the way it is

The first photo shows a living room, but it has little warmth or personality. The other photo shows it as part of a larger open-plan space with lots of good light from the windows. The red brick, black glossy stone and gray hearth are a bit disjointed. The room needs window treatments for light control and privacy. I would consider a warm not overly-colorful fabric for panel drapes which can be pulled to cover the windows and light-filtering shades on each window. The living room area needs a rug large enough that the front legs/feet of each seating piece are ON the rug. A thin animal hide is too lightweight and is a trip-hazard. I would consider adding a lightly-patterned rug which contrasts a bit more with the floor. The room needs a more substantial coffee table and a couple of side tables where a family member or guest can place a drink or small plate. I like art in every space….it doesn’t have to be fancy, but it looks best when framed. The art on the mantel is a good start. The furniture is good but the large accent pillows hardly leave room for a person to sit on the sofa. You can do things little-by-little, or more, according to your available money. Try not to charge more than you can afford pay off at the end of the month…interest on purchases will add up quickly.

Thank you, all, for the generous feedback! We haven’t moved in yet so these pictures are from the staging. I agree window treatments will make a big difference. We’re going to consider how much we’d want to spend on this project so appreciate your comments on that, as well!

Painting it black would be a crisp contrast…and connect well with the black metal details… creating a visual division for the living room area

Just noticed your last comment… still like black as painting the black stone may be a challenge….impossible to match a partial white on the brick…in other words the shortest easiest way to a one color fireplace… also easily incorporated by adding a few black décor pieces …if needed