We definitely want to redo the flooring all together....we thought either stained concrete or wood flooring. The walls we thought to replace paneling with drywall. I am stuck at the brick.....I thought maybe a whitewash since there are two different types of brick. The red brick has like a glaze or topcoat of some kind. My home is a 1960s ranch style, very low pitch roof. This living area is actually an add on, the red brick is actually the exterior wall. The ceiling in this room is very short starting at 8ft the highest and ending a little over 6ft. The room is rectangular that helps to get a better idea of the layout. The pic is from when we just moved in, we just didnt have the extra money to work on it then. So I cant really take a recent pic, especially if the whole room.

What a pretty dining room! If you remove the mantle, there may be a spot where you could experiment with wiping a gel stain or antiquing on it and then wiping it back off to try to give it a little depth and dimension. I love IdaClaire's suggestion for artwork. It seems as though it would suit the room very well.

You needn't do much, replace the mantle with thick dark wood and place a beautiful outdoor scene with some blue in it close in color to your island base.

Gosh, that firescreen is EVERYTHING. So pretty. I understand you not liking the tiles as much. There are definitely options that could stay in keeping with the style of the screen and fireplace. Here are a few options and as others have pointed out above, if you search some Arts and Crafts style tiles you'll find plenty of inspiration. My mind immediately thought of green. If you want tile there are lots of choices but you consider something like a soapstone or granite etc. Gorgeous colours in this one - it would make a nice border and then fill in with plain coloured otherwise. I think this is so lovely. Gorgeous colour and design. This one too. So beautiful and classic. You could have a look at some hand made tiles - have a look at Cle tiles for some options that would also look nice in your space. I'd contact a local metal shop and get a recommendation for who could look at the screen. Or if there is an architectural salvage shop they will likely have contacts for that type of thing. Please do come back and post after photos so we can see the results.