Your area could possibly be more stringent.

That's a huge expense and all sorts of potential trouble. If you provide photos of the entire room, Commentors on Houzz might suggest alternatives to what you have in mind that might make you look at this family room feature in a different way. Change in layout, wall paint, and art choices might get you to redo your family room in possible other ways at less expense.

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This is one of the few cases where putting a TV at optimal viewing distance right on the brick wall, not in the corner, and would make it more functional. Then you could have that end of the room devoted to TV watching and move other furnishings elsewhere in the room. But we need to see the whole room.

I have added additional pictures. The room is very small 11.5 by 15 with 4 doorways and 1 window. There is a limited way to arrange the furniture in the space. The only big walls that could accommodate TV are the FP wall (TV would be too high to watch from 11 ft distance), the wall that the couch is at, the wall in the walkway from the garage to the kitchen, and the wall next to where TV is now.

The contractor gave me a fair price for removing the hearth and part of the wall and his price also included scraping the popcorn on the ceiling, spackling and painting everything, and installing the floor. He did the bathroom for me before and I was very satisfied with his work. I am OK spending that money to make this room better.

Thanks for the extra pictures. Here are some suggestions of alternative possibilities that would cost far less. You could at least try out some of the following and see if it works for you. Here goes:

--First of all, clean off all surfaces--coffee table, side tables, hearth to start with a clean slate.

--Paint firebox surround black. Put a bunch of attractive logs in it, but never use it. Put a big rustic basket of logs in the brick corner. These simpler steps will give a feeling of family/hearth/home

without all the expense and worry about the code. The TV will be at a less awkward angle. Lots of family rooms have non-functional fireplaces that do add some warmth and texture to a room all the same.

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--Move down the chunky mantel and put your TV over it. Nothing else on that wall. Declutter the hearth. You had the right idea with seat cushions. Leave those on the hearth.

--Move your chair so it directly at the end of the coffee table so faces the window.

--Since you have wood trim, repaint the room a warm white. Match it to your rug.

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--Get nice wood or matchstick shades the color of your wood trim for the window instead of the droopy valence. This idea only match the shades to your trim.

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--Remove the clock and replace with woodsy art in the green you like but with some warm brown to echo the brick>

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--Add colorful, patterned pillows to add some movement to the room, the palette is this pil

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@housegal200 first of all, I do love some of your suggestions but I am pretty sure I want to remove the hearth and the room will get painted different color regardless of FP since I also want to remove the popcorn ceiling. I also would like to change the carpet since it is the main walk-through from the garage to the kitchen and it gets dirty quickly.

I've had that room sparkling clean and still did not like it. The hearth gets messy because my husband ALWAYS puts stuff down on it and he will not stop (i tried and gave up).

If I put the TV above the fireplace, the only way we could watch it comfortably is by reclining the couch otherwise we have to keep looking up. Also, my husband often likes to lie down on the floor to watch TV.

The chair could only go to the right of the TV and left of the window but that would be even more awkward to watch TV.

Well, good luck. It could be a really nice space however you go. I always like to throw out suggestions that don't necessarily require ripping out walls, etc. but sometimes you have to!

@housegal200 I really do appreciate your input and your suggestions. This has bothered me for many years.

After your ideas, I might try to white wash the brick first, put a smaller couch from the living room in the Family Room either facing the window and hanging a TV on the wall left of the window OR put the couch in front of the window and hang the TV on the wall between laundry room door and kitchen.

Worth a try ...

You could install drywall right over most of the brick keeping just the required amount of brick on each side exposed (8-12") and either leave that exposed or cover that with tile, and just remove the raise hearth and do a hearth extension flush at the floor level at the minimum required size.

If I do go with removing the hearth and part of the wall the pics below are maybe what I could do. I think I want to keep the brick wall around the fireplace and above to reduce the cost of brick removal and cost of disposal.

I could put tile below the mantle and sheetrock above

I agree that you could probably give this room a nice makeover with paint and decor- without ripping out any brick and causing all sorts of problems and expense. And this room has so many doors….paint them all the same as the wall color.

Ooooo... I like the idea of painting the doors the same color!

Its a lot of brick structure for a not large space. i would suggest talking to someone about what it would take/cost to remove the excessive brick.

True, the FP brick wall is really large, but since you’re planning on painting the walls, you could paint the brick the same color, perhaps a warm white. I’d remove the the current mantle (it just seems wrong) and replace it with a simple, poss. rustic, beam, but much lower than it is now. Doing this might allow you to mount the TV above it….and I’m usually no fan of TVs over FP. Freshen up your decor, (reupholster the chair), and I’d keep working on hubby!

No mantel. I think I'd put the TV on the wall to the right of the fireplace, and try to bend your seating around a little bit. But it's really a challenge with that many door and windows to work around!

Have you tried turning your sofa so it faces the window with an aisle behind to transition to garage/laundry/kitchen? You could then put your chair on the stairway wall and your TV can stay where it is or go on a slim console table beside the window. The mantel for sure needs to go as it is not in keeping with the style of the fireplace. I can see why you want to remove the hearth, my only question is how high is the firebox off the floor? What are you going to use to fill in the demo’d brick area below? Sheetrock? If so, will that look choppy? As much as I get why you want to make it less a feature, I agree that you might be opening a whole can of worms and will not be happy with the end result. Maybe try painting the whole room out including the brick a creamy white, remove the mantel and the TV stand (it’s built onto the brick correct?) Play around with furniture placement and then see how you feel about the room. Alternately, is your dining room on the other side of the stairs? Could you swap rooms and have this space be your dining room and move your living room to the other side?

I would , in order to save the expense of ripping out the entire wall , first paint the brick and then have a carpenter construct built in shelves all around the fireplace wall with shelves , drawers and room for the TV ..you could build in it a minibar as well as room for all you need to have in your living room …if it’s all in white you. Could perhaps make it work for you . Remember because of the doors that fireplace will never be in the center so you could provide the look with built ins all around .

If you remove hearth or any other brick, you should be able to repurpose it and patch in below the firebox. Again, a contactor should be able to help give you answers to these questions and help troubleshoot issues related to removal. Schedule a few for consultation / bid and ask lots of questions.

I made a decision! I will attempt to remove the brick hearth and part of the wall. I will just have to deal with whatever can of worms I get.

If we can salvage the brick wall and just add bricks at the bottom as @Juliet said we will do that and I will either whitewash or paint the brick. If the brick does not look good after that, I will skimcoat the whole thing with cement or put a large tile over the whole wall.

I assume and hope that the whole wall of bricks will not just fall down - LOL. Below is the side view of the wall. It seems to me that the hearth was built first and then they continued with the wall.

Worst case scenario if the brick wall can not be saved, and unfortunately more $$, we will have to remove all of the brick and rebuild at least the bottom and maybe sheetrock the top.

@howistyle the hearth is 12" from the floor, and I hope to fill it in with the brick. We will put a smaller couch facing the window probably anyway after we remove the brick. We had it once like that before and it worked OK. This space will not work as DR. We actually moved the DR to LR because the original DR was too small for us.

@coray and @acm I hated that hearth and mantel since the day we bought the house. Because the fireplace box is raised and the room is so narrow we can not put the TV over the fireplace - we would have to continually look up to watch TV and my husband and kids definitely could not watch TV laying on the floor, which they like to do.

The contractor is coming on Monday morning. Fingers crossed all will go well!!!

If this were my room, I'd remove the fireplace altogether. The benefit of having a more functional room would outweigh the (very few) times we'd use the fireplace.

YMMV obviously.

IMO a modest solution might be more appropriate for your home.

Lowering the hearth in such a small room creates it's own problems.

Margo, I know what you mean. I’m no fan of TVs above FP, I was just hoping if you remove the mantle you might be able to get it mounted low enough. Maybe, if you mount it on an arm on the other wall, you can pull it out when needed and it’ll give everyone watching a decent view. You have quite a few challenges in that room (as you mentioned yourself): room size, the FP and then all those doors! Good luck and have fun! (Incidentally, we are heading to our son’s house tomorrow to remove the old popcorn ceiling, during Holy Week, of all weeks, but it’s his only time off because he’s a teacher…Wish me luck😱!)

I guess you've decided that you won't be using the fireplace? because the hearth is required by code. If not, then why not just leave the brick and hang the TV right across the former firebox? It would be at a perfect height, with room to one side for the associated equipment (or a vase of bamboo or whatever)!

@BeverlyFLADeziner Love it when people can just whip out a quick rendering of how the space would look like - thank you. I did not think of lowering the hearth but I don't think I want to open yet another can of worms and I definitely want to get rid of the hearth. I did consider putting the TV over the fireplace as @coray suggested (on the arm that can be pulled down and twisted as needed). We would not be able to watch TV and have a fire at the same time but it would be workable. Good luck with your ceiling scraping!

@acm we are definitely keeping the fireplace and plan on using it, We will be replacing the carpet in the room with different flooring and we will put stone or tile in front of the fireplace which will be to code.

Brainstorming. Not sure if it’s a good idea but what if you walled off the entry wall? You could slide the couch down and would only have one walkway from the garage to the kitchen. Also maybe put a smaller couch (or small sectional)facing the window wall, where you could put the tv on a smaller angle. 🤔
I really like your idea fireplace pics w the right side/hearth demolished. Good luck!

Oh gosh! I JUST went through this myself. I have a gas fireplace. I live in Arizona and a fireplace is just unnecessary and a waste of space here. The hearth was a behemoth. Fireplace sits in the corner of the living room. Fireplace hearth stretched from one wall to the next on an angle. It stuck out 16 inches from the wall and was 16 inches high. And like yours, it was a catch all for anything that could be laid on it. I also had carpet on the floor. It cost me several hundred dollars for demo. BEST THING EVER! I replaced the carpet with 12x24 inch stone look tile. The corner angled fireplace wall is being tiled with "fantasy brown" stacked marble. The whole room from start to finish cost $3200 for material and labor. Home Depot wanted $4800 just to lay pet resistant carpet and pad. No brainer here. My house had a wonderful makeover for less than carpet install. Looks clean and modern and definitely gave the room a lot more space. My advice: bite the bullet and rip the old brick out. You may be able to repurpose it. If you are keeping the carpet, you will need tile or stone or something as a level hearth in front of the fireplace. The TV lifespan over a fireplace isn't a very long one. TV manufacturers will tell you the same. Mount your TV on the wall with a telescoping wall mount bracket. They tilt as well as pull out from the wall. Post pics when you decide what to do!

Leave fireplace, brick wall and hearth alone. That feature warms the feel of the room. Remove chunky wooden mantle and hang TV slightly above firebox; it appears the TV would be only slightly higher than present level so would still be at an appropriate eyelevel.. Remove wooden TV cabinet and place a couple larger colorful throw pillows there and to the right of the fireplace opening instead of the present long cushion. That long cushion is definitely out of place and needs eliminated. The clock is too big for the space; smaller verticle artwork is more appropriate. The stuffed chair and sofa are too bulky for the room; replace with lighter-constructed pieces.

Whatever you decide is ultimately YOUR decision, but I would probably ADD more brick and extend it across the wall where it is not right now so that the whole wall is bricked and therefore balanced. I would lower the hearth and do so kind of slate flooring. Then you could paint and lighten up the room with other furniture and accessories. It is a very small room so not putting too much in it is tough. I wish you the best. Post pics when it's finally done if you can.

I would remove it all and fireplace too…sheet rock, paint add a nice console and tv…will completely change the space!

You are on the right track with the pictures you showed of the tiled or painted brick fireplaces. Removing the hearth and extended brick wall will immediately make the room look more open and larger. if you are painting the brick you can use any brick to repace the missing brick area, as long as it is the same size and texture. the TV can be left in that side wall attatched to a swing arm. The doors should be painted white as should all the trim to make the room less dated. i think the ideas you have are just what the room needs and you will be very pleased with the results.

Removing that heavy mantel would help to lighten up the look of the room. I would try that first and see if you are any happier with the look of the room.

I would get rid of the hearth section the tv 📺 is on. Also it looks like the fireplace is not centered… if possible cut back brick on right hand and then sheetrock so it evens out the brick around the fireplace. At that point you can decide to paint the brick or reface with another material. Then you can decide to keep or remove the entire hearth… removal would really update that space. Good luck!!

We had a black lava fireplace with raised hearth, floor to ceiling and wall to wall. We removed it completely, adding sheet rock, cabinets, and a mantel. We love it!

I'm always suspicious when I hear an "expert" recommend "oh just paint over the woodgrain..."

If a decorator tells me to paint over everything, I'm looking for a new decorator. I have a similar situation, but the fireplace is a fake one with an electric heater insert. Love to get rid of it and wish I could repurpose the brick elsewhere, but I think I'll get used to it instead and spend my hard-earned money on other improvements.

Well, the hearth is OUT! The wall is not cut down yet because the contractor forgot his cutting tool (grinder?). Not the best situation, there is no brick below the hearth, so I am still thinking about what I want to do. I might cover the hole on the bottom, and smooth out the area below the opening. Then I would create my own very thin "bricks" on the surface and cover all bricks with the "german shmear" technique. My husband seems to want to keep the brick look which I am OK with.

But I am glad to be rid of the hearth, the room already feels bigger.

@Barbara and @Nancy Brooks both of your fireplaces look SOOOOO much better.

@Kathryn Coster - that is exactly my plan. Since hubby wants to keep the brick look I am going to try that first. I can always reface it in the future if I decide to do it.

@aniluap2 - I will paint the doors and window, just did not decide yet if I will paint them white or the same color as the walls to help them disappear a bit. That is the easy part and I am good at painting.

A lot to do and many decisions to make but I am super excited.

I have a behemoth in our living room, added after the house was built I think. The previous owner had very specific (ugly) taste. The brick is red like yours and sucks the light out of the room (we have a large west facing window as well). I would love to rip out the too large hearth and shorten the brick wall, but I would lighten or cover up the brick. I find it a dust gatherer and a pain to vacuum. If your husband wants to keep the brick, talk him into a limewash to lighten it.

Take the rest down you will be so glad you did while you are already making a mess! Than the sky is the limit on what you can do…don’t stop keep removing!

It looks so much better without the mantel and hearth! What will you be doing with the tv now?

Try staining before german schmear! (i dont care for german schmere, however).

lots of good ideas—youve come so far—it can be amazing!

tile, stone, cement, with mantel.

@Home Interiors with Ease - my husband really wants to keep the brick. He was OK with the fireplace as it was so keeping the brick is a small compromise to me. Besides, once there is less of it and lighter it will not bother me.

@Juliet and @Lynne - what I am going for is not exactly German shmear (too much shmear for me) but some people refer to it as mortar wash. This is what I would like the final effect to be.

@Amanda Smith - no idea about the TV yet but I feel I will have more options. It might go on the wall to the left of the window, it could go back in the corner or on the wall between two doors opposite the window.

What style furniture will you have in this room? The finish on fireplace will play a big roll in the overall style.

@Home Interiors with Ease - My house at the moment is a more traditional style and for now, I will probably keep it that way so the brick look similar to the one I posted above will look good. I might try to repurpose the old mantle - remove the extra top and corbels and paint it to look more rustic. If it does not work I'll bu or make a new one. I will probably paint the walls in neutral/beige-y color and plan to buy a new couch. I have a queen-ann style chair that I need to recover that might go in that room. I also have a larger traditional-style chair that now might look good in that room. I will probably put a wood-looking floating floor and I can't decide if I want brick looking floor in front of the FP or solid stone.

In the future, I might update the whole downstairs to a more modern style but that requires repainting everything, changing window treatments, replacing or painting, and reupholstering furniture. If I ever do that, I can always put tile or do a cement look on the fireplace to make it look sleeker.

I welcome any suggestions for decor choices based on the FP look above.

Would love to see the finished product!

@YK - the room and downstairs projects are not completed yet but the wall is down and no more popcorn ceiling. Yey!!!

There was no brick below the firebox and we could not put regular brick there because the cinder block was at the same depth below the box as the brick above and around. We put a layer of cement there and I textured it and painted it to look like other bricks. I got a little heavy-handed with the white mortar, but I don't mind it.

I removed the old mantle, cut it up, and made it narrower. The top does not look perfect but once painted it is not visible unless you look at it from the top.

I painted the room with the paint I had but I think I might want to repaint it before we get a new couch with a lighter beige (it looks a lot more yellow in the pic than it is).

For now, I also painted the old vinyl floor tile black, got the least expensive area rug I can live with for now, smoothed out the cement on the floor in front of the fireplace, and painted the rest of the cement black past the remaining brick to the right.

In this pic, you can also see the new single door with sidelights. We also did the siding and new portico I LOVE.

It looks bare now after I took down the Christmas decorations and did not put anything new on and above the mantle. We still need a new couch and need to decorate the room. For now, I brought an old couch from the basement and put some other temporary furniture we had in the basement. I went away after the demo to Europe for two months and then a long vacation in Utah, then I had problems with my feet and I could not walk until about a couple of weeks ago and before I knew it it was Thanksgiving and I did not get back to this room.

My feet are better now and I am re-starting the projects I did not finish.

Good job!

You did a great job on the brick fireplace!