If I were you, I would ask decorating questions over at the home decorating forum.

gnm Good for you! you have great bones to work with - I would suggest a nice porcelain tile for the hearth - I happen to really like Dal Tile Continental slate - I have it installed in our mud area & powder room - in Brazilian green. It would likely fit your budget. How about searching for a nice mantle in salvage - You can either do the surround in continental slate or look at stone yards to see if you can find a budget friendly stone - or remnants - Building codes do adhere to combustibles within certain distances of the actual firebox - usually 8-12" - that would apply regardless of your geographic area. Ck you local building dept they will advise good luck

Looking to update our 1950s fireplace. Initially we planned to mount our TV above the fireplace and put built ins to the right side. After pulling back the knotty pine paneling, we found a massive wall of brick that connects all 3 of the fireplaces in our home. I still want to mount the TV up there but now I'm not sure where the satellite box and video game console would go? I would prefer to go over what is existing rather than do too much demo to the bricks. Also I'm not sure how to disguise the heatilator vents that cannot be covered up. I prefer a classic or timeless look as I dont want to have to redo this project anytime soon. Dimensions on existing brick is 69" x 48" Any ideas or advice would be appreciated.

Hi! I could use some ideas on how to make over this fireplace. I recently painted the mantel/trim black to stand out from the white walls and I wanted something dramatic. But I HATE the green tile and am looking for a relatively inexpensive/easy solution. Can you paint fireplace tile? I'd probably like to paint it black to match the mantel/trim. Do they make special paint that would stick to the tile? Is it safe to paint/do they sell heat resistant paint? Or something like a peel and stick tile to go over them? Any advice/tips are appreciated! thanks