The good thing about faux-marbling a slate fireplace is that it is such a relatively small surface that the cost of having an expert do it probably wouldn't be too high (Unlike a whole floor, for instance). And it is a very traditional treatment, at least in my area (NY) for fireplace surrounds from c 1875-ish through WWI. And of course, you can choose any "marble" you want from light colored grey or whites to deep blacks, reds, etc., whatever goes best with your other decorative choices. HTH Molly

I looked again at the entire room, last comment I was focusing on the fireplace, as I had never seen a black fireplace before and it was so bold. I love it. You did an amazing job with the light colour flooring, the black window blind, black couch, light walls, pillows match your flooring, everything gels beautifully. You really changed the look of the room completely. It is very upscale and modern in comparison to the before pic. It is budget friendly too. Also love your kitty, lol!

To me stacked stone fireplaces look quite modern and seem very versatile in terms of decorating around them. I have had custom-made elegant wood fireplace surrounds with marble tiles, one white painted wood with white marble streaked with gray lines and the other stained wood in a honey color with beige-veined marble and they looked wonderful with Axminster carpets and English-style decor. If that's too traditional for you a stacked stone fireplace seems like the perfect answer. Just picture in your mind's eye what draws you in and go with that. I can't quite picture a stacked stone fireplace for me because the antique Chinese porcelain I collect calls for something a little more formal. Ours is made of bricks which are painted over with a cream color and that's right for me, not too formal and not too informal. We didn't have a choice, it was already there, but it was painted two-tone in beige and brown and that had to be changed immediately.

In my former home I had about 600sf of 4" tile with discolored sahara beige grout. It was recessed among a thousand squares of sharp edged unglazed quarry tile. MILES of grout! No surface cleaning machine will scrub the grout if it is recessed and the scrub pads will clean the tile and float there. I talked to equipment rental places regarding disc floor machines with pads and brushes and was told it really wouldn't make great contact down there. I manually tried many chemicals, stopping short of carcinogens. I used stuff that should not be used on grout including oven cleaner and the most effective was Lysol 10x toilet cleaner in the black bottle. I had an industrial strength steamer that cleaned but didn't remove discoloration. In the end, the toilet cleaner and a battery powered brush like this at Amazon was what worked the best. It was tedious and messy and I used dozens of rags to wipe up and rinse, doing this over a long period of time. It never looked like new and despite being "clean", it was not uniform in color. I was a tough critic, though, and it was probably fine for most people. Of course I sealed it afterward. If you choose to hire someone, ask if they will do a sample section so you can determine if it will clean to a uniform color. Instead of the painted on stuff that will not last (and looks like paint IMO), I wonder if there is a stain like product that would darken porous grout. Good luck with this.