I'm so pleased you are going to live with your home and enjoy its quirks! I would change just one thing - say good bye to your designer!

I would paint the brick the same color as the walls and the mantle a white/ off white or a grey color or keep the original wood stain. The color difference between the red brick and yellow walls breaks up the room in a not so good way. Then place your favorite mirror or colorful print on the brick wall above the mantle.

I LOVE the exposed brick! The wood on the mantel is cool but it's not like quarter-sawn oak or cherrywood cool. I would paint the mantel, mouldings/trim, and ceiling an antique white and maybe the wall a slightly darker and more neutral beige. I would also paint around the inside of the mantel (or tile with something that kind of matches the base). I think this combo will give you a nice contrast with your dark-stained wood furniture and look really classy.

The brick is quite nice looking. Don't paint it, but stain the mantle a color to compliment it. Don't choose a stain based on your furniture! Furniture is moveable and the fireplace is permanent. A nice brown with a hint of red would be complimentary to the brick. Nothing dark though, because the brick doesn't appear to be very dark. I don't know if you have discovered the type of wood it is, but it appears to me to be a southern yellow pine. If it is, it might not take a stain evenly

because it is a hard pine. In that case I'd paint it. But not a strong contrasting color. I saw another post suggesting that you seal the brick, do some research to find out if that's really necessary. If you decide to, don't use anything that's shiny!

its an old pine fireplace surround ... it and the brick should be left alone .. its adds amazing character to the home ... look on here and watch some tv shows as suggested .. as to how to best use and decorate your space :)

For Goodness sake do NOT paint that mantle or the bricks. Stain the mantle. Someone said it is expensive, it's not. I've refinished a house full of antiques. Staining is a snap even for an amateur. I would not even consider painting it. From the looks of that mantle it's already been stripped. It looks dry. Take some real fine 0000 sandpaper and sand it down till it feels smooth. Then apply your stain. Minwax makes many shades of stain and it's easy to apply. Once each coat has dried a few days and you are satisfied with the color I would do a Tung oil finish. You apply several coats and let dry between each one and use a fine steel wool over each coat...then apply another coat until you have three or so thin coats. That should do it.

I would not paint the brick but I would paint the mantle a high lacquer navy blue. I would paint the room a wasabi green which would show up all the woods and the red brick.

I would clean and seal the brick, and paint the mantel a light color to brighten the room and provide a nice contrast to the dark-stained antique furniture. Definitely would not paint the brick; everyone I know who has done it, has regretted it.

Keep the brick paint the mantle. The brick has a nice weathered look to it. A beautiful piece of art is all that is needed. Have fun and enjoy your home. If you are just new, live in the space a bit and you will decide. No rush.

Definitely keep the brick as is...paint or stain the mantle...then look at it for 10 yrs and decide whether you like it or not :-)

If you want the space to feel fresh and modern I would paint the brick white and do a really simple faux treatment and darken the mantle to a espresso.

Brick belongs outside unless you live in a loft conversion and like the industrial look. I would paint all the brick and all the mantel in a dark warm grey. It will freshen the whole look and make it less traditional and more modern without being modern. Paint the walls a coordinating colour. They seem a little fleshy but maybe it's the photo.

It is so beautiful and has so much character, it would be a shame to paint it

I am a picky B but I like your brick and strongly dislike your mantle. I recently purchased a 60s house with a horrid pinkish orange brick on the fireplace and i painted it outside and the fireplace too. My girlfriend had bought a refurbished condo on the water and some of the units had the fireplace an accent color and some were the same color as the walls and she told me they looked so much better when they were the same color. So, I followed her advice and love it.

You should not paint that fireplace. It is lovely and fitting to the room

All you need to do is staying the Mantel darker to match the legs of your furniture or the pieces around it. Painting this fireplace would make it look like you actually bought it painted and somebody screwed it up. I'm not trying to be mean I just really think you need to look at the whole picture it's an awesome looking feature.

Can you imagine how good your other fireplace would look if it was all original! I would consider stripping the paint off the brick if I could and getting a black grate for it

We have refaced numerous fireplaces and our experience is that 9 out of 10 clients regret painting their brick for so many reasons. Please view the attached images to give you another option.

I love that brick! I think it's gorgeous- but i would paint the mantle either black or white. Once you paint it- you can't bring it back. The color is beautiful- it's not that awful red brick. A restaurant near here- 131 Main, Charlotte, has that color inside with black & it is fantastic.

I haven't taken the time to read all of the comments here, so perhaps what i am going to contribute has already been suggested. You can update the brick look by refacing it with a natural stone veneer. There are many choices of stone style ranging from rustic to modern. The veneer goes right over the brick. Just make sure there is no loose mortar or flaking brick ( shouldn't be the case indoors). This is not a DIY project unless you are very comfortable working with trowels and mortar. I know some of the TV shows make it look like the easiest thing in the world to install. And in theory it is. Anyone with an artistic eye can arrange stones in an attractive pattern but like i said its working with the mortar that can be the tricky part. Anyway i suggest you check out the International Natural Stone Veneer website for ideas or talk to your local brick supplier. There are 'man-made' veneer products as well that are a little cheaper but its my opinion that that's just the way the job ends up looking...cheaper. Good luck and feel free to ask me any questions if they arise. Take care, Glenn

Interesting that the only Houzzers recommending you paint mantle or brick are "pros"!

From that close-up, it looks like nice old pine to me: wide grain, fairly tough stuff it might have got damaged in the stripping, but I wouldn't try and fill cracks and scrapes, just maybe add a protective non-urethane coating.

Lovely house!

I would not paint the brick, it appears to be in decent shape! It is my opinion the mantel would look nice either painted white or even stained light or even dark....

DONT PAINT THE BRICK!! It is beautiful old brick that creates such a beautiful, earthy contrast! I might paint the mantle a creamy white but I also like the idea of staining it—just to create contrast between bricks and the wall color.

So if you are keeping the Navajo White...based on my earlier comment, I would suggest a colour like Ranchwood CC-500. If you wanted the mantle to be a bit different I would dry brush with some leftover Navajo at the edges etc. to distress (if you like that look). Depends on your overall style but I think it could look really nice and fresh. Another thing I would suggest considering is painting out that whole wall including the brick in the Ranchwood and then painting the mantle and trims in the Navajo. I feel like there is too much going on along that wall with the different furniture and heights and colours. This treatment might help to balance things out along that wall and bring the focus back to the original fireplace mantle and fire box since the furniture would recede a bit into the wall colour. Good luck and let us know what you decide.

I think the brick and mantle are both beautiful!!! But, is that an insert in the fireplace? That's what stands out to me!! Maybe just nice large art or mirror over the mantle and a nice screen or plant in front of the insert.

Don't paint the brick , rather paint the fireplace wall a similar brick tone (like Benjamin Moore's Mexican Tile or Patina). It's a nice way to create a larger focal point that includes your original brick.

You have a beautiful house and beautiful antiques! Congratulations on your first home.
As you seem to have decided so far, the brick is perfect as is.
If you decide to leave the two traditional/formal dark wood pieces next to the fireplace, I would paint the mantel white as Kevin suggested.
However, if you rearranged furniture and ended up with upholstered pieces flanking the fireplace, then the original wood of the mantel might play a nice visual contrast to your other formal/traditional pieces.
The large bright art on the chimney is FAB.
You have great taste. Have fun!

Old pine mantel. Lovely. What about an antique wax? Glad you aren't painting pretty brick. Agreed red brick in other room not as pretty, nor is mantel.

Please do not paint your brick. I would dry brush paint your mantel a cream color and then faux paint with a gel stain like walnut color by Minwax in the recessed areas. Then apply the wipe on sealer by Minwax to seal your coats of color. Then place a very large, tall art piece or antique mirror about 8 inches from the top of your mantel. Remove the flower vase and add large candles or other art pieces on top of the mantel top. Also a large, tall tapestry would look wonderful with your other antiques. Place tall, large antique items on top of the furniture to the each side of the fireplace. This will balance your height issues. I would love to have your fireplace!!!!! Also, I just painted with these colors with Behr ...Haze, Gallery Taupe, and Pittsburgh Paint ......Almond Paste......and LOVE these 3 colors with all my antiques. Hope you enjoy your new home, it looks lovely so far.

I have got to vote, as well, that the brick is lovely old brick - the kind that my own parents went to great lengths to collect to put in added hearths in our older home. Looks like the forum has agree.

Amazon has some brick clips you can use to hang art without banging nails into that lovely brick.

I am sort of a purest & feel the wood color you chose sounds beautiful however leaving the brick in its natural state is ideal. You may want to get it power cleaned to really bring out the natural reds and oranges of the brick plus the white will be closer to the color your painting the wood so there would be cohesion.

I say go for it! An all white fireplace with white brick would look amazing in your space :)

I had exposed brick exactly like yours, with crumbling old mortar. we used 3 coats of sealer. painted the walls a rosy terra cotta. had white painted door casings. medium light cabinetry. stripped, no stain and varnished the fireplace mantels and it was GORGEOUS! every one who saw it, loved it! do not give in to these "modern professional designers" who love white paint and todays fad color. This house is at least 125 years old, not a sheetrock urban condo with grey walls and purple sofa pillows, with a teal accent wall. Please ignore the "trends" and advice from the trend setters. Your house is a jewel. Plz live there a year or 2 and let it tell you what it needs.

ok, I am not a professional, have worked on a Victorian we owned where they had ripped out the fire places and left the mantles had a big round pipe hole that they stuck covers on. I hung nonvented gas fireplaces on those and the painted mantles were nice, but I felt the need to adjust the wall colors to fit large white mantles. Now I have an early 60s brick home, which has upstairs and down whole brick wall fireplaces, they even come with 5 brick deep and 3 brick high benches (?) at the bottom. their only decoration is bumped out bricks, 6 in a light geometric, no mantle. I have like 13 foot across wall of brick, and I have lived with it for 3 years. I always do this so I don't have misgivings. I think I will put one long slab of wood across as a mantle - too fancy would be overkill in this case. I love darker colors and have tons of black & white art works, which in case you have not noticed are rarely white. So I am going to do the walls a darker color. I am going to try darkening the mortar between the bricks, just a light brushed on gray stain, and you might try this too? I always find, that white really sticks out. I would vote for darkening your stain on your mantle - but did you notice that it is an add on? It should not stick out past the fireplace wall, not in my experience. Gives you the option of replacing if you like. Otherwise, I would go darker on adjoining walls, or otherwise, how about darker colored framed rectangles adjoining with artwork within? The framing is easy for a do it yourselfer and with the fake molding available cheap too.

Sum Up - Having found replacement of paint a pain, I vote darkening of grout, if we can? darkening of mantle, and darkening of adjoining walls or part of them. Anyone let me know if I am off the wall about the grout, because, I am sure I want to do that in my home. Thanks

ps: I read the article on staining brick, lots of cool info. But all those wanting to seal, please read their warning.

cover brick glass or marble or travertine tiles. paint mantle dark, black or pure white. need contrast. wall should be Gray.

put in electric fireplace. cozy. don't need screens.

I like the brick and the mantle.

They have character and you can't buy that kind of character at Lowe's or Home Depot.

The way the colors of the brick and the mantle blend is very nice.

I think that the wood is vintage southern yellow pine.

The old growth pine that no longer exists because they cut it all down.

I knew someone who had a business in which they bought beams of southern yellow pine out of old warehouses that were being torn down and milled it into flooring and counter tops.

I know that they used some of it in the Hunt Phelan House when it was being restored.

Anyway, the fireplace and the mantle remind me of New Orleans.

I believe that it is called stripped pine instead of bare wood. :)

Antique stripped pine furniture was very popular for a while and although it is not currently "the thing" it will be coming back. Like denim, plaid, turquoise, brass, Ninja Turtles and My Little Ponies All that stuff we loved until someone told us that it was no longer cool.

The real stuff always comes back.

And remember a thing can be beautiful without being perfect.

Agree with many of the comments here that the brick is beautiful to be preserved. Old historical homes have that sense of sharing stories of long ago, they are beautiful.

Agree to stain the mantels to unify with the rest of the dark furniture and painting the mouldings/trim and ceiling in an off- white and a warmer neutral beige Neutral Color Scheme you can see how the colours would look very warm with the dark stained wood. and there's also Neutrals compliment natural stone and wood .

Definitely agree with all here who suggest not painting the brick. I'm dry-brushing mine to look more like yours!

I would paint neither the brick nor the mantel (being natural is Tina Turner´s "simply the best"). However, I would renovate the mantel to the color of the surrounding dark furniture. Whatever beautiful is the mantels current finishing, its appearance is disturbing overall harmony.

The presence of high dominant furniture next to the fireplace doesn´t give any of this pieces a chance to be a focal point any more.

The color is the best one that could be, representing the optimistic contrast to the dark furniture. The curtains in the color of the room is on the place. I would put a piece of circle rug (s) in that same color for strengthening the overall color balance.

The other choices could eventually be a light brown color, which could appear morose, but with connection with large bright art pieces could be an elegant choice when trying to sell out the property. In this case a brick fireplace could be the only retro piece in the room.

The added mirror with the vase is very good choice! Good luck !

If you think exposed brick doesn't go, put up wall board and paint that. Wallboard would help blend those furniture pieces. But don't paint those beautiful bricks. Cover them up.

The brick is beautiful as is. I'd just wax the mantle. Hang art, and declare victory.

No! Don't paint it! The bricks are intended for a more natural look and are already as good as they are. It just looks a little bare and I believe a little accessory can do the trick. You can just accentuate it with an ovemantel or an artscreen/TV. I've attached a photo here for inspiration. Here are design inspiration you can also refer to our gallery: http://www.houzz.com/projects/1121126/fireplace-mantel-design-ideas-art-screen-by-long-island-mantel

Interested in what you decided? I have a brick fireplace painted white and I'm considering Navajo white for the walls - looking for a light but warm cream color but not sure what would complement the white brick.

I don't mind PAINTED BRICK but in this situation I'd brush a coat of antique white over your bricks and wipe most of it off (while it's still wet, of course) leaving most of the original brick color exposed but giving it a more aged look. THEN, I'd remove that very busy mantle and replace it with a single piece of medium-dark rough wood (floating preferably). I think you could find a pre-made one that looks fairly real.) I'd also remove the pillars and hopefully expose more of the brick from above (use the same "antiquing" as you did above). For the hearth, I'd keep what you have and put some finishing trim along the edges. So many trims available to choose from to get away from that "home-made" look. If it isn't already, I'd stain the whole hearth a deeper brown to go with the mantle. Whatever you do , you'll love. Looks like you have "good bones" to work with. Good luck!

I notice your white crown molding....instead of the more rough brown mantle, a single thick white mantle would look good too)....K.Ayers, Pensacola, Florida

This is a very popular question. Painting brick is a no return proposition. Once it is painted there us no turning back. Returning the brick back to its natural state is extremely messy and can be costly. So make sure you want to commit to it. I never paint the wall and mantel the same color reason being is you lose the pop effect of the mantel. That's not to say if you decide to paint the brick Navajo White, you can't find another white that will work on the mantel.

I’m also stump what do

keeping the wall color, loveseats and carpet. Roller blinds coming

Help?