In addition to my post above...having lived with a fire set in a wall for many years with a vent to let the hot air into the room...I'd do neither of the above....except maybe old cabinets of well seasoned timber and not new built ins up against the wall enclosing the chimney. The heat from that fire and from the vent would affect the cabinets, dry them out, make them crack...especially since timbers today are not well seasoned as when the fire place was built....That enclosed chimney/flue would radiate heat as well...There's a reason why the walls each side as well as the timber shelves are a dark colour and there's nothing built into the spaces on either side. Installing the cabinets and painting them a pretty light colour might look good for a while but not if you intend on making good use of that lovely fire place. I've lived in my current 1900s house for 32 years and have come to know the why's and wherefore's about timbers and heat in old homes. One longs for a lighter environment sometimes but this needs to come from other sources rather than anything against the fire place. Its a bit of a blocker to renovations at times but again, with Wuff, "Embrace what you have"...read up about homes of the same period, surf the net...you'll find some beautiful solutions. Here's one....you could clad the walls either side of the fireplace with a fireproof stone cladding...enlarge on that...may not be your 'cup of tea' but for what its worth in making your place "yours".

Thank you for your advice. It will be a big open living kitchen area with charcoal brown carpet living area and a light grey white large tile kitchen area. We are having a family dining table made from the same timber as mantel with stylish black legs. The fire place is the center piece of the room with two large windows on either side, to draw you to the fire. I was just worried the mantle may appear too high. Jacinta Jolly

i was once told that "any wood matches any other wood" and that's helped me live happily with mismatched timbers for many years..of course it's probably possible to sand and stain the floor (ask a laminate timber floor supplier) but it'll be a tedious waste of sweat and tears for an uncertain result..what about make sure the walls, ceiling, architraves and skirting boards all look great and don't worry about under the hearth if it's not being moved, maybe add a matching trim around the hearth and plan a new floor for "later"

Hi Georgia, The brick is quite dominant. You could paint out the 2 small side walls to match the rest of the walls in the room. The main fire place you could do the flooring; up to the mantel height you could either leave the brick as is as maybe white wash it to make it less dark, or you can clad it with a tile of stone. Replace the mantle timber wish something that is the full width of the fire place so that it creates a separation point. Paint the brick above the mantle either the same colour as the rest of the room or something complementary. There is always the option of plasterboard so you don't have as much texture visible. Let me know if you need more help. MKG