Hi pilot099, the brick looks like they are in good condition, I wouldn't touch them especially if you are planning to sell in the near future. However I would suggest painting over the mantel black or find a more contemporary mantel to bring it up to date.

Your brickwork is perfectly fine.

It's the mantle that I would change out to a far more substantial, rustic and simpler wood piece, running all the way from the far left wall to the end of the brickwork on the right.

After it's replaced - Don't put up the family photos or twee objects again: Hang a simple round mirror above the fireplace opening and call it a day.

The brick does look fine, but painted brick would also look good. White brick has a crispness to it that sets off all the colors in the room. I do agree the mantel needs to be more substantial. Have a builder construct a traditional mantle that continues down on either side of the opening. Leave space all around for your non-combustable material, which can be pretty tile. Art or a mirror over the mantle will finish the look. Hope this helps you. Charmean Neithart
http://www.houzz.com/pro/cninteriors/__public

Hello,
You have a great opportunity with the height of the brick wall. Currently it feels out of place due to color and scale of objects around it. It is hard to see how textured the brick is from the photo, but I think either its colors need to be enhanced or the brick needs to blend into background more. So I would say you have two options. Option 1- paint out the brick, treat it as neutral- either the same as the walls or a white. Also paint the mantle to match the already painted white trim. Option 2 is to bring out some of the earthy colors found in the brick and paint another wall- perhaps the wall with the curtain rod, however I do not know the floor plan of the room. Again paint the mantle white. I also think in either option, the scale of the decoration you have around or on that wall is disproportionate. I love family photos, but I think the photograph on the mantle is too small. You have opportunity to create more of a gallery feel with the brick wall as your focal. Minimum one larger painting above mantle and another large painting to the left of the mantle in blank space. Also a corner floor lamp set on the left by the window will also help with the scale of the room.

Thanks for all your suggestions. The brick is in really good shape, I just thought that this color of brick was outdated. Personally I'd love to not paint it if with incorporating all your suggestions I can still achieve an updated look. BEPSF-What color shelf would you suggest and how can you give me a better idea for how substantial? I do love the idea. Design-o-logy-It's hard to explain the brick texture, I think it's been sealed too (pre-us buying it). I too had thought either white or black for the mantle. How would I create the gallery effect? Would I hang a photo section randomly all over the wall? Is that what you meant with gallery feel? I do have a corner floor lamp already in that corner which I think might have made the photo barely. Thank you so much for all your suggestions! They are all great! Thanks to Dytecture for the photo. I love the visual to get the idea of what a black mantle would look like too. I'm so visual that really helped! Charmean-love your full mantle idea. I once had a builder come and give me a quote and it was very expensive. The wall also has some slats in the brick too across it and below on both sides which makes building a traditional mantle hard with allowing the heat to still escape.