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collettec To me, the beige tile surround looks overwhelmed in scale by the white surround. I would consider painting or tiling over the existing beige tiles in white so that the entire surround and hearth was white and matched the rest of the surround, mantel, etc. For art, one option, given the framing would be a modern piece of art you loved in the center frame and painting the interior space of the two exterior frames one of the colors from the art.

Barbara Griffith Designs First, I suggest when you paint, to paint the inside of the 3 rectangles the same as the wall color.. I would also consider painting the wall color along the horizontal strip at the top of the fireplace just under the crown molding, but before the next trim piece..this will help a lot because it is way too overpoweringly white for the space. Now, about the wall color..do you have all your furniture, rugs, drapery? Because you should always choose your paint color LAST. It is so much easier. If you are going to look for grays, look at BM Revere Pewter, or something with that tone..not a blue tone gray, it would work better with the tile on the fireplace.

Wynter Interiors Inc Looking for a modern option...why not mirror tile over the existing beige tile fireplace surround?... I also like Barbara Griffith designs ideas about painting the fireplace but I would paint the entire thing a few hues deeper than the wall color BM escarpment is a personal fav and works well for a modern aesthetic. One other note your thin baseboards really need to be beefed up especially if you are going to keep them white. As for art I am all for going with one large vibrant piece which would disguise the traditional molding on your over mantle.

Judy M There are so many photos on this web site that can provide a visual, many have fireplaces with paneling above them like yours. search "fireplaces" in the Living room or family room section. I'll bet something will speak to what you like. It's a beautiful fireplace. I think once it's "dressed" it won;t look so overpowering.

Danielle Lyn I love the BM revere pewter thank you so much for that suggestion!! We are going to use that instead! Judy M i had search fireplaces before I posted, i just didnt find anything I loved that was affordable. We thought about putting a tv up there but we dont know how we would hide the cords

olldbobbi We painted our living room walls in BM Revere Pewter and we used the flat finish. I would recommend going with an eggshell or satin finish, as the flat is completely lifeless. I painted part of our fireplace surround with the eggshell and the difference was enough to make me want to repaint the walls! Almost.

Judy M You know I just browsed through many photos and most of the fireplaces are "dressed" very simply.
A piece of art or mirror flanked by 2 vases at either end.

Maybe we should pose a question to all the decorators on here, asking them to "show us the mantel"

My fireplace mantel has a picture centered above and the along the mantel which is fairly deep, I have five pieces of blue and white pottery. In the center is a large bowl, on either side of the bowl is a platter on an easel ( not the same shape or size) and then at the ends, there are ginger jars (again not matching).
I also have a mantel in a beach house we rent. Above that is a picture (sailboats) and then flanking each end I have large glass hurricanes with white candles. Inside the bottom of the hurricane I have beach glass in light and dark shades of blue.

Finally, in my master BR I have a faux fireplace (non working).
Above that again a framed picture. Then I have four pieces of McCoy pottery, I have them filled with shells and, tiny starfish that peek out the top.

Your fireplace is beautiful, keep the decor simple.
Either a framed pic or a round mirror and then 2 matching items on each side.
Hope that helps stir up some ideas for you.

magsmolls I think that BMW Revere Pewter would be perfect. I wouldn't worry about the tiles if you incorporate some earth tones throughout the room. I like the idea of a mirror and vases or candlesticks, tall to draw the eye up. A nice square frameless mirror would be great!!

Dar Eckert You will love the color but kinda stuck with tradtional fireplace. Keeping it monochromatic as it is will the best solution to give a more contemporary feel. Alternatively, you could rip out the wood and put stone on the fireplace. Here's a photo of what we did. I love it. I will be hanging the painting on the fireplace.

Danielle Lyn I wanted to start with buying a piece of art work and go from there...originally i wanted to just set the artwork on the mantle. Now that I know that our fireplace has the three "frame like" things above the mantle ledge I dont know if I need to just make artwork fit into the three frames? I will probably do vases or candle but I think i should start with the art or mirror

njmomma Find your art work first, then start picking colors for your walls.

Come back here with your inspiration piece (art work) and post it.

Danielle Lyn Does the art have to fit into the built on the fireplace frames? Im worried it will look weird if it doesnt fit in the frames.....

Ironwood Builders Cross all the frames except the outer most, it will be OK.

evelyn We had a similar problem choosing a color to go with the very same tile. We painted sample boards of many options and observed them in daytime, cloudy and sunny, and evening with lamps on. In the end we settled on Pratt and Lambert "Feather Gray." Try matching your tile grout and go a little darker since yours seems light.

magsmolls I agree with ironwood. I would lean it from the mantle. Genevieve Gorder from HGTV makes a corner of decor, vases, candles, etc as opposed to symmetrical pieces. I like the look. Your inspiration doesn't have to be artwork. It could be pottery, fabric, etc. once you get all the pieces together, you won't even notice the tan tiles.

Danielle Lyn This is the look i was going for...I want a darker color than revere pewter but chelsea gray is kind of dark.......I know revere pewter would go better because it has warm undertones but I just dont love it. The attached image has a very similar fireplace and darker gray walls........

Danielle Lyn
This is the link to that page

Judy M You can have a sample of the color that you like but is too dark made at 1/2 the formula and try that on a sample board. I have done that several times when I felt the color was right, but too dark.
Benjamin Moore can make a sample (smaller than a quart) for you.

Judy M Beautiful inspiration room.
When you try to decide between art or mirror over FP, if the mirror does not reflect a nice view then go with art. Why not copy the mantle shown in your inspiration room? Simple, modern and youthful!

Danielle Lyn I am going to copy the artwork placement/mantel but I just need to make a decision now about the color of the walls

bevballew You need to first have the furniture. If you pick pewter grey and it not not match with your furniture, rug, etc., you will be repainting. Gray and beige are beautiful combinations. I would play with painting as the one decorator suggested. If you find a contemporary piece of artwork you love, then you pull colors in from that. Mirrors will make the room contrmporarily immediately. You can have one large mirror above fireplace that does not conflict with the framed area. Another idea is those beautiful starburst mirrors so popular now. Many are in beautiful metal compositions. Put that in the middle of the fireplace. Candlestick on each side, or vases, etc. Find a Persian rug, or whatever type rug you want on the floor and work from that, although I see you have carpet. Gray and a soft white is a contemporary combo. With the beige in the tiles just go to a color closer to that as the complement as you don't want all gray but both warm and cool colors. Beautiful fireplace!

Mary Poulos Interior and Exterior Design Danielle, Please do not put a mirror above the mantle or lean a picture against the mantel
Find a small plein air painting. And, it can be a fine art print. Whatever you select for the mantel it should be about, just guessing about 7" x 7", and then frame it with a large soft white (color) mat or linen wrapped mat with a narrow frame in a finish you are using elsewhere in he room. When done there should be a about a 4" EQUAL distance from the picture frame to your square panel molding. Then put two beautiful vases one each side, in line with the outside molded rectangles, with either some twisted twisted stems or high end botanical laurel leaves (perhaps).

Then on the mantel below the picture find a simple horizontal element, i.e. a simple wooden box or three simple crystle globes in a row.

What you are doing is playing to the moldings instead of ignoring and that creates a fabulous compostion on your fireplace.

Danielle Lyn Bevballew we have two white loveseats that are going into this room they will be facing each other http://www.worldmarket.com/product/ivory-luxe-slipcover.do?&from=fn so there will be no color there. We are hoping to find the art and then pick a color in the art for throw pillows, we havent picked the coffee table yet ......

Danielle Lyn the only reason we are doing the painting before finding the artwork is because we would prefer to get the room painted as we are moving in, we can leave our pups at our current home and paint at the new home.........

collettec Another gray color to consider would be Sherwin Williams analytical gray. I would possibly check Sherwin Williams and Benjamin Moores websites for their colors to get an idea of other colors you might like. I would also think about going to a paint store or paint department to pick up some paint cards. Sometime's it's difficult to tell colors online. Really like your inspiration pic and think given your white sofas, some great art large enough so that the frames were larger than the center molding is a good idea and sconces in the boxes on the sides would work with it. I like Barbara Griffith Designs idea to paint the top part of the fireplace the same gray color as the wall and I think that would look more like your inspiration pic as well.

Danielle Lyn Thanks :) I have gotten every gray color sample from BM and lows and home depot, we have a lot of samples for some reason the BM colors have been sticking out more but i will look at sherwin williams next!!

bevballew When I said the large mirror I meant for it to fit within the wood frame. You may be aware of those mirrors popular now that look like starbursts, such as a small mirror in the middle and like the one I have metal artwork that are like long skinny sticks that represent rays of a sun.It is beautiful but hard to describe. Horchow catalog has many mirrors of this type. It is like a sun with rays. They are vEry popular and decorators are using them quite a bit.Of course artwork that also fits within the wood frame. I agree not one that leans.

bevballew Somewhat of a mirror like Danielle has behind the white couch, but of course smaller to fit within the frame. You could put a sconce on each side.

bevballew The heather Garrett design is a mirror similar to what I am talking about, but smaller to fit in the wood frame.

bevballew Makes sense why you are painting now. Gray is a neutral so it probably won't cause much of an issue.

Danielle Lyn we choose the same color as what is painted on my inspiration picture....I was hoping to do something a little different but I really liked that one! Bevballew I looked at the starburst mirrors for our dining room, omg expensive! Most of our budget went to getting the furniture there is very little room left to buy art so the walls may remain artless for awhile

Lkristine Your paint choice is beautiful. Hopefully this gives you a better idea. It's not to light, or to dark.......

Lkristine Here are some other ideas you requested, I think the mirror will fit, but I could be wrong. I would place the floral arrangement on the left, and the seahorse and modern chrome sculpture on the right. (I have no idea why.) But they are all tall enough they should feel in some of the trimmed off rectangular space above the mantel and balance out the mirror. ....http://www.wayfair.com/IMAX-Sand-Washed-Seahorse-Statue-on-Black-Stand-in-White-70200-IMX2057.html http://www.wayfair.com/Nearly-Natural-Dendrobium-with-Vase-Silk-Flower-Arrangement-in-Cream-1190-CR-TXN1747.html http://www.overstock.com/Home-Garden/Abbyson-Living-Isabella-Round-Wall-Mirror/7315965/product.html http://www.wayfair.com/IMAX-Sand-Washed-Seahorse-Statue-on-Black-Stand-in-White-70200-IMX2057.html

Lkristine And if you want a little more modern drama, you could wallpaper the rectangular areas and the more squared off area above the mantel, it could be a nice backdrop depending on your taste. It would add even more visual interest with balance of the neutral colors. http://www.allmodern.com/Graham-and-Brown-Helsinki-Ivory-Wallpaper-by-Laurence-Llewelyn-Bowen-17791-GAB1101.html

Danielle Lyn I love those scuptures the round ones!!! I just need to look at every home decor place in my area now that I have some inspiration/an way to lay things out on the fireplace!! Thanks for all the ideas!!!

bevballew One more thing I realized Daniella! My interior designer had me remove the trim/framing above the mantle. That way you are not limited to a size of whatever you put above. She put a contemporary artwork and then light fixtures of a more antique look on .each side of the mantle. ..my room is more eclectic somewhat traditional. I have a similar fireplace in my master bedroom and I have a mirror above the mantle, not framed but adhered to the wall. I have three tall glass simple vases with three white tulips in each vase. It is simple and elegant. We did paint at the top the same color as the walls as one of the decorators suggested in one of these comments. Your room will be beautiful. Good luck!