I would paint the fireplace in a heartbeat! I have never had a flat screen over a FP so no advice there.

I think painting the fireplace white or cream would be beautiful. It would tie in nicely with the surrounding beadboard and make the expanse look very stylish and updated. That's strictly my personal opinion ;o)
As for placing a flat screen TV above a working fireplace, I wouldn't do it, although there are many folks who have and love it. TV's should be placed at eye level to avoid strain on the neck and back. And then there's the issue of having a delicate computerized system and LCD screen above a heat source. Again, that's just me.

I would paint the brick as well as the beadboard above the fireplace one color, I would not do white. I would make that an accent wall, I cant tell by the picture what colors you have in the room. I would not put the tv above the fireplace if you use the fireplace.

We have the PB cut pile jute rug
http://www.potterybarn.com/products/cut-pile-jute-rug/?pkey=cnatural-fiber-rugs

We have a taupe microsuede (?) couch. Want to replace it w/ a slipcovered (off white?) couch. So neutral colors. I like to change throw pillows for a pop of color. (Right now I have lime green pillows which echo the candles on the mantle)

I have serious issues with anyone painting brick or wood - mind you I have seen some pretty nice outcomes.

So my first reaction was "NO DON"T DO IT!" lol

I think if the room is large enough, a TV over the fireplace is OK. We have a very large, 2 story great room with a 52" over the gas fireplace. I don't feel it strains our neck or back b/c our seating is far enough away from it that we're not craning our necks up to see it.

If you paint the fireplace, would the hearth look too dark? We have a brick fireplace and brick on the floor in front of the fireplace. I've always wanted to paint the fireplace, but wondered how it would look with the floor (just in front of the fireplace) being brick. If you are still debating, I would buy paper the color that you want and tape it over the fireplace to get an idea of how it would look.

That is what I am going to do once I get my other projects done.

Yes, I would paint it. The brick isn't very attractive, IMO, but I think it will look great painted. You could also do stone over it...
I would sit down and pretend you are watching the TV above the FP. See if it's comfortable or awkward. Lots of people do it, but it just seems so high to me.
Good luck and please show us the "after"!

Par
Congrats on your remodel - that's what happens, fix one area & it leads to others!

Some considerations
If you paint the brick -
You will have to do something with the hearth brick - I can't tell what is on the hearth ? slate or the likes - I would either box the bottom part of hearth out or consider putting same hearth stone over the existing brick there.
If you do paint the brick - Get a good brick/stone cleaner & clean the inside of the firebox - may as well have the chimney sweeper come to. To often I see people that have refurbished the fireplace but not the inside etc.. it's messy to do afterwards
Also, I would consider lentils on the fireplace - it seems like it would not be too difficult to do so.
If you plan on leaving the room white I would paint the mantel a different color.

I'm not a fan of TV over a working fireplace - for many reasons, the first being a fireplace should be a focal point not a TV - that said there are creative ways, typically artwork, or faux type cabinet w/doors to disquise a TV

Best to you

I'm not a fan of painted brick either so I wouldn't paint it. Clean it and paint the walls would be my suggestion. The white just doesn't go with the brick.

That's the perfect setup for some built in full or half height bookcases/tv cabinet on either side. Maybe a dark stained, almost black wood with matching mantle would look nice. You'd have to relocate your thermostat and doorbell but they're low voltage wires so shouldn't be a big deal.

By the way, there are brick stains out there that you should look into instead of paint if you decide to go that route.

in the last house, we painted the brick fireplace and the brick below the hearth. this one has slate. (last one was marble). I agree, the mantle is going to blend in and get lost....it should be different, but how?

Haley comet - Our walls were stained paneling (a green/gray color...very dull and dark, but not terrible offensive.) We decided to paint to brighten it up. (Please don't have a heart attack...!) It was a TOUGH decision. I hate painting wood, too, but it was either paint or DH was going to rip it down and drywall the whole room. I couldn't see wasting all that real wood, so I convinced him that painting would be a good thing to try first. He still hates the paneling.(It's tongue/groove pine, I think. From the 50's) That said, he's going to live w/ it at least 'til we get the kitchen finished. We have some varnished (high gloss) paneling going up the stairs. To me, that's some offensive paneling! (Would be great in a cabin, but this is our home, which we've renamed "the lodge".)

It's true....one thing does lead to another.... We have big plans for this place. Hope our wallets hold out.

Another thing you can do is tile over the front or get a single piece of stone cut for it (marble/granite).

Parsuzi - well after reading that I can say good choice! I can understand why you painted it and think it was the best choice rather then the same ol' same ol' dry wall.

I agree with the point organicnoob made about perhaps painting the walls instead of the brick. Our 1970's house has a very similar living room with dated brickwork and the solid wood tongue and groove paneling. The paneling was already painted when we bought it, but it was a vanilla color that was all wrong with the orangey brick. These particular colors might not work if you want neutrals in the room, but a rich brown or tan on the walls might make you feel differently about the brick. I know it worked in my room!

Before:

After:

Wow, Equest! Big difference! Your room looks great! We are going for a more neutral palette...seems to be what the house is telling me to do (I know that sounds weird, but I FINALLY think the house is talking to me...) We have HW floors, which will be redone next week as part of the kitchen redo - whole main floor will be HW. I have off-white silk drapes, woven wood romans in the room. Also lots of framed photography (art, in addition to pics, if that makes sense). "Art" is in antique frames (we buy from a favorite artist at summer art shows) and family photos are in black frames. Black floating shelves (might be too much of a contrast)above couch.

We'd like to do some built ins on either side of the FP. Need to find a local cabinetmaker who can do that, I think. The only problem is the heat on the outside wall...but that's not a miserable, impossible fix.

I think I need to play w/ photoshop and try the FP in white, the mantle in a color (or wood) and see what it looks like before I pick up a paintbrush.

My preference would be to use a very diluted mixture of paint/water and put a "wash" on the brick instead of a solid cover of paint. You need to take your time and not get it on the mortar lines.

I've never used this product but I like the pic of how the character of the brick remains intact but the look of the fireplace is dramatically different. This is what you can accomplish wish a couple diluted colors of paint.

Here is a link that might be useful: Washed brick

Here's a quick example of what I was thinking. Not exactly the mantle or wall color I would pick but this is a quick mockup. I changed the wall color so the new features stand out.

What I wanted to show is that adding a mantel that covers more of the brick might make it more acceptable to you. When I was looking for pics of mantels to use I found a website mantelsdirect.com which has a bunch of different mantels and stone surround kits. If you cover the brick, look at the remnants at your local tile/counter place and see if you can find a piece of stone to cover the front. You'll probably only pay for the cutting.

A fireplace is usually a focal point in a room. I think the last thing you would want to do is paint it white so it disappears into the wall.

{{!gwi}}

My fireplace was brick with a wood surround. Painted brick prior. I used tile grout to cover the brick, fill in even, then painted and added a wash. The brick in front was even with the floor, I tiled this for fire issues. It turned out great and was an easy job. Far better look than painted brick.

Love the look of the brick fireplace with red walls. Great result and love seeing so much others have done.

And since custom built-ins might not happen right away... here's what it would look like with just the new mantel and no bookcases.

{{!gwi}}

I love organicoob's mock up - especially of one with the book cases. That's what I would do, and I would warm of the walls with some paint.

Organicnoob - thanks for the visual! Looks great! I read your post today at work, but we have filters which block images (No fun!), so i had to wait until I got home tonight to see it. Worth the wait, that's for sure!

Wish I could see these things in my mind's eye, but I'm so visual, I really need to 'see' them. Again. Thanks for the time you spent doing that.

Joanie38 - what color would warm up the walls?

Parsuzi - I'm not sure what your other colors and accent pieces are, but I think that the mock-up color warms it up and doesn't compete with the fireplace. Sorry I don't know exact names of colors. I tend to pick out swatches that I like, color match them to a great paint on sale, get the paint home and mix it a little more with leftover paint from my garage. :)

I really like your fireplace and love the mock-up. I am not a fan of TV's over fireplaces. To me, it seems to take away some of the tranquility of the fireplace. However, I can see how it can be necessary in some rooms when one is really tight on space. Good Luck!