A few years ago we spent a ton remodeling the house and everything looks great,we actually could have bought another house but since this one is paid for decided to make it the way we wanted.. It was pretty much a gut job.. Everything was replaced exept for the old dated fireplace so time to fix it... first I will remove the doors and paint the 1980s brass flat black..That leaves what to do with the brick.. I can go the modern route and tile over it with a lighter colored tile or I ca go a little more traditional classic and paint the brick...either way will work..
the doors are definitely an eye sore antique brass and polished brass are sooooo 1980s..lol may do that first and see what it looks like.. I watch way too many home improvement shows..
We have a glossy marble-like tile over ours in the house we just moved into, and I like the looks of it very much. Our mantle is very similar to the one you have, and it goes with the tile very well. Lots of pictures and ideas on sites like Heatilator and such.
yeah I have been looking online mainly because I was not sure if I could tile over brick... I have a ton of tile left from our kitchen but its too dark and really want to lighten it up.. I like the brick but it just doesn't go with the rest of the house anymore... have seen several that were painted and it looks ok though not as goos as tile..
I don't see why you couldn't. I have laid tile floors over concrete and it worked out fine. I'm not an expert on flooring though by any means.
If your going to burn some wood you might as well get some heat out of it. If it were me I would look into a pellet stove insert. I have a freestanding stove in my home. 2 story house 1570 SF. With the stove and 1 ceiling fan I have heated my home the last 3 winters. Last winter was one of the worst for cold and snow in years and I used 3 and a 1/2 tons of pellets @ 244.00 a ton. Empty the ash pan and clean it about every 30 days. I highly recommend Harmon stoves. (I have no affiliation with the company or products) from my research and experience. http://m.harmanstoves.com/Products/Accentra-52i-Pellet-Insert.aspx
You know those folks in the suburbs, they are weird like that the neighbors look at you funny if you have a pellet silo behind the garage.
Look into "white-washing" the brick. We recently did ours that way. Used a dark brown glaze to darken a few bricks before white washing. Made our fireplace look much more modern.
