Thanks! I'm liking the Chucky shelves idea.

I'd be inclined to remove the shelves, and balance the wall with a low dark cabinet and art on the left, and a tall sculpture on the right. I'd love to see the walls much lighter -- a bright greige with a very slight pink undertone. This is a wonderfully open, bright room. Take advantage by stressing that.

I haven't tried painting the ceiling -- time being the problem to get all the shadowing right -- but I'd go off white in the direction of the wall colour.

I agree that the fireplace doors are dated, though.

I did this rendering a couple of years ago in response to a Houzz dilemma.

I think these fireplaces need VERY little as far as mantels. And they put such small ones during the period, a small mantel can only hold small thinks, and it does not need items that are not to scale with the size of the fireplace itself.

Dont go crazy trying to find something that works on them, it just competes with the rock pattern as well, and just doesnt look good.

It is a very pretty room, and with some rugs, and furniture, and maybe a very large modern piece professionally hung on the left side, would be KILLER!

I like the room as Rina suggested. I like the rock wall.

This fireplace looked very similar to yours. The hearth was all stone, also. I added the stainless surround, the tile to make the actual opening more in proportion to the size of the fireplace. I used marble on the hearth which also made a big difference in all the stone looking rather oppressive, Then just a great sculpted piece. This was just a rendering. I couldn't find the "Before"

Beautiful room you have! Love it!

Yes, If you have an architectural detail that is so prominent, minimalist thought is the safest. It can get very expensive and turn into a money pit.

The shelves above the fireplace seemto balance out the wall to me. But because they are so light they fade into the background too much to really help. So the darker, natural reclaimed wood idea is a very good one. That, the fp door, and paint should make a big difference. I'd do those things first and see how you like it.

Is that a wood burning fireplace with chimney? Or a ventless gas fireplace? If it's a vent-free version, you can have it relocated to the center of that wall. We build lots of vent free fireplaces into our remodeling projects, so feel free to contact me for additional advice.

Can also share several (easy, and sturdy) methods of how to hang/install a variety of large wood mantles above the firebox if you're considering that for the new look.

This looks like a very interesting home. I would love to see more of it!

I see two issues with doing any expensive retrofitting.

If you try to balance the expansive rock wall with a more substantial mantel, it will dwarf the fireplace that is already off scale.

You also have the hearth. If you increase the size of the fireplace and center it, you will have to extend the hearth.

What you would end up having to do is center the fireplace and increase the size, extend the hearth, and then ad a more substantial mantel, if desired. Reclaimed wood can be beautiful, but very expensive and could cost several thousand dollars for a substantial piece, and that does not include installing.

The house looks pretty formal and modern with the very distinctive marble floors, and architectural design that we can see. If a major change to fireplace etc is undergone, it should become the focal point that is in keeping with the style of the rest of the house.

Get rid of the brass hearth door, stain the rock wall and ledges grey. Add a tree. .....assuming this is not the wall that the TV will be placed upon.

An updated fireplace screen would make an impact, as would a chandelier once your furniture choices are made.

Consider a large asymmetrical mantle extending from the fireplace to the left.

Paint the walls Versatile Gray and the ceiling Popular Gray. They are both on the warm side as grays go.

I have tried roomstyler.com which has helped with furniture placement.

I was thinking about some kind of custom wall unit, and cover the fireplace completely, or with doors, or something, leaving some of the rock exposed.......

I've seen design dilemmas over the years on Houzz, and fireplaces are by FAR the most common problems.

My boyfriend had a NW contemporary home built in the 70's, with a fireplace and almost identical "stone", that went from floor to ceiling, about 12 feet, but didn't take up the whole wall.

I know this is most likely not an option, but one weekend I couldn't stand it anymore, and he went at it with a crowbar, and ripped it completely off the wall!! It was a real -----! It was cemented on with chicken wire, so big slabs came off, and were HEAVY!

We had it replaced with a painted free floating mantel, and subtle marble. It was SUCH an improvement, and I didn't realize how much light that fireplace soaked up. This does not seem like a problem here, but in the NW we need all the light we can get!

Again, I'm not suggesting you do this, just sharing my experience in case you ever decide to attack the creature. Actually, removing it was a bit dangerous because of the rocks being cemented in large areas, and the weight could have been overpowering and caused injury.

I would send photos, but I am not in that relationship anymore. It was about 20 years ago.

Okay, I've figured it out.

I would guess the fireplace and rock are original to the house.

I don't know what it was about the 70's contemporary style homes. The HUGE wall with a little, tiny fireplace.

The split levels from that period often have the two-door garages, and bedrooms above, with two windows that have a huge space between, and look really off scale from the outside.

However, if you try to close the space between with moulding, etc, it makes it look worse, because you are decreasing the space on the outsides of the windows, which just makes them more and more off center.

I would guess the marble floor is not original, with someone at some point trying to deal with the rock wall, without tearing it down.

That's what happened to us. I would sit in the living room in the evening and start at one end of the house, and follow it around to the other end, which finally led to just tearing the thing down.

Someone before my boyfriend owned it, actually put a Roman column on ONE side of the house, because it's a split level, the other side of the house is up above and about half the height.

I think embrace the rock or tear it down! :)