It would be very helpful to know what the rest of the room looks like....Is there any other wood or painted wood....? What do the windows look like? Are they painted wood or wood finish? Is there crown molding or baseboard in the room?

I would paint it!

If you can stomach a little project, I would watch some videos of how to do a distressed paint finish. I think it would help give the room some character if it were distressed. regardless of whether you do that or not, DO PAINT IT.

The dentil detail on the mantel makes it a classic look. If you paint it to match the other trim and add a glass doored cover to the firebox opening, you'll have a very upscale look. Replacing the brick supports with corbels will pick it up another notch. Painting the brick white to might look even better, but that can wait until you see how the re-done mantel goes.

Texas Large Wood Corbel, Maple · More Info

I would paint the brick and leave the wood mantel (maybe refinish it)

I agree with Decoenthusiast - painting the mantel will help a lot, adding corbels even more, then see how it looks. If you have any other touches of black, use black - otherwise white like the rest of the trim. If you have anything in the room that picks up the brick tones ( like the tones in the floor), it might look just fine unpainted (but definitely clean the soot off above the firebox).

Painting the brick is relatively easy and you can choose the right colour once the room is done. You may want to paint the grout a different colour, which is time-consuming but not hard.

Be sure to post after photos for us

http://www.howtocleanstuff.net/how-to-clean-a-brick-fireplace/

I would consider painting it a cream color.

if you don't want to actually 'paint' the brick, consider a whitewash. pretty easy to do and plenty of how-to's out there.

I can't vouch for this method, but she explains how she did it.

http://lovesthefind.com/2016/01/how-to-whitewash-brick/

Perhaps you can keep the mantle dark and just paint the bricks a lighter color? Here in our design, you can see how we used a dark mantle with white around it.

Leeward Renovation · More Info