More pics:

Well the floor stone (outer hearth) is probably sized to code, so all you need to do is replace it.

I would paint the entire fireplace.

Disagree. With some effort, paint can be removed. Would not paint the stone fireplace front or hearth. The fireplace itself isn't ugly but the pic of the area seems a bit cluttered and "busy". You might try removing all the items from the mantel and changing your drapes to a solid color.

If you have an electric sander, use it to sand off the paint on the hearth or try hand sanding it with the roughest sheet of sand paper you can find or even try damp steel wool soap pads.

Not a pro on this but just from my own experience: An alternative that must be used cautiously and only with good ventilation in the room: Paint, if on a flat surface, can be removed with liquid chemical paint remover (or, if done very carefully, gasoline left in your can of mower fuel from last year). Put "shop towels" -- the thicker blue paper towels or pieces of it (auto parts section of stores) atop the paint you want removed and carefully wet only the paper towel so it will hold the liquid chemical on the paint spots. You DO NOT want the paint remover (or fuel) to run off the flat surface from which you're trying to remove the paint and be absorbed into the flooring or carpet/rugs. Let the chemical work on the paint a while but not completely dry before removing the paper towel and scrubbing off the paint. Again, if you need to try this, do be careful. Dispose of the paper towel pieces carefully. Don't put it in your kitchen garbage but put it in a sealed plastic bag so it cannot get air to combust and keep it in a cool place until trash day. Or, and only if you can do so safely in your back yard, burn them.

Good luck with the paint removal.

It looks like a crappy paint by number. The first thing I would do would be to remove all paint. Including sanding and removing paint on the mantle. I would be very interested to see what it looks like in original form.

If you don't like the white mantel, you could remove it or clad it with new boards with the wood finish you like, including adding a horizontal board against the stone beneath the mantel so it will be a more dominant feature of the fireplace. You could also add side and front vertical boards against the stone on each side to create a fireplace surround.

https://www.wayfair.com/Pearl-Mantels--The-Alamo-Fireplace-Mantel-Surround-11150-L1337-K~PERL1003.html?refid=GX103455994603-PERL1003&device=c&ptid=202122554683&network=g&targetid=pla-202122554683&channel=GooglePLA&ireid=8705337&fdid=1817&gclid=EAIaIQobChMIuJez2Yzc6AIVl9dkCh1RgwEREAQYBSABEgL4Y_D_BwE

I know you said you're not into the rustic look. If you cleaned up the paint with gasoline or something and removed the mantle and put a rustic barnwood mantel there in instead, I think it would look better than you think!

Woman Lake · More Info

Demo the stone veneer and see what you have underneath. I'm betting the firebox is a typical rectangle (not arched). If it's the original brick in decent shape, then you could try to restore it. Otherwise install tile or granite/blue stone over it. If you don't wan't to mess with the floor, then overlay a 3/4" piece to match the new finish. Possibly can re-use the mantel or fabricate a new one. There are plenty of mantle kits with side pieces if you're interested in that look. https://www.mantelsdirect.com/fireplacemantelslp-new.html

You might be able to pry up the hearth stone and replace it with a single stone to be set with the top of the stone even with floor level.

https://www.pinterest.com/pin/707839266403281021/

It would help to have more photos taken from further back. Lots of good options mentioned above so I won't repeat. I would see if you can remove the brass screen piece and spray paint it black with appropriate heat resistant paint in flat finish. I would add a piece of about 2" thick wood to the top of the mantel to give it more heft and then paint everything dark brown. I would remove all the "littles" on the mantel, and restyle that with about 3 layered pictures in possibly black and white.

Washington Street -1 · More Info

Keep it very simple. this is different styling, but you get the idea. Less in more in this space. Simply and then redo the stone when budget allows.

auto correct is driving me nuts. "Less is more … Keep it simple and redo the stone when budget allows.

I think all the changes suggested will just be a lot of messy work and you will still end up with an ugly fireplace only now there may be more problems from the “clean up”...so just paint it ...without seeing your room and decor it is hard to suggest a color..there are more options than just white..and if you do it yourself you can probably afford a more appropriate mantle..are you planning on using it? If not ..go to a stone yard and find a stone remnant in the right size to just cover the stone on the floor and the visible cracks...

The transition from the new flooring to the stone is horrendous. Do you have any of the wood left so you can pull the hearth and lay more wood? Then I would drywall over the stone and add moulding and paint it all out white with a white mantle. If you want to leave some of the stone you could do the top portion like this and leave the stone. But the hearth needs to go and wood needs to continue.

Lake House · More Info

Oh, Heather, I know EXACTLY what you’re dealing with. I hated my stone fireplace, the stupid mantle and the big stones the previous owners put down as the hearth. 1. I removed the stones, filled in with leftover flooring. Gained walking space in front of the fireplace. 2. Light-washed the stone. I used watered down ivory paint and sponged it one. One layer did it for my stone but you can layer after it dries if you still think it’s too dark. 3. Purchased a simpler mantle unfinished and stained it to match the gorgeous woodwork in my house. 4. Put a folk art painting on top. Voila!

And spray painted the firebox.

Different strokes, i guess...i loved your old mantle!...and a fireplace without a hearth just feels wrong to me...good job on the conversion,tho ‘

I had a similar situation and I painted the tiles around my fireplace and then used rustoleum high heat metal paint (brushed on, not sprayed cause even taking out the doors was too much for me). It was cheap, quick and easy. If you are handy go for the other suggestions, but this is a minimum of work. You could also whitewash if you didn’t want to paint. Attaching pic of my fireplace now.

I'd slap a coat of Benjamin Moore White Dove on all the stone and call it a day until you have the money for a total redo. You'd be shocked the difference a $50 can of paint will do on that fireplace.

Heed the caution from Bruce Ulrich. One spark on wood and you could literally lose your home.

Also, just any paint is a horrible idea. You'd need heat resistant paint. If you truly hate it, cover it with metal or other heat resistant materials specifically intended for fireplace use.

One more thought- in addition to white wash or white paint, since you mentioned you like traditional style, I have seen many black fireplaces in Victorian homes that looked nice, too.

Black, grey or white can all work. Make sure to prime first with a primer that will work on stone. You can use regular indoor paint on the stone but then use high heat paint for metal on the brass of you want to change its color, too.

Our fireplace is gas and never used, so yes, the wood flooring is not appropriate for a wood burning stove.

Paint the hearth black, order a piece of black granite and place it on the current hearth. Remove the brass screen and replace it with a traditional free standing screen or get the brass painted black in a car repair shop. Whitewash the stone and grout with a light grey paint like the other Houzzer mentions above.

The mantle and hearth will more labour intensive than the stone and grate as they can easily be transformed at little cost with paint; even consider limewashing. Depending how long before you completely update, you could paint the hearth to match at no cost, add a large piece of black granite or even tiles. In regards to the mantle, spend time researching to land on something that suits your room/budget and even consider something refurbished to save money. You could transform for a few hundred dollars depending on your choices. I just updated my fireplace by painting the stone and hearth and sprayed the grill black - it was transformed. Good luck.

Paint or replace the mantel....the skinny white mantel is totally wrong here. Remove all of the little things on the mantel. Use sandpaper or an electric sander on low speed to remove the paint spatters. You can paint the black grout with a gray that matches the stone. Fill in the gaps where there is no grout and paint that grout gray, too.
Then post a picture from further away so we can see what you need to do next.

IMO you are going to be redoing the FP with a gas insert so for right now paint it and move on . You will not need a hearth with a gas FP so you can keep it for a more traditional look if you want. Since you dislike the surround plan on what you will do when the new inset is installed .

If you're not going to be using the fireplace before you add the gas insert, you can get a pretty rug to lay over the existing hearth that is large enough to cover the terrible job the previous owner did. Then just paint the fireplace and paint the screen black. No need to worry about fireproofing or heat proofing if you simply don't use it until you're ready to re-do it.

well, you've had plenty of good advice, but I thought I'd paint your stone (cream) and fireplace doors (black) for you, just so you could see whether this would be liveable until you figure out something better....

I think we've lost the OP, but in case there's hope she checks back in, I want to second the above cautions that some of the ideas presented earlier could be fire hazards. Your city's building code enforcement division may be able to offer safety advice if you want to do a complete re-configuration of the space or overlay with a material that is not stone. Secondly, no one has mentioned Romabio, but they offer limewash meant for fireplaces to change the color of stone: https://romabio.com/

I can relate...having same issue and hoping to update my own eye sore.

Thanks everybody, I've had a lot to think about. There was previously a gas insert, the gas line is still present and ready to go. Therefore, no wood fires! I don't know what goes into replacing the insert, I've seen so much about fireboxes, logs, grates, blowers-my head is spinning.

As far as fixing the look, I think I'm going to try the Romabio limewash (Risposo), as inspired by a before/after I found on pinterest. I think I'm going to look for a thicker darker wood mantle and paint the doors black with heat-resistant paint. I also think that I may be able to pry up the hearth and install some tile.

I'm stuck at home like everyone else, so why not!

Sounds like a great plan! Post a photo when you’re done 😊.