Honed absolute black granite is one of my favorite hearth materials as it is so neutral

A agree with Hallet & Co. but I might suggest considering a flamed or leathered surface as well since your tiles are somewhat textured. Black slate is also a great choice.

What color will the mantle be painted?

Wow. Thanks, Beth. I love that last one, too. I've found designing a new fireplace in an old home super challenging as there were so many directions I could have gone. I was drawn to doing something unexpected and minimalist/modern like this, but just because of how the entire space works, the architectural context, and because the fireplace is small, I didn't want it to stand out as some kind of statement piece. So I took the advice of many and just went with something traditional that wouldn't be super eye-catching - would look original - but with the kind of funky, pretty zellige surround. We're doing the brass trim, too, like in that last picture.

I'm actually kind of worried about our firebox tile, now, as the sample's looking more and more taupe than gray as the days go by. It's Fireclay Rocky Mountain 2"x8" https://www.fireclaytile.com/brick/colors/detail/rocky-mountains Not sure if you have thoughts on that. :)

And, yes, our floors are wood. We'll be refinishing them. We're hoping to go light - kind of Scandinavian look - but they're red oak and we don't want to end up with pink floors, so we'll see what the floor guy says.

Anyway, thanks for these ideas! I just ordered some 2"x6" zellige that we'll use for the hearth if we can't find a good piece of stone before they start the work.

zara, are those fireclay tiles actually meant for the inside of a firebox? only special types of brick can be used w/the fire.

Claire, we're planning for the mantel to be painted a sort of creamy white - the same as all our trim. Not sure about the walls. Tempted to go all white as my cousin just did that and it looks amazing. Granted, she has a pre-war apartment with >9 ft ceilings so might not be the same effect.

Beth, we're using an electric log set, actually, which sounds silly, I know - I mean, to go to all this trouble for that, but we chose it for environmental reasons (we have clean energy where I live). We'd always thought gas, but just couldn't do it in the end. Have to put some of my money where my mouth is (she says as she remodels). Other than the size, it also freed up the design, like, totally.

Anyway, so the tile doesn't have to be fire-resistant. I'd've done standard, gray firebrick, though, if I could have decided on it before the contractor framed the whole thing in. Firebrick will be too thick now. The Fireclay tile isn't super realistic, obviously, but also not super obviously not realistic. I'm guessing most people won't think about it. And we might end up slapping a cool vintage screen (if I can find one the right size) in front of the opening so it will hardly matter.

is it too late to change it? look for a thin brick veneer that that you can do in the herringbone

basically you want this but in a black or white?

soapstone?

save the money and do something like this cheapbrick veneer, and paint it whatever color you like

this is what I need to replace mine. refractory brick

i never use my gas FP so I tiled inside w/a glass tile. I've since redone my colors, so I sprayed the glass tile black. at some point if I ever want to use it, I've got to tear it out and replace the brick

I would like to do the same type of zellige tiles (I have them in my kitchen)

But I can't justify ripping out perfectly good marble on that surround! I do have gold accents in the room, so it does work. I'd just like to redo it like some of the pictures I've shown you.

Thanks, Beth. Love the tile accent in your kitchen. We don't want black tile in the firebox as the contrast will be too stark against the light palate in the room. Too bad because there are better options in black. We thought about doing a buff colored Fireclay "brick" tile (foundry flats). Looks like regular firebrick but thin and 2 x 6, I believe. But when the designer and I looked at it we agreed the overall effect was too "bland" (her word - accurate). Not sure if we'll do herringbone or running tile. Anyway, I think we're just going to give the gray Fireclay tile a go and if we hate it someday we'll rip it out, or, more likely, after a few painful years (or months), just stop seeing it.

My sister gave me this great advice as I was handwringing over all the major choices of this remodel, "Take comfort in the fact that, no matter what you do, you're going to hate it," Lol

@Beth H. :Do you know where this tile is from and what the color is?

Sorry to butt in, but coincidentally I was just on the Riad tile site (for another thread) and saw that:

https://www.riadtile.com/product/natural-white-zellige-4x4/

thanks Jilly. Raigan, Riad has their white and Cle tile has a Weathered White.