Can you take a closer pic of the fireplace to better show off the tiles?

thank you, popped another one in

I’d paint it either the green or the grey of the hearth tiles. In a Matt paint paint.

What a beautiful fireplace, agree with big reader that the the colour grey in the tile would look stunning,

https://firewarehouse.shop/

Agree with potty’s, a Japanese dark stain. The fireplace, in my opinion, is soooo heavy for the room. I would actually leave it how it is, until you paint the entire room, add a wonderful light artwork above the fire, put some floor rugs in and furniture. Only then can you work out what colour the mantle should be. But at the moment the scandi floors, the gloss kitchen, and the federation mantle are competing against each other.

what colour will your floors be and do you know what kind of timber the fire surround is made from? You mentioned applying a stain / varnish but was that over an extisting finish? Id check what the wood is first - so far the only suggestions to lighten it seem to be to paint it but Id have a closer look at what sort of timber it is and then if its a light colour timber, like pine or oak, sanding it back to its natural finish so you both retain the beauty of the timber but also lighten it so its not so heavy looking.

Use warm white to compliment the timber and cream tile.

Hello Sophie, I think your choice of white walls & skirting boards makes the fireplace stand out more. I would also suggest the same could be said if you painted the fireplace black. There are so many colour variations of“White” & maybe a shade a little softer may help.
The dilemma could be “Do you stay with the Federation fireplace or move into today’s styling”? At some stage the fireplace is going to need to be stripped back, to remove the gloss finish. It is at that point that a decision is made If the choice was mine, l would paint the fireplace a charcoal grey & possibly the wall above it. ( that might be too much,but hey worth a try) like the photo with the black chairs & dark grey fireplace someone submitted. Also instead of the two chairs being a pale colour change them for another colour dark grey, plum etc. If you wanted to be even more daring, look at a colour palette of Porters paints for another choice for the fireplace. Perhaps a professional opinion might help. These are only some suggestions. Not a criticism of any of your ideas. Paint the fireplace or just restrain it & someone will always say “Oh why didn’t you do” you know the rest!!
Happy decorating!! Lor.

Hello,

I would go ahead with painting the walls (perhaps Dulux Natural White) and see how you feel. My thinking is to leave the fireplace as it is but use dark brown as your accent for your cushions, a dark brown velvet for example, it will balance out the greys and support the warmth of your floor.

See how it looks on your style board and if you like it :)

If you want to paint it though, I agree with the charcoal idea above, as much as I love a black fireplace, black against that tile is too harsh.

I don’t think a cool blue like lexicon would work with the fireplace

Hi Sophie

The surround looks to be echoing (or actual) victorian design so you have quite a bit of leeway here. If it was me (which of course it isn't) I would investigate the wood - it might be cedar or mahogany in which case it would be beautiful if stripped and restored. However if you want the room to appear larger the best thing would be to paint the mantle in a white or cream shade. I grew up in a big Victorian house with 10 of these fireplaces and they were all painted white wood or made of white or black marble. You could pick up the lighter creamy shade from the hearth tiles. A big gold edged georgian mirror is a great statement above and they can be picked up at auction really cheaply. It's a classic look, makes the room larger and it won't date. Hope that helps.