I would hang some pretty sheer or lace curtains over the mirror. Then it would look like there might be a window behind the fabric. They could be drawn back when you want to use the fireplace.

(My first thought was a sledgehammer - until I read that it was a rental.)

Hi,
if this would be YOUR OWN place, I would suggest just to paint over with similar color as the walls...
but - since it is JUST RENTAL - my advice is: if the landlord would not allow to paint over - LIVE WITH IT as it is !
Fill this room with your stuff - use the color of the bricks as compliment - to overpower the impact.

Use your immagination to live in harmony with it - it is not forever, you could always to move out .... do not destroy, what is not yours.

Xandra

Oh those boats! Yikes!! :) are you looking to cover just the mirror or the entire fire place? If you just want to cover the mirror you could get a vibrant piece of fabric and contemporary looking pole, from which to hang it, and hang it to cover the mirror. You could also get a large statement piece of art to hang in front of the mirror. If you are looking to cover the whole brick wall, what about making it a photo and/or art wall? I have a brick wall (which I hate!) that I can't paint because I live in a rental; I found that hanging blue and blue/green based art all over it really help brighten it up.

Staple a piece of fabric on stretchers in a solid or print to complement your room. Velcro to mirror.

Hang a big piece of art over the mirror to cover it, get a new firescreen and put some candles in there, and put some plants on the mantle. Arrange the furniture around the fireplace, and perhaps paint the room something to help soften the "HEY THERE'S A GIANT FIREPLACE IN THE CORNER!" feel. Make it a conversation piece!

If the brick ledge at the bottom of the is wide and level enough to support it, I would consider removing the fireplace screen, and putting open shelving bookcase units in front of the entire brick feature. Interesting vases, etc in from of the mirrored section would distract from the boat images. I would use the lower section for books, lp's, cd's etc and the upper section for display of photos, artwork, etc.

I agree with putting fabric on stretchers and hanging it over the mirror. The rest of the fire place isn't great, but it's liveable. And assuming it's a working fireplace, you've got a fireplace! I'd kill to have a fireplace.

Any kind of material that would hang from a suspension rod would work. Not just fabric but what about a perfectly fitted bamboo shade. If the mirror still shone through you could add solid fabric behind it, in beige or something neutral. Or some other material, like rice paper with a pleasing pattern. A second suspension rod at the bottom to anchor it. Please let us know your solution, I'd love to see it.

I think fabric or any other treatment that's going to make it look like a faux window would be odd. How often do you see a window in the middle of a fireplace? Get a piece of art. Rather, get a frame that is the exact dimensions to fit into that space where the mirror is, and then find a piece of art you like to go in it (with matting to match up to the frame dimensions). Since you probably can't nail into that brick (or into the mirror) you might have to do the velcro thing.

Once that's taken care of, just decorate it like a regular fireplace. It sure would be nice to put in some shelves in that large area to the right of the hearth. Would your landlord let you sink screws into the brick in order to do that - if you promised to leave the shelves behind when you go? Or maybe one of those leaning bookshelves would work instead. Oh - or something you could anchor into the adjacent wall rather than into the brick.

what is wrong with the mirror? It is so hokey and wonderful. I say embrace its kitchy-ness. Personally I find the brick to be more offensive than the mirror. Can you remove the grate? Maybe replace that with something interesting and usable. Does the fireplace work?

one more thing - please take all the fabric suggestions and use them to deal with the vertical blind situation you've got going on there.

what about getting a facade built that would fit over the tiling and mirror? that way you can easily get rid of it when you move and have no problems with your landlord.

I agree that any use of fabric over the fireplace will look odd. You could certainly hang a large piece of art (or two or three or whatever) to cover the mirror and the top half of the brick to help obscure it. A new screen and candles/plants/decorative objects on the ledge will certainly make it much easier to live with the brick left exposed.

However if you REALLY hate the brick, I would create a facade from plywood to cover the whole thing. You'd have to attach it to the wall on the right and the ceiling... it's hard to tell if there is room on the wall to the left to attach the facade due to the blinds, so you might have to get creative there. You could paint the plywood any color and still hang artwork from that. Cut a hole for the actual fireplace, too.

I also really like the suggestion above of using open shelf bookcases right over the brick.

I'd play it up with an anchor and some rope on the fireplace.

If this is going to be a long-term home for you then I agree with the other posts about constructing a new facade for it and simply securing it to the front. I saw this done on "Home to Stay" (HGTV.ca - you might be able to track down the episode) where they had a carpenter construct one out of MDF, it included "built-in" bookshelves and looked fab. When they moved out the just took it down. Obviously the cost of having this made and finding a contractor to do this (if you can't do it yourself) would be an issue.

My first thought was to just cover it with a nicer, framed mirror. The other alternative, if you want to really diy it, would be to cover the entire top of the brick with a sheet of luan or paneling, and possibly even put a fake mantel along the bottom. You could attach it along the side with the wall, the ceiling, and make a couple support columns that run down to the brick. It would be easy to take down when you leave, and patch holes that are just in the drywall.

Wallpaper?? I saw another post on AT that discribed a way to use it in a rental - put down some painters tape, then on top of that double sided tape and then attach the paper to that. You could use some quarter round trim to finish it off if needed (also attached with the double sided tape?).

Please don't hang fabric over a fireplace if you plan on using it with actual fire....
If you have no plans to ever have a fire then go for it.
:)

Oh, I want that fireplace so bad! Boats and all. I think you should just learn to love it.

Are the boats actually etched in the glass? Because if they are not actually etched, you might be able to scrape them off with a razor blade (with your landlord's permission, of course). With any luck, a previous tenant applied them with spray-on 'etch' or that frosted window film.

However, if it's etched in, that leaves you free to adhere things to it - you can use a razor blade to scrape off paint, tape, whatever at the end of your stay there with no fear of doing any damage to the mirror.

Contact paper?

Get a piece of zinc or galvanized metal cut to fit and slip it in there. would be a nice modern touch. or get a piece of luan or similar lightweight weood cut to fit and paint it with chalkboard paint and draw something cool. Or write "behind this chalk board is a very strange frosted mirror." Or draw one of the boats (a private joke to yourself). Or get a canvas that is exactly as tall but maybe twice as wide as the mirror and paint something on it and hang it. The proportion of the mirror is strange... making the art piece wider would look better, and would make you feel the full width of the brick, rather than just the height.
Fabric may get covered in soot and possibly go up in flames. But if you want to do fabric, get a very cool piece of something cut to fit (with the cut edges folded back and hemmed so its perfectly square with nothing frayed), and soak it in liquid starch, then apply it to the mirror, smoothing as you go. It will peel right off when it's time to move and the starch can be sponged off with water... no harm done

here are directions from how to do it from an Army wife.
Graphically hard to read but useful directions with many applications.
http://www.omniport.net/lonestar/Starch/sheets.html

I was going to suggest something similar as pamh-- again only if you aren't using the fireplace-- You can also use laundry starch and tissue paper to make 'stained glass'! I used to do it with my mom when I was a kid, and it peels right off, and you can wash the mirror clean!

Doing the fake window above the fireplace look would not only be odd, but could be a fire hazard (see the smoke stains on the outside of the fireplace?)

I'd simply have a piece of Luan plywood cut to size, varnish it and place it in the recess, then you could hang a framed mirror or clock over it (suspended from the ceiling, of course)

If you plan on using the fireplace at all, cover it carefully. A big piece of framed art may be okay.

If you don't plan on using it, I'd plant my entertainment center smack-dab in front of it, and possibly hang some curtains to cover the whole damn thing.

Wow is that hideous. I wonder if your landlords have lost potential tenants because of it...

Your landlord has a responsibility to fix that fireplace so that the chimney draws properly - I would start there. It should be a pretty easy fix using a sheet metal insert - any chimney sweep company could do it.

Then, I would get a stretched canvas to cover the mirror. The ideal one would be exactly the same size as the mirror, but if that wasn't possible, I would go for one that was slightly bigger. The trick will be hanging it, since there's no where to put nails - but I've heard good things about 3M sticky products - that might work.

Those boats are horrible - who thinks these things up???

Many others have made good, useful comments, so I shall limit myself here to stating the obvious:

AHHHHHGGGUUUUHHH!!! THE BOATS! THE BOATS ARE HORRIBLE!! THE BOATS!!! AHHHHHGGGUUUHHH!!!!

I feel your pain. Is the lower half of the mirror broken or is that just how it looks in my browser? AUUHHHHGGGUUUHHH!!! The horribleness!!

Wow, can't you talk your landlord into letting you improve his property??? I'd try -- hard!

I presume it is frosted (etched) glass on this mirror.... If this were me, I would embrace the oceanic theme and add other little beach or maritime tchotchkes to the living area. You know, try going to a Target, Goodwill or local garage sale and see what you can find. That way, the items will be cheap enough that that you can sell them when you move, or just donate them to Goodwill.

Good luck!

If you want to cover the whole thing, you could find one of those big ol' screened room divider, probably vintage. Many of the ones I've come across are really gorgeous, but I can never find a use for them; this seems perfect! You could set up some sort of decorative vignette or seating area in front of it to make it appear less obvious that it's hiding something. Of course, if you wanted to use the fireplace all of it would have to be moved...guess it depends on how much you hate the general look of that wall.

Step one: Get a big stretched canvas print or a big framed print that you like.

Step two: Put it on the mantle. Lean in against the wall, over the mirror.

Step three: Add little knicknacks around it to make it look homey.

Step four: Enjoy.

There you go. It's called art.

Yes, I agree with SherryBinNH. You should definitely try to talk your landlord into letting you improve it. That is, if your'e planning on staying for a while and don't mind investing your hard work into a place you are just renting. I talked to my landlord about painting the kitchen cabinets. Showed him pictures of projects I had done and what I wanted to do. And he agreed to let me do it!
It doesn't hurt to ask!

I would get a large mirror or painting to hide the boats, but wide enough to get rid of the unbalanced setting.

I had an ugly fireplace that I covered with a combination of foam board and embossed tile that looks like a tin roof. Here's the wallpaper I bought. http://www.designpublic.com/shop/graham-and-brown/11329

I couldn't alter the fireplace in any way so I had to use foam board.

1. I cut poster foam board to cover fire place.
2. I taped foam board into one piece. (Fireplace was smaller than yours).
3. I cut wallpaper to fit over foam board.
4. I adhered wallpaper to foam board.
5. I painted wallpaper.
6. I used heavy duty double sided tape to adhere foam board to fireplace.

Oops, I meant embossed wallpaper.

Too bad you cant just accidentally break it. But really how is it affixed to the brick? Maybe you could frost the whole thing with spray. Those sprays can be washed off.