apartment therapy changing the world, one room at a time

A lighter yellow off the wall, or a clean white marble to match the trim. Go simple & modern. Offset the river rock as much as possible.

You missed a spot on the wall! i like the fire place, it's cozy like in a cabin. Is it wood burning?

I think a creamy natural colored limestone would look great.
Nice and rich, but neutral.
It compliments the river rock, and your trim but can go nicely with any colors or styles you might want in the future.

The colors on these are not quite right...but it will give you a good idea.

http://www.chimkc.com/Worksamples/DSC00486.JPG
http://www.fireplacesandbarbeque.com/images/uploads/7637b8ee0b.jpg

I think the fireplace is great, reminds me of great old hunting lodges, and they would have used terra cotta. If you want something more subtle, what about black marble to sort of blend into the floors?

I'd try to either blend seamlessly or contrast boldly. Flagstone would blend, black marble would contrast.

here is one with dark floors:
http://www.fireplacesandbarbeque.com/images/uploads/f2d453b0f3.jpg

these just have better color.
http://img.archiexpo.com/images_ae/photo-g/closed-corner-fireplace-74481.jpg

http://sunset.ultimaxinc.com/uploads/Colors/17/hearth.jpg

Several problems here:

---Your photos don't really show much. The fireplace is barely visible. Same for the hearth.

---Your paint, trim and wallpaper bear no relation to the fireplace. Sorry, but it looks like a train wreck.

---You bought a 106 year-old house and want to gut the original arroyo stone fireplace (!).

Those issues aside, why does this have to be done THIS weekend (and this is posted on AT after 5pm Pacific Time on Friday)? Is Barack Obama is coming for dinner Sunday night? I bet he wouldn't care about your hearth, and would advise you to take the time and figure out what will really work before you start demo-ing tile and do something irreversible (time consuming, expensive).

There's no changing the tile hearth without tearing up the fireplace - it appears that those stones overhang the hearth.

Furthermore, I'd bet that the original color of the floors were more in line with the tiles - IMO, you made a poor choice in floor finish by ignoring the elements that were already in the space. Finally - the wallpaper, while nice, is too busy for the space - and leaving it as an "accent wall" is non-committal.

I'd get rid of the wallpaper, ignore the hearth and get on with decorating and enjoying your room - I'll bet that the hearth tiles won't stand out to badly once you get the room furnished.

Since you clearly would like to work with most of what you already have, a very dark brown in place of the rust color of the present tiles might pull the room's other elements together.

If, as the previous commenter suggests, you really can't remove and replace the tile without tearing up the fireplace, is there a method of staining or painting (with something that's fire retardant) those tiles that are there now? I still suggest a very dark chocolate and glossy brown.

If that won't work, how about some kind of fire resistant cover cut to fit over the present tiles. It could be a piece of stone of the appropriate color. It would be a tiny bit elevated from the floor, but that might even be a plus.

I agree with bepsf - the wallpaper is all wrong for this room! The hearth doesn't look that bad but if you insist on changing - slate would keep with the rustic feel and be a nice contrast to the river rock

ok, first of all, there is SOOO much going on... The last thing you need is to add another element to the room. What ever you decide to do, I would suggest matching the color as close to the color of the existing flooring as much as possible. There is paint, wallpaper, white wood stripes that completely look like lightening bolts on the eye!!! So distracting!!! and the huge stone fireplace. It would be great to get rid of the paper and find a way to blend in that wood trim (even though I would get rid of it completely) and turn this into a room that feels sultry like a library/lounge. Get some great leather chairs with some classic lights (http://www.restorationhardware.com/rh/catalog/product/product.jsp?productId=prod1155441&navAction=jump&navCount=2) bring in some wool/cashmere throws and a basket with logs or books. Keep it sophisticated, not campy!

wait. save. demo. happy.

This is a "before" photo, right? I don't see the skylight and I looked up the silver lake paint color, which is gray not yellow as in the photo. And since you say you also refinished the floors, the photos are pretty much useless, esp. since they don't even show the one main element you're concerned about.
So I guess you're on your own here, but if it were me I'd get rid of the wallpaper and try to simplify as much as possible. With as wacky a fireplace as that one, it'll only make matters worse to have a lot of other things going on.
I'd like to see all-silver-lake walls, a lighter finished floor, and contrasting hearth tile. I'm concerned that trying to match the tile to the wood floor will look forced. Trying to match color on two different materials isn't exactly possible, the texture will inherently not match.
Too bad you have to get it done this weekend, more photos would have been helpful.
Good luck!

One more thing....after thinking a bit more, I would have gone with a more contrasting paint color too. The river rock is gray, the walls are gray....it's going to blend too much.

Here are some, I believe, successful rooms with river rock fireplaces, that you could maybe take some inspiration from (you may have to scroll down to see the fireplace):

http://seattletimes.nwsource.com/pacificnw/2004/0516/living.html

http://www.homeaway.com/vacation-rental/p194703

http://www.showing247.com/1246beech/family.jpg

http://www.lazyriverbb.com/images/lazy_river_bed_and_breakfast_river_rock_fireplace.jpg

I have a stone fire place in my living room and the layout of the room is very similar to yours. After MUCH trial and error , I have found a happy balance. Keep the room as simple as possible ! I have very nuetral walls and white trim , with mostly black and white accent colors. Trust me , it is the only thing that has worked out!(well for us anyway!) The wallpaper is very distracting and I think the color needs to be toned down. I would look at as many pics of stone fireplaces you can find to see what you like but I think I have seen river rock used on the floor in front and if done the right way it can look very pretty , probably a bit too pricey tho. Some thing that blends with the color of the floor and the fireplace would look good. Good luck !

I can see how this could be a funky retro/modern kind of room. I'd go with a smallish rectangular glass tile. Maybe a light green color. It would look awesome with the colors you've chosen for your floors and walls.

My only advice is this: After having lived in homes with old fireplaces like this, I recommend two things that I've often seen forgotten. First, if you go for light colored marble or other light stone for the hearth, make sure you seal it -- stone like that will absorb smoke and often turn yellowish. Second, along the same lines, if you haven't done this already, make sure the paint you put in the room is at least a semi-gloss. I lived in a place with an old fireplace one where the previous owners had flat paint in the room, and all the cleaning in the world wouldn't get the smoke off the walls. Only re-painting worked. Semi-gloss at least would be washable.

The floor and the tile both have a touch of red in them that is missing in your paint color.

Ditch the wallpaper there is no need to make this the focus wall.

Agreed - wallpaper is competing too much with the fireplace. I don't know what the rest of your house looks like, but I'd go with a light gray for the walls. Something that won't compete with the fireplace. Maybe BM dove wing? I'd also forget that white stipe going across the room.

don't sweat the hearth or stone. just move in.

if the house is 106 years old, that hearth and fireplace have earned the right to continue, since they look in good shape.

use your rug, furniture and art work to visually balance out the stone. i will echo the comment about using semi-gloss paint in the room if you are going to use the fire place. also speaking from experience, no amount of scrubbing will get all the smoke out of flat paint....and old fire places will smoke.

Alternate to semi-gloss might be to try the new scrubbable flat. I believe it's Valspar (Lowe's), and it really is scrubbable -- I took a scrubby with Comet to it and no paint came off. Amazing stuff. Bit more expensive than the usual flat, but suitable for heavy-traffic (hands-on-walls) areas like hallways, for damp places like bathrooms, and for likely-to-dirty places like kitchens.

Can't see any reason it wouldn't work in room with a fireplace, though I do have to say that if you've got smoke hanging out on the walls, the fireplace isn't drawing like it should. Get a mason to check it out, then. I've lived in houses where the entire house is heated solely by wood-burning fireplaces, and had a problem with smoke discoloring the walls. We had flat white paint, but then, we also had fireplaces designed with a good draw. With the age of your fireplace, I'd expect it's probably a strong fireplace, and not as flimsily designed as some of the newer (last 30 years) suburban fireplaces.

(For that matter, seeing how we're coming up on wintertime, might be good to remember to have chimneys cleaned. Need to do it at least once every few years, and more often if you use the fireplace frequently over the winter, and definitely right after you move in, if you don't know the last time it was cleaned -- just to be on the safe side. Don't want to light a fire under an old house sparrow's nest!)

I know your house! Friends of mine owned it before the person you bought it from (or possibly two people before). When they bought the place it was all but falling down, but they put a ton of work into it and made it adorable. (The wallpaper was put up by the woman who bought it from my friends. I will add my voice to the crowd saying it's all wrong for the room.) I have to agree with Bepsf - I think you'll find changing the tile is a real nightmare, and I suspect if you just decorate as if it's neutral you'll be happier. That fireplace is absolutely enormous, and it's one of the fun things about the house - this absurd, gigantic rock fireplace in a cozy little cottage. My friends incorporated a few light lodge touches into the decor - some antlers, a couple of hides - along with a lot of art and books and travel finds, and they ended up with a very chic, very personal space that became everyone's favorite gathering place. I think you'll find that your house is the kind of quirky, unique place that really wants the evidence of your life in it - and that micromanaging it - or, ack, "updates" - will kind of kill its charm. (And I say this as someone whose instinct is ALWAYS to micromanage.) This house has soul. You're lucky!

What a great house! The fireplace is your focus, no need for wallpaper. Line the walls with books and install a comfy couch.