First: if it is a rental, do you have permission to paint the stove, the bricks and the walls? If yes, then I would just paint the stove black and the walls. Painting brick takes a lot of time and coats of paint and might not be worth the effort for a rental. Or, you might just leave the stove and bricks and paint the walls a fun color - which is much easier to reverse when you move out. As a landlord, if you painted the brick and stove without permission... hoo boy!

aqua and orange. I'm totally serious. I love that combo.

Honestly, I don't mind the brick color - since it is a separate entity from the stove, you can leave it cream and paint the stove black. The stove would pop too instead of fading into the background.

I think the brick would look off in black - you could do a brick red or a burnt orange. It wouldn't let the stove fade into the background, and the brick would look a bit more natural.

Do not paint the stove & brick unless you have special fire/heat-proof paint specifically for application to brick and metal - this is not cheap stuff and it's not likely to be found at your local hardware store.

Otherwise, the first time you use the stove, the paint is going to peel off and you'll have a toxic mess on your hands...

...IMO, leave it alone.

Red bricks, black stove and gray walls! Then again, I just like those colors. But to me, stoves go black, dark green or that old-time red. Any other color would look weird to me - just like the cream on it does.

If you are going to use the stove then I'd be sure to talk to someone about what type of paint can go on there safely.

I think the cream color is perfect! What would make black better for that space? Black works well in plank-walled cabins which is not what you have.

The curved baseboard around the front of the hearth is pleasing to the eye. Why not frame the brick with a moulding in the same profile?

I'm not convinced that MarlyK's suggestion of aqua and orange would work, but a deep burnt orange within a wooden frame would look lush and set off the stove beautifully.

I like the current colours! Don't paint it. It almost has a Scandinavian look to it right now. This looks stylish, where as a black stove with red brick is pretty boring; nice, but boring. x

Here's an image so you can see those colors together: http://fabricshopperonline.com/all-star-boy-bedroom/picture-105/ .

Actually, googling any color combo will yield a whole array of images which will likely spark your inspiration. Doesn't have to be those colors. I also like fuchsia and turquoise.

I looked into painting my wood burning stove. You are very limited in the color choices offered, commercially off the shelf. So I'd look into what is available before doing much more planning. Good luck tho. Looks cute already!

I love it the way it is- just paint the walls. Black stoves suck up light, and you'd lose all the detail. This will look beautiful in winter with a fire going and fresh in spring with a pitcher of flowers on top.

This is going to be controversial, but I think 9 times out of 10, painted brick looks awful.

Excellent suggestion Painter Tim... I think putting moulding around the brick might just do the trick. Cheap, DIY and renter friendly.

Definitely not going the orange route, (although it is my fav color) mostly because it is an open floorplan and right now i am sticking to neutral tones throughout the space. sorry :(

And yes we do realize that we would have to use a special paint obviously...

...our landlord is pretty cool about us painting anything and everything...

I agree that the cream is not that bad and that painting the whole thing could spell disaster... (and is not my husbands top choice either).

Anyone else have any great moulding tips? (Because I do like this idea!!) What about the space above the fireplace? Do you think I could do anything there?

Great ideas! I cant wait to start in on this now!

i dont mind it the way it is. if i was going to paint it though, i would do the brick the same as the walls and the stove glossy black. i would talk to the land-lord to make sure it is ok. painting a stove requires special heat resistant paint.

i say paint the brick charcoal gray (and maybe the wall too) and paint the stove with a fun poppy color like orange or aqua or yellow

or leave the walls and brick and paint the stove navy, you'll lose less details than if you paint it black

I like it as-is, except I want to paint the walls.

If I had to paint the stove, I'd paint it black or red.

Love it as is.

I agree, i love it as is. The picture's first impression actually inspired me to think of painting my natural stone fireplace a similar color!!

i also think i would paint the walls. i like the idea of orange or blue, like go either hot or cold on the color wheel

I wouldn't paint it. I'd spend my money accessorizing the area with stuff that you can take with you if you move. And consider moving some furniture in, start hanging some art around it. It might change how you view it.

I really like the Scandanvian feel it's got going right now. I might do the walls in a soft dove blue/gray though.

I would leave the stove and bricks alone, and paint the walls. That can give plenty of contrast without painting brick. I think painting an entire corner black could look a little strange, and I'd be surprised if the landlord would approve.

You could use paint on the walls to define/extend the fireplace surround up to the ceiling (e.g., a shade or two darker than the color for the rest of the walls). Or you could do some kind of pattern, stencil or decal for that area above the brick.

This example was based around a holiday theme but you could do whatever you want. Obviously there are a million different options, but I think turning that corner into an accent wall or section of wall could help define and unify that corner.

http://blog.hgtv.com/design/files/2010/02/RMS_ElizabethTrunkey-winter-fireplace-decal_s4x3_lg.jpg

http://yourdecoratinghotline.com/wp-content/uploads/2010/01/mono-rm-accent-wall-IdealHomeMag-UK.jpg

Wood burning fireplaces and the chimney pipes radiate a lot of heat so I would be careful selecting items to go on the wall in that corner. Personally I wouldn't put artwork there unless it was something sculptural. I have two old leaded glass windows behind my wood burner and wood paneled walls and they're fine but if I put a candle on the window sill there it melts into a puddle of wax.

You could hang a series of something. I like these birds.

http://twentyfirstcenturyretro.files.wordpress.com/2009/03/5x_brass_birds_wall_decoration_7z.jpg

I think would look great to drop down a small chandelier to one side or the other of the stove itself—maybe this is where you could bring in a pop of color? And it's something you could take with you when you move.

http://designmanifest.blogspot.com/2011/02/shining-over-your-head.html

Hi. I just painted a stove (black). Thought you might want to consider all that happens during the process of applying the fire/heat resistant paint. It's not just that you need special paint, it's that you then have to fire up the stove and heat the unit, thereby curing (rather than simply drying) the paint. This process sends a lot of particles into the air - particles that will embed themselves in that lovely cream color and be difficult to clean.

My vote is to leave it the way it is (or try a row of tiles along the brick for a pop of color) - I also like the corner's Scandinavian feel, and think you could work around it.

Okay Okay OKAY!!! We agree that painting the fireplace is out of the question!

And I really like Danica123's idea about finding some artwork to use as accents that we can take with us. Thanks for the links too,... totally feeling the brass birds. I think that I can incorporate the cream color somehow into the rest of the interior space to unify it for sure!

Awesome! Thanks all for the great advice!

~nicole

I like it the way it is and I would paint the walls grey, cream and grey are so nice together and art on the walls.

Ugh - the existing colours make me literally gag. Is it like dusty pink on the stove? Jeez.

I would paint the stove black and on the bricks, I would do imitation of brick so that it looks like the bricks have never been painted. Coincidentally, a fried of mine has a very similar stove (including the brick surround) and it is the most frequently used room in her house.

i actually agree with many of the other posters it is lovely as is i am so jealous! I would die to have that in my apartment. but if you can def paint the walls! i'd leave the brick as is or maybe give it a light brush to give it a weathered look if you like that look I did this for a customer of mine and it looks pretty cool it's also simple to do use a "dry" brush and just hit the bricks lightly. use a different color perhaps the color you paint the walls to do this.
but it is beautiful and I also like the trim idea. hit up your local hardware store (lowes home depot) they can help you get the right molding bring a pic with you so they have a visual. and please post when you finish i'd love to see what you do with it!!

keep the brick white and paint the stove black or paint the brick charcoal gray and paint the stove black. either way the stove totally needs to be black.