Well, of course you could put in a black stove but a more stylish cream colour could provide that contrast you are looking for, especially on that dark hearth. As for the surround, Chesney's are fantastic if the budget allows. If not you could simply render it off very squarely as to give a more clean aesthetic. If you like the bricks, tri-sodium phosphate is the go to. It's used for this purpose and even for use after house fires. It's incredibly strong and full protection should be used but it will give excellent results for little cash. Knocking out the cement and repointing may help to give a neater finish especially if pigment is used in the mix for darker grouting. I'd suggest as you are in the initial stages to look for something called a gas poker. It's like a huge lighter and if you have a gas line to the fire area it can save you much time instead
of fiddling and burning fingers trying to light a fire.

Best of luck with your project.

Thanks for the advice. I wish I'd read it earlier as I brought some acid based brick cleaner which doesn't even touch the soot. It's starting to look like rendering the whole thing out is the way forward. I like the thought of a nice clean finish anyway.

Hi Daniel if u look at my idea book this is a recently multi stove burner I hav installed I cd give you more details I don't know where you live as in locality of my work but I cd give you lots of free advice

I've exposed the brick work at my place it looks awesome, but i have to repoint it next

We are a stove showroom that offers a supply and install package. Myself personally, I would go down the fire board the chamber route on the sides, square off the opening as the arch is small or just leave the arch brickwork exposed and split face oyster slate the back of the opening which will give you a nice light opening, the sides can then be painted a light colour. The hearth I would recommend something rustic such as an Indian stone which will tie in nicely with the oyster back. If you square off the opening this leaves you the option to install a beam or not. I have attached a picture of something like what I would recommend. The stove is a DG Ivar which at the minute is an extremely popular option.

I cleaned my bricks with soapy water. You'll see that some of them look cleaner than the others, we had to chop out and replace some of the bricks. If you re point the brickwork and get the outside re-rendered the bricks will look nice and rustic, even if they are a bit sooty!

I like them the way they are so we've put down a slate hearth and will leave the bricks as is & paint the chimney breast white to help the cast iron burner stand out.

You may well have finished now, be nice to see an update!

Hi, I design & build one-ff stoves, how about one of these?

www.bespokestoves.com or www.stovedesign.com

You could use Glasroc to line the inside of the opening and brighten up the chamber. This would enable you to paint the chamber with non oil based paint, and create a minimalistic look. The board will not crack or deteriorate with the heat of the wood burner.

A Charcoal coloured retro burner will be going in this space.

The company who fitted our burner sorted all the bricks for us in the price. Cleaned, pointed etc. Might be worth consulting someone first unless it’s a diy project.