Have you thought about having an electric "wood" stove? There are some nice ones around and would suit the house. You can also get them in diffent colours if you didn't want black. A wood floor would also look great

Definitely open it out , it is rather ugly ....sorry to be so blunt . An electric wood burner would look good , also I agree a wood floor rather than carpet . Not too keen on the purple either , a bit overwhelming .

I agree re opening it out and putting in an electric stove, perhaps a coloured one? Can you sand your boards? I do think wooden boards would work better than a carpet. WIth a nice rug for warmth,

Unless you need a fire for heat. As a "cheap and cheerful" solution, I would suggest taking away the shelf in front of the fireplace and simply put a block of different height white candles in the fireplace.
I agree re the wall colour and flooring. Also suggest painting the bookshelves in the right the same colour of white as those on the left and adding a further shelf to the top of it so that both sides of the fireplace are more symmetrical. This would perhaps allow you to create more floorspace.

Before you decide on the fireplace type - gas or electric you should consider how are you going to use it. Is it only visual and decorative, or do you want to use it to generate heat? Electric fires even with over 90% efficiency won't help you much in terms of heating, for example. Gas is better but can be quite expensive to run and woodburners are great if you get the efficient ones. They are low cost since wood is not an expensive fuel. But the installation might require more investment.

In terms of the look, it just needs little cosmetic changes to make it more modern. It will depend on your final fireplace choice. I would suggest that you search for some inspiration to find out what you like most.

Hey! Thanks for all the thoughts everyone. I hadn't considered an electric wood burner stove so that is a great possibility. I would like some kind of heat source to give some heat for the winter when the radiator doesn't quite get the room to a cozy temperature and for spring and winter evenings when I don't want to put the heating on but I need a burst of heat for the evening. So the possibility of a gas fire is still in the mix. I now realise that if I do this I am talking about a surround of some sort. It all rather adds up! But I might be prepared to invest in the project if it makes a really lovely feature.
I hadn't thought of painting the bookcases to the right white but that would indeed look super - thank you ballycastle2004. I would be hoping to clear some of the clutter so the sad bookcase on the floor on the left will go as well.
I won't really know until I take the carpet up about the state of the floorboards. However the chap next door has just sanded and varnished his and it looks great so finger crossed...
I like my purple wall ( just as well as I put it there)! Maybe you have to see it in the context of the whole room ;-)

We bought an electric stove that provides a very realistic look of an actual fire. We have a roomy old stone house in Wales. The dining room was always cold. The electric "wood burner" looks great inside the fireplace opening and it can give off a great deal of warmth, especially if we close the door to the room.

I have a real bias against monkeying with period fireplaces to suit new trends. Your fireplace is a good example of a style that was whimsically redone in an idiosyncratic way that has no relationship to the integrity of the original house. If your house is Victorian, you have real potential once you remove that brick and the raised hearth. The fireplace openings in Victorian terraced houses are often arched like yours. They usually had a cast iron insert for burning coal or wood. Obviously, that's gone. You apparently have crown moldings in the room! It's a good house! Victorian doesn't have to mean "fussy."

If you want to change or modernize, why not go back to a simple version of the original? If you remove the chunky bricks and the raised hearth (details which suggest the look of a pizza oven), and remove all non-original material, you will have a simple arch and you could plaster any damage and easily construct a wood mantle with a nice profile and a wood shelf with materials purchased from a builder's supply. You could mount the mantle on the wall and you wouldn't necessarily need a complete surround. The original surround may have been cast iron, but you could do one made of wood. Or consider visiting architectural salvage stores for a mantle or insert. They have so many to choose from.

An architecturally honest fireplace that appears to be of the same period as the house will increase the appeal and enhance the personality and value of your house. You can keep it simple and still be true to the period of the house rather than saddled with the tastes of a previous owner in a long chain of owners. An original-looking fireplace will not compete with any current styles of decor. It will enhance them and give the room a much more sophisticated and established look. You could use an insert that is electric or gas or you could use a small electric freestanding "wood stove" that would stand partly inside the opening and partly outside. If you have a functioning chimney, you could have a real wood stove or even an open fire if the fireplace is still lined properly. You will need a hearth--there may be one under the carpeting--possibly a slate or marble slab set level with the floor.

I'm an architectural historian and a fireplace fanatic. I'm devoted to keeping fireplaces true to the original design in a period house. Fireplaces and hearths have always been the heart of the home and changing them to suit modern trends is, to me, akin to pulling teeth from a beautiful smile. You are very fortunate to live in a "stone built terraced miner's house." Let the house be itself and you can't go wrong. However you choose to furnish (including purple walls) doesn't matter. You will have a gem! There are some excellent books on fireplaces to browse through for inspiration. Or you could do an image search online.

Since your house is one in a terrace, some of your neighbors may have intact original fireplaces. That might be the best place to start for ideas. Good luck!

I neglected to mention that it's possible your fireplace opening was not arched originally. It could have been filled in when the brick was installed. Uncovering what was there could be very interesting.

I love the fireplace and colour the way it is! Just declutter around, paint bookshelves to right white, remove carpet and hopefully be able to have the sanded boards (we've painted our Victorian boards in a creamy white - looks great). There's an arched piece of pottery (?) on a shelf - this could look good in the fireplace, with a collection of similar objet? Keep it simple though.

Sorry but my eyes were more drawn to the heavily cluttered shelving on either side. Also the fireplace wall colour does not help. Personally I would paint the shelves to match the walls and de clutter (be ruthless), and pick another colour for feature fireplace wall ( its fighting a losing battle with all the stuff around it). As for the actual fireplace iwould cover it over and get a new fireplace suite, there are some lovely ones out there and at this time of year are in the sales.

I'd personally expose the wall, assuming there's stone or brick behind it of course. I'm in a Victorian as well and we exposed ours because we didn't like the way the fireplace looked as well. I've attached our before and after pictures.

I think I would rip out the whole of the fire place and start again. Put in a log burner free standing on a slate or natural zone base, or if contemporary style one that is placed into the wall. I would have new shelves built for your books matching each side and then cupboards built below the shelving on both sides (simitry - I couldn't remember the word!) to tidy the wall up....all painted white of course. A wooden floor with under electric heating would be great if money allows, then you can have a choice with different times on the tariff...burning logs is definitely cheaper. Good luck with your decision.

Have a multi-fuel burner fitted! We're so pleased we did, this winter has been the first time we've not had to huddle under rugs on our sofa, and the room has come to life! See before and after pics below. We also had cupboards and shelves built in either side to try and tidy our clutter!

I love it! Just think--that charming arched opening was hidden behind a later decorative effort that was considered "modern" in its time. The multi-fuel burner looks lovely and you get to enjoy the warmth and see the lively fire through the good-sized glass doors. You should be proud of what you have achieved. I'd love to see photos with the new cupboards and bookshelves. Kittywares, if you have any cats that are heat-seeking loungers like mine, I'll bet they appreciate what you've done.

Thank you so much puddinghouse! Quite unbelievable that this beautiful arched opening was hidden behind some fake wood panelling, and we didn't do it for ages because we were scared of what was behind it! Yes my 2 cats love it now and can't get close enough, although at first they thought it was some sort of monster and used to run past very fast! I shall be doing some more decorating and de-cluttering soon so shall get some more pics up of the cupboards etc. etc.

Hi kittywares - that is just gorgeous! You must be so pleased you took the plunge and your cats must be in heaven.

Hi Puddinghouse. Thank you so much for taking the time to share your passion, enthusiasm and ideas. I have had a couple of professionals in to give me ideas and quotes but I have gained masses of inspiration from the ideas you and other have shared. it looks the back panel is asbestos and the flue is very narrow so there would probably have been a Parkray in there at some point. This is just to add to my confusion.. However it strengthens my resolve to get something done and to have something as lovely as the ideas others are sharing.

Don't be put off by a narrow flue......there are all sorts of ways to deal with that problem which can be resolved. no task is too big if you really want to make a huge change. Don't be put off and ask how you can get around these problems. It will look amazing you just have to have the passion to get through it ........and the money of course!

Hi , We have a gas stove, which doesn't need a flue at all, in our dining room. It gives out good heat and looks quite authentic. Check out Burley flueless stoves. May be worth considering?

I'd put in a small Victorian fireplace.

You can break that existing one out quite easily. The arch that is there is just a modern decorative one. The real one will be a bit higher up (be careful not to disturb it) and the bricks will be locked together lengthways.

Something like this would really suit the room. Easy to fit once you've opened the hole (which is a couple of hours work for a builder so not a big job)

The reproduction ones really are much less expensive than you'd think (£300 or so) and for a little extra they can be fitted with a gas fire or electric (gas flame effect)

Hi mv5869 Thanks for taking the time to offer your suggestions. As it happens I have replaced the fireplace. I am very grateful for all the suggestions people made and they gave me lots of food for thought. I was going to post a photo to show everyone who commented the "after" pictures but was waiting for it to be completely finished so you could see the full effect.

I seriously considered a reclaimed Victorian surround and insert but in the end I decided it just wasn't what I wanted. I called in a local specialist and he built me a fireplace with a Bath stone surround and black slate slips and hearth. We in put a gas insert fire. I absolutely love it. The natural materials are gorgeous and in my opinion the design is contemporary but classic. I can turn the fire on when I get in from work (usually late) and I really enjoy the fire every day at the moment. It wasn't a cheap solution but after years of fretting about this I have exactly what I wanted. I will try and add a link to the specialist in a minute.

As you can see I took up the carpet and sanded down and varnished the original boards. A few boards needed replacing but a local reclamation yard was able to supply reclaimed boards. The pine came up quite bright but I like it!

I also had bookshelves built in on the right and painted white. Thanks so much for suggesting this it looks amazing. I am in the process of reinstating some of my possessions but trying to be selective about what I put back. It just takes time to sort it all out.

I went for what I thought was a neutral colour on the walls but it turned out to have a slight orangey tint. I am happy with it.

The new sofas are orange so I haven't lost my strong colours altogether! there will be a rug as well so when it is all in place I will post another picture of the finished effect.

Tim Davis Stone and Fire

Here is an "after" photo. Like I say I haven't finished arranging the shelves and there will be a rug which will introduce some turquoise!

And here is a close up of the fireplace.

Get rid and get a electric wood burner in black you can even get them that crackles like a real fire ?

Hi gabrielle, that looks great! Can see why you're pleased with it!! Much better than before...shows it is very worthwhile asking around and getting some tips and ideas from others when you're not sure!! Well done!

Love it! Well done.