Hi again! For anyone that's interested, I have finally managed to have a go at my varnished stone fireplace and am pretty happy with the results… It's not perfect but makes a huge difference in terms of light in the room and cost me next to nothing! I used a tiny bit of annie sloan paint to dull and lighten the stone - my mum sent me leftovers of 'paris grey' that she had used on some furniture. The link I had found which described the painting process belonged to an artist, so I was aware that my results would differ quite drastically from hers, but I'm still happy! I also had a new mantlepiece made from old planks that my boyfriend has had stashed away for years - a carpenter we often use put it together for the equivalent of about US$10. We don't own the house so I haven't waxed the paint on the stone (meaning it can be washed off with water and a light scrub) and the new mantlepiece is literally slotted on top of the old one and discreetly screwed in place. It is no huge home improvement project but made a big difference to the feel of the room using minimal time, money and mess… Now just the rest of the room to decorate…!

We do not deal with fireplaces, but we create all the stone surrounding for them. Lately we have install a fireplace similar to what you are looking for this in the picture is just the naked insert probably the best place to contact is Total Renewable in Somerset: http://www.totalrenewablesolutions.com/ despite the website not showing direct images of fireplaces/stones/inserts etc. they currently install and deal with a lot of different brand of fireplaces including MCZ from the previous image. Hope this help! good luck!

It is really ugly. if you really don't intend to use it, I suggest to paint it an off white colour so it blends in as much as possible. When you get a few bob, replace it altogether.

I would either make a feature of it and go darker ie a mid grey stone paint. OR I would paint the chimney breast a nice contrasting colour so the fire surround stands out. Much easier to do the latter and change it when you wanted