Before this brick fireplace was very dated.
Just look at the brass and its darkness. My client wanted to tone down the brick color without painting it solid to “look painted”. And I was happy to help with this transformation.
First, she removed the brass fireplace doors since my client wasn’t going to actually use the fireplace for fires. But you could always paint the brass trim. (Search my blog for how to do this easily!) She painted the cubbies in her trim color.