[aigel]

Once painted you can't go back to brick surface. The white washed look is a fad and it will pass and I bet you money, brick will be back. As others have mentioned, with that corner setup, you have a lot of soot licking up the walls, which will look like hell qucikly. Of course this is tough to explain to a wife that watches the home improvement channel. It may be a loosing battle. If I had to redo that, the firs step would be a fireplace insert with glass, then rip out the brick and go with a more neutral look, mostly regular walls.