What color to paint an ugly brick fireplace?  

And I think that...
there must be a way of removing paint from bricks. I live in an area where all the homes are brick and the homes are historic. Very old homes. The one I live in is a bit over 100 years old. Lots of restoration projects going on in the area. Currently, down the street, a large brick home what was painted white is under-going restoration. The white paint had been wearing off over the years and the red brick shown through in lots of spots. The people who bought it are having the paint taken off. I take it that it is a very pain-staking process because this paint-removal has been happening for months and only a portion of the front is finished. At the rate it's taking them, it'll be years. I guess it takes alot of time to get the paint out of the little nooks and crannies of the brick without damagaing the brick in the process. So unless you want a very time-consuming project, I'd just opt for painting the brick again.

cloudburst...I had
thought on an earlier post that it could be power washed or sandblasted, and one of the others said it would ruin the brick.
Who knows?

I'm not sure
exactly how they are doing it on this house. Whatever they are doing is obviously very time-consuming, but the bricks that have been uncovered look very nice.

Again,
the method described in the thread linked below works. Power washing might work if the paint was falling off anyway, but wouldn't remove paint where it was well adhered, for instance to the mortar. Blasting with a number of substances, from powder to beads, is effective but will damage many kinds of masonry materials, including brick.
http://www.lottaliving.com/bb/viewtopic.php?t=9932&highlight=brick

eeewwww salmon
I'd get rid of the salmon and then rethink the fireplace. I hate salmon!!!

In reply to Wm.h.Caulfield
Yeh I realise this might sound odd and I'm not joking. I just can't imagine any way to have the mortar highlighted in a different tone and for it to be effective. The full-force high gloss is my idea of shock tactics. Sometimes one has to go beyond the predictable for a result. Personally, I would sheet over it and get it outa my life. Brickwork should be left untouched and appreciated for what it has to offer.....nice powdery, matt earthy tones.

C'mon... intentional "shock tactics" are for inarticulate, hostile teenagers
I just came across a quote from Dieter Rams, in Stephen Bayley's book "Taste (The Secret Meaning of Things)".
Dieter sez:
"To me, good design means as little design as possible.
Simple is better than complicated.
Quiet is better than confusion.
Quiet is better than loud.
Unobtrusive is better than exciting.
Small is better than large.
Light is better than heavy.
Plain is better than colored.
Harmony is better than divergency.
Being well balanced is better than being exalted.
Continuity is better than change.
Sparse is better than profuse.
Neutral is better than aggressive.
The obvious is better than that which must be sought.
Few elements are better than many.
A system is better than single elements."
I'm with Dieter. Order a gallon of flat white.

.
Satin would be OK, for dust control. Aesthetically and pragmatically, I think there are good reasons for the convention of flat walls and satin woodwork. . .

A PUMPKIN PATCH PERSON
is poles apart from a Dieter Rams person....Its boring (in a good way)to have a neutral fireplace,keep eye catching color in the flowers,throws,pillows,a casually propped up collage etc....temporal stuff.After all, Dieter wears loden lederhosen,not punkin patch hot pants...:)

Right.
You can't have "foreground" without "background". . .

.
I still think flat white or blue slate grey would be best but do you know any talented young artists? I'm not too keen on the picture below but you get the idea...