Den fireplace painted
The den was added on about 20 years ago, the back of the dining room fireplace was once outside the house, over the 200+ years bricks were replaced along with some mortar, it was a sloppy job as you can see. also the bricks were removed with a hammer and chisel. I would not normally suggest painting brick however in this case it would be an improvement.
Once I figure out something to dress up the rough opening I will add photos, the fireplace is also converted to vent free gas logs, this is the only one of three fireplaces that no longer burns wood.
More better 😊