Covering brick fireplace surround with cement board for all white look

[Carole14]

I'm installing a Pacific Neo 1.6 insert and want to cover the old brick that's around the current fireplace.

I'm thinking of covering the brick with cement board, removing the mantle and then drywalling straight up to the ceiling for a clean look; basically, the area around the woodstove will look like the walls (which will all be a basic white). Has anyone done this? Are you pleased with the look? Others have suggested that it won't look right without some kind of more traditional stone or brick face and a mantle.

 

[Woody Stover]

One of my SILs does faux painting, murals, straight painting and so on. She recently lightened the brick below the mantel, to blend better with the lighter wall color. It appears she added some gray to pull the stove in as well. My wife had already painted the brick above the mantel.
Probably more rustic than what you're after, but you get the idea..

 

[bholler]

I'm installing a Pacific Neo 1.6 insert and want to cover the old brick that's around the current fireplace.
View attachment 258133
I'm thinking of covering the brick with cement board, removing the mantle and then drywalling straight up to the ceiling for a clean look; basically, the area around the woodstove will look like the walls (which will all be a basic white). Has anyone done this? Are you pleased with the look? Others have suggested that it won't look right without some kind of more traditional stone or brick face and a mantle.

You cannot drywall around the fireplace but as long as you keep all combustibles the required distance from the firebox opening it would be fine. You can also do tile of some sort