Ugly fake stone wall behind wood stove

What can I do about a really ugly fake stone wall behind my wood burning stove? Photo is at
http://www.flickr.com/photos/11663550@N08/1144942892/

It doesn't look too bad in the photo, but when you see it in real life, it's hideous!

Any suggestions for what can be done?

 

hmmmmm
Can it be removed?

 

have you thought about painting it the same color as the wall? then putting some kind of cabinets on either side, either armoires or other large bookcases? Painting the wall portion of the fireplace area the same color as the wall will make it blend in and disappear.

 

I suppose the stuff could be removed--but I don't feel I'm up to that big of a job.
When I originally posted the picture I thought I was going to keep the rock. I don't realize how awful it is until I got a chance to see it first hand.
It's not that I want the hearth to disappear--I just want it to be attractive. Painting it over is probably the easiest thing to do, but I'd want to paint it something other than exactly the wall color (which I discovered is a really pale yellow).
I've replaced that carpet with tile which is sort of a terracota looks, which I think will go well with the furniture, which is rustic Mexican.
I kind of like the pastel walls. I had planned to repaint with the caramel I had in my last house, but I think I'll keep the yellow.
Should a try a more subtle faux finish on the stones, than the garish faux they currently are?

 

Could you just spread mortar over the whole thing then tile over it? Seems doable if you scrubbed it with something like TSP first...

 

Hmm. Maybe I could sort of smooth it out with mortar--give it a sort of rough, lumpy, country look. Some of the knobs of the stone stick out a bit.

 

Maybe you can brush it up wit some POP(Plaster Of Paris) and then paint it to make it more and more realistic....

_

 

Maybe plaster it over and then give it a whitewashed look. Keep the base top natural--I think those are actually real sandstone.