The story of our ugly fireplace

We have an ugly fireplace. I'm sure a lot of people have an ugly fireplace that they have been ignoring just like us. From the very beginning, I've been wanting to refinish our fireplace but just haven't had time. My brother is getting engaged in a few weeks so my parents have been harassing me to fix up their fireplace. My parents want to fix it up but have no idea how they want it. Its a coincidence that we have the same style fireplace, so I figured however I plan to refinish mines is how theirs will look. My fireplace currently has plain white tiles with gray/blue grout. It's an odd combination that is very ugly. To make things worst, our fireplace is also in a weird position in our house. Its in between the television and sliding doors to the patio. On top is a giant 17 feet mantle that I have no idea what to do with. Here are pictures of our fireplace.

So lately I have stepped away from the giant toy storage for a break and cooked up some ideas for our ugly fireplace. I have been doing research on how to tackle this project one step at a time. I plan to tile it with some gorgeous white marble subway tiles that I've been eyeing at Homedepot. I will tile right on top of my current tile. Today I will go and gather some supplies. My budget for this project will be under $250. I also plan to ask my dad to build a wood surround. It will be tough to finish this project because my dad is very busy lately so I will have to count on myself to tile everything. 

After much research, I've decided to use a setting mat to tile. Its faster and no mess. My dad has a hand held dremmel that I will be using to cut the tiles. After all the tile is up, my father will grout for me and build the wood surround. I will finish it off with paint and accessories. This is just a tentative plan so anything can change.  Anyone else out there up to tackle their ugly fireplace with me?