I can't post a photo yet as the house isn't officially closed.
The living room and dining room share the same wall and the fireplace is on this wall but off to one side of the living room, meaning the fireplace is not centered on the living room. The fireplace is made of different shades of taupe brick that goes midway up the wall.
I was going to put the TV beside the fireplace to balance things out.
So do I paint the wall a shade of taupe from the brick to hide the fireplace or do I just paint the main living room wall colour? Luckily taupe works with my living room colours but I am second guessing myself because if I paint the wall taupe then the TV becomes the focal point.
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I'm glad to hear that you're replacing the baseboards - the current ones don't look very interesting/special. :o I'm also glad to hear that you'll painting them a white :D I love the way a nice baseboard finishes off a wall and room!
I was planning on replacing all the baseboards. Like everything else in this house that needs to be replaced. :rolleyes: I might cheat in some rooms where possible and just add a piece above the original. I am thinking of doing a creamy white baseboard but that will be quite a while down the road.
Free time, hey?! :p
Question... will you paint your baseboards white of will they be painted the wall colour like they are now?
Yes, I am going to wait until the floors are done to paint. I have to wash the walls anyway so may as well do it after the sanding rather than before AND after. With my free time I will continue to pull up the peel and stick and attempt removing stipple from the ceilings. :rolleyes:
:o Thanks... I had fun! :p
The blues you've chosen for the room are great - I've always liked gray-undertoned blues. Looking forward to seeing the finished room! I suppose we'll have to wait until after the floors are done next week?!
I have often wondered about where those wires are too :) No plasma TV so I can't do the TV over the fireplace thing just yet. As soon as the furnace guy comes I will ask about getting a gas insert for the fireplace so its days of soot and smoke are coming to a close. I shall ask about getting that brass trim replaced too.
I did go to a BM store today and was urged to use the Aura paint to cover the burgundy AND the fireplace brick/stone. I was hesitant because I know how porous the brick will be but since the Aura has the built in primer apparently it should the perfect paint to use so I'll give it a try. I'm skeptical though.
So the wall will be Wythe Blue and the fireplace will be Knoxville Gray. Speak now or forever hold your peace :D
I'd like to try painting it first to give it a quick fix and see how it looks. It might be quite ok like that or a wooden slipcover could be built to cover it if it isn't. I like the texture of it but I can't stand the colour.
I will save that mockup Tangotori for future reference as it would hide a multitude of sins. Well done.
I'd be careful putting the tv over your fireplace. The brick appeared to have alot of smoke residue on it before your worked on it......meaning venting may not be up to par and therefore heat and the smoke may damage your tv.
Hello again Arizona,
I thought I would do a little fiddling around with Photoshop, too :D... only I wanted to play with your fireplace.
It's my opinion that having all that brick on the left side and not on the right as well (to balance it out) is what accentuates it's off-centred-ness. I think it would be fantastic if you could clad your fireplace in a new mdf surround - and then paint it a great colour instead of white.
Here's my mock-up...
[IMG]http://i229.photobucket.com/albums/ee62/tangotori/Forum%20Pics/Picture_026copy.jpg[/IMG]
If you did something like this you'd also have to re-create your hearth... it seems to me that that solution would be as simple as laying some new tile directly over the existing tile/flooring... with a thin cork underlay glued down first, of course. I'm sure you could find a terrific and inexpensive tile at HD that would work (triming out the hearth tile with a small quarter-round painted to match the tile OR a quarter-round-type tile OR this great plastic or metal tile trim that can be cut to length).
Anyway... just an idea!
I do like the TV over the fireplace. Question what do you do with all those things i.e. dvd player, etc or are they incorporated into the TV. In all the fashion magazines you see a TV over the fireplace or better yet built in and framed as a picture but where are all those things and wires I have going into my anicent machine.
I just had another thought so I tried another mock up. That would be to put the TV over the FP and have a seating area off to the side. I couldn't find a picture of 2 chairs and a table but I was thinking you might have room for that and it would give you a boundary for the LR which would centre that Fp for you.
BTw I didn't use any particular colour. I just mix it up in Photoshop because there is no way IMO to get a paint match given differences in monitors.
Oooohhhhh, thanks for the mock ups! That last one doesn't look too bad at all, what colour is that? Maybe the key is to paint the same as the wall colour, I'll think on that one some more.
I'm finding my colours are a bit off in this house. Maybe it's the filtered light that is doing it but I have lost certain undertones I used to have in the blazing sunshine of the current house.
I don't mind the orange floor colour the way it is but I know many wouldn't and getting the floors restained when the place is empty will be better than when it's time to sell. That orange colour is also very dated.
I took your pictures and put them together so people can play. The floor is also quite a bit darker in this one to try and show the stain you might get.
Is the one end the DR? I tried a couple of things and mocked in DR table and TV just to see what you might be working with.
Now that I see a better picture of your fireplace I think you should paint it. I agree the brick is not the best. Knoxville Gray is a good choice for the brick and maybe Smoky Taupe for the walls. The room will look great once your hard work is all done.
Keep us posted.
Sweetpea I remember those photos and she did a great job. I would have been happy with her fireplace :D
Arizona;My DD painted her fireplace brick and it looks very good I have posted a pic to give you an idea :)
Here it is, soot has been brushed off so it looks better and the paint will adhere better too. Night Train is too light so I'm thinking Knoxville Gray might be better as it's darker.
Lasalle I tried several grays and nothing really looked good. So painting the fireplace seems to be my only option. I will try and remember to take a photo tomorrow of the whole wall but I'm not sure if it will help as the fireplace is truly horrible. I'm leaning very strongly towards Night Train for the fireplace. The TV stand is espresso and the TV is black. Some large artwork above the fireplace and TV stand and it should fix the problem.
If you are considering leaving the fireplace as is I would not paint the walls blue, I think that would just bring out the blue in the stone more. A warm gray on the walls might be a good idea.
BM HC168 Chelsea Gray or Pratt & Lambert Ever Classic 32-24 might be nice choices to consider. For trim colour if you are looking at White: BM White Down.
Arizona-- do you have a pic of the whole wall so that we can get a better idea of what the off centre thing looks like? You might get more suggestions that way.
Hi again, Arizona...
Are you thinking about Willow and Night Train for the fireplace?
If so... dark could be wonderful! I wonder if I'll be the only one to say this :rolleyes:
Here... take a look at this fireplace photo I found - when we replaced our fireplace surround I was seriously thinking about painting it a colour like this...
[IMG]http://i229.photobucket.com/albums/ee62/tangotori/Forum%20Pics/IMG_2027.jpg[/IMG]
That is very interesting Anrol because I wondered to myself today if I could do a sponge technique like my countertop. Not in the same colours but in more natural stone colours.
Arizona- you could have a look at this website [url]www.brick-anew.com[/url] I have never used it but maybe you could do a search and find somebody who has. Click on fireplace pictures on the left
You said the room only gets light an hour or so you may as well go for drama. I like the idea of willow or another darker colour, dark floors included. If you can imagine those tones with large pieces of artwork, lighter furniture, accessories you start to see how they will take the emphasis and provide the light. It's the furnishings and lighting that will make a dark room get it's feel and it won't be cave like at all.
If you really hate that brick, sure paint it. Personally I wouldn't only because I don't care for painted brick. I'd live with it a while and when you get your new fireplace installed have the thing refaced with wood or tile or whatever you like.
I have some brick in this house which I really didn't like at all when I first moved in. Since I've had other things to do here I left it and you know, 2 years later and the stuff has grown on me and I quite like it now.
BTW there is a stain you can get at Cloverdale paints to darken or tint things like brick. You might take a look and see if that would help. Maybe an all over grey or dark brown would take the pink out enough to make the brick work without taking away the natural look of what's there.
Dustbunnydiva, thanks for taking the time to do those mock ups. Do you really think I have a chance here of finding a good paint colour to make that stone look better or should I paint over it instead?
I should mention that the existing wood burning fireplace will get a gas insert at some point.
Thank you for your reply Tangotori. I was initially opposed to painting the stone because I thought I might find an easy and quick fix by selecting the correct paint colour but I have been putting up paint chips all afternoon and nothing makes this colour look good. Metropolis or Willow were the best choices except this room is dark all day and only gets the sun in it for about an hour before sundown. Plus I was planning on having dark floors. I think it would be like living in a cave. The easiest thing would be to paint out the stone . Does anyone feel like shooting ME? :D It seems so simple now. Instead of white what about Willow or Night Train? My other colour is Wythe Blue.
and some more
Just thought I'd see what the bricks looked like with various colours so you may get an idea of what undertone at least to work with.
Been thinking a bit more about this, Arizona... if painting the brick is out of the question, why not consider a grey paint on your walls. If this colour interests you, be sure that your grey is warm and not based in blue because the blue tones will bring out the peach in your brick.
Cheers!
Just some thoughts...
I might be shot for suggesting this (yikes!)... but I really think you should paint the brick white. Then it won't dictate to you the colour of your walls - you can go in what ever direction you want.
Also... I think it would be great if you had a surround installed. Then, if you decide you like the idea of a built-in cabinet on one side of the fireplace, you could incorporate it into the new surround. Kind of like these two examples (found the first link when I googled "off centre fireplace")...
[url]http://otnhome.com/images/Picture%20003.jpg[/url]
[url]http://www.luxuryhousingtrends.com/bookcase-electric-fireplace.jpg[/url]
You could build your built-in to accommodate your TV and other components.
I'd also recommend taking a can of BBQ spray paint to the brass in the fireplace screen... unless you plan on replacing it,
Here are photos of the brick/stone of the fireplace.
At a distance it looks taupe but upon closer inspection it is mainly a peachy pinky colour with some dark grey splotches. The closest colours I could find would be Wheeling Neutral but with more peach to it and Overcoat.
So, how do I downplay this peach colour?