Paint color is usually selected last, after all the fabrics and finishes are chosen. Paint can be customized to work with the fabrics but not the other way around. You may have the cart before the horse here. Have you inquired as to the suggested colors that compliment the Bermuda Sand?

I agree, pick out what fabrics you want to use and then pull color inspirations from those fabrics. Fabrics, rugs, etc are more expensive so you should work around those first.

Tough to choose a color when we have no idea what fabrics, artwork, wood tones etc you plan to use. But a nice sage with a grayish tone would probably work with pretty much any fabric you choose, keep the room "adult" and allow you to enjoy what little light you do receive in the room. Well placed lighting and reflective surfaces such as glass and mirror will also help

How about some of our decorative logs to stack. We've just launched an eggshell range. Lot's of colour mix options.

http://www.thelittlelogcompany.com/eggshell-1

But... I love Spring Meadow 486 by Benjamin Moore.

I would suggest Breath of Fresh Air, 806 from Benjamin Moore. It would pair nice with the Bermuda Sand and lighten up the space. The baseboards and fireplace could use a coat of downy white from Benjamin Moore. Send Photos please!

Do you have an area rug picked out for the space. That is great place to pull colors.

This room is a fabulous blank canvas, depending on your design style there are a few different ways to brighten the space. For example this living room white washed their brick fireplace and installed a directional recessed lights The soffit ceiling is a nice touch in this space, especially because it adds additional light. You could create the same effect with back lit crown molding, like this bedroom design There are specialized crown molding pieces that allow you to mount and hide rope light to create a soft glow all around your room http://www.affordablequalitylighting.com/crown-molding/ Lastly, you could brighten the area with pops of color if your furniture has more neutral tones. This room does a nice job of combining white and grey with pops of maroon and yellow.

It's hard to see what might be outside the window by the fireplace. One assumes it is not a two story drop to the ground! If it's not, blast out that window and put in a pair of French Doors. Or put in another window equidistant on the other side of the fireplace if possible. Costs a more than a bucket of paint fer sure, but if it's light you need, then get light.

What kind of furniture do you have, and what colors are your pieces?

Can you afford to address the lighting? If so, various levels of light will both brighten and warm up the room. PLEASE don't install just recessed cans. So cold and the wrong type of light for a living room. Once better lighting is installed, whatever color palette you decide to use will look much better.

I can't comment on the paint colours because I don't know anything about the room, style, fabrics, art etc. But one thing you might consider is paint those ugly bricks a glossy white. BM's Cloud White is very easy to live with as it is slightly yellow so not so jarring. It's a decorator's favourite white. Use that on trim, bricks and ceiling then turn to your other furnishings then paint the walls in something from your décor. Another way to lighten a room is to add glossy white wainscoting on the lower 1/3 of the walls.

That looks like a slump stone fireplace. Is this house a mid century modern? I would get rid of the wallpaper border and add lamps and accent lights. Not ceiling lights.

I'm with you on the recessed cans, MKB. Unfortunately, our house came with them. The only room I actually use them though, is the kitchen. I have craftsman style Tiffany lamps and Tiffany-like lamps in most of my rooms. I would like to change the cans over the island to pendants, but I haven't found anything in our price range that I like. So I'm still looking. Unfortunately, I have expensive tastes.

As for the room, without knowing anything about the color scheme and furniture, I would advise getting rid of the border. The fireplace is not a stand-out with the color of the brick. I don't know much about painting brick, but I would definitely get some advice about dressing it up a little.

I do enjoy fireplaces painted white inside as well as out - something else to consider.

I would paint that fireplace a soft white and install sconces on both sides.

I recently painted my living room blue (Sherwin Williams Soar) and painted the fireplace white. The difference was amazing.

Thanks for all of the great ideas!!!! This is the area rug I have (doens't mean it can't be replaced)....and my furniture is dark cherry (some antiques). I have a dining room table in the nook area, and 2 chairs for the sitting area in a reddish wine color.
Chairs

Is there a photo of the area rug? I might pick a neutral color from the rug to accent the darker colors in the furniture. If your furniture is dark cherry, you don't want your wall color too dark, because you would want the beautiful cherry wood to stand out. I kind of like the idea of maybe painting the fireplace a soft white as suggested by others, but taking a darker neutral color from your rug to make the fireplace pop. That way, you can tie the whole room together.

Several years ago, I worked with an interior designer in the early 90's. If you remember, everyone loved wallpaper at that time. I wallpapered the upper half of the wall in the main room, and the whole wall in the hallway. Anyway, my point is the part that was painted(the lower half and one accent wall), she picked out a shade of blue that was only in the border. The whole thing just looked wrong until I installed the border. The whole room pulled together beautifully. That is when I learned that you can take an accent color, and use it to pull everything together.

I'm not a designer, but I have a lot of friends that ask for my help when decorating, just because I'm good with color.

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Here is a photo of the area rug I have now.....but, it can be changed!!! :) I really appreciate all of your advice. Seems like everyone agrees the fireplace should be painted?

We suggest a light cool paint color that will help reflect light and make the room seem larger. Keep architectural details such as the fireplace trim and moulding a fresh or creamy white. Try adding a mirror above the fireplace and other specular materials such as a glass top coffee table, vases, or a chandelier that reflect even more light.

Don't be afraid to mix and match patterns, textures, and colors when it comes to fabric-- small details can go a long way. Take a look at our Vibrant Northcenter Home's living room for inspiration. Best of luck!

I like the area rug. I would probably go with a lighter shade of the same green, or one of the taupe shades. For the fireplace, I would pick the same shade of white/crème of the rug. It looks like the perfect rug to go with the type of furniture you described.

Since you already have recessed lights you might also consider switching any that are currently fluorescent to LED and if you can change the trim kit, get one with a diffuser so the light is softer. LED dim quite nicely these days and the better color tone of LED will make any paint color you chose look far better than icky fluorescents!

I would start by painting out the brick white and would search out a really hefty old beam to use as a mantle ( preferably a light chestnut one from an old barn that goes across the entire width of the brick) wire brush it to bring out its original warmth.

. Paint all windows, moulding doors etc a crisp white semi-gloss.

Look in your closet to see what the predominance of colors are..usually those colors will make you feel comfortable.

Not knowing a thing about your furnishings I'll take a stab in the dark and recommend a soft pearl grey for the walls as it is a nice neutral, looks terrific with white trim and doesn't close in the feel of the room.

Make sure you have adequate lighting ( both overhead and task lighting).

take yourself to World Market, Pottery Barn, Home Goods etc and pick out a lively area rug ( both color and design) to 'anchor' your space. Don't spend a fortune on the carpet as you don't want to be 'married' to a 2K oriental for the rest of your life! Hah!

Keep sofa neutral and as high a quality as you can comfortably afford... Not trendy. In fact, if you live in an area that has good furniture consignment shops you may find some reasonably priced nice pieces!

If IKEA is within driving distance go and purchase some nice light-weight floor-length white drapery panels and rods ( hang 5-6" above windows )... Cannot beat the quality and style for a ridiculously good, cheap price!

Post a photo when you're done! Best wishes!

Remove the wall paper border and paint everything white -- including ceiling and fireplace. This will brighten the room instantly. Then add lighting and splashes of colour.

I would paint it a pale yellow with lots of white tones. Yellow is the new neutral and you can add about any color with it. I have designed with red accents, blue, brown and so on and it looks smashing.

Just my opinion, but I totally agree with Susan McFarlane.....remove the wallpaper border, for sure....LOVE THE RUG!!!...paint the walls a lighter shade of the green in the rug ( or match it!! )....paint the fireplace to match the cream in the rug...paint all the woodwork white...put your rug and furniture and lights where you plan on them going in the room........then step back and "see" where you may add some of the burgundy? tones in the rug ( you mentioned chairs already in a wine color for that room...good! )...perhaps using the wine tones in a toss pillow? or a piece of artwork with the same green/wine/cream tones? There ARE times when painting the walls a darker color actually makes the space feel larger and brighter!!

You could paint the bottom of the walls a light rust colour, and the top a dark cream

I agree with Kuchynka, a pale yellow will bring the cherry wood furniture to life. The color complements any coordinating colors as well. Paint the fireplace white. Then several lamps.

The first thing I noticed in the room was no contrast in color. It definitely needs trim and ceiling painted. I love the ideas here and some of them would cost some money, while paint is cheap, as they say.

Looking at your rug, I like ravensmom color scheme. But, I am partial to green. If it were me, I would go with her advice to start and then step back to take a look and see how you like it. I personally do that all the time and usually find that I want to change something. Good luck and have fun!

I would paint the fireplace only as a last resort, if you can't figure out how to make it "sit" in the room. Natural stone is a precious decorating commodity, and it would be difficult to strip if you change your mind. I think that if you accessorize the hearth, repaint the walls, and otherwise finish the room, you may find that the appearance of the raw stone adds visual interest that is a big plus.

I write this as someone who once moved into a house with a fireplace already painted white, probably to obscure smoke damage. I had wanted to restore the natural appearance of the brick, but my husband told me it would probably have to be sandblasted, a project that was beyond me. Some years and two homeowners later, I visited our old house and saw that the new owners had somehow managed to remove the paint. The fireplace looked great. A new coat of paint may "freshen" a surface, but there is a dimensionality to the surface of brick or stone that paint can't match.

I don't see smoke damage on your fireplace, but you can clean up the stone with a brush and a scrub cleaner that includes bleach (like SoftScrub).

In our new home, we have a stone midcentury fireplace (never painted, for which I am very grateful!) and I consider it one of the best features of the house.

I agree with the suggestions to paint the fireplace white. It will help lighten the room up.

I use light colors/pastels in my small rooms (with a white ceiling) to make them feel brighter. Those will work with cherry wood antiques. Depending on the colors, it would also work with your chairs. I've used light green with a set of burgundy chairs in three different homes now, and it has always worked. It looks like there is some green in your rug, so perhaps using a shade in the same family of green, but several shades lighter for the walls? Keep in mind that whatever the color looks like on the swatch, it will look several times darker on the walls.

Adding mirrors on the walls opposite your windows/outside doors will also spread the natural light in the room and make the room open up. Big mirrors can be expensive, but if you check out local second hand shops, you should be able to pick a couple up at a reasonable price.

The cornice molding around the base of the fireplace confuses me. It should match the baseboard or be a simple shoe molding. It apparently needs to cover a bad installation job on the wood floors.

New LED can lights are a great idea. They are inexpensive - $20 at Costco and $25-$30 at Home Depot. The retrofits are easy to install. You remove the current trim and light and screw the new fixture into the light socket before popping the trim into the old housing. A dimmer is another $30 investment. Not only do they improve the light quality, they also make the ceiling much more modern.

The ceiling trim is wimpy. I would not call it out with white paint. You could paint it a glossy version of the wall color for a subtle definition. If you do want white trim tape off a line a few inches below the ceiling trim and paint it the trim color. You may need to play with the proportions of this band. You could also add a picture molding a few inches below the ceiling trim and paint it and the area between the molding white. This will give you the look of a beefier molding at a fraction of the cost and work better with the traditional furnishings.

A traditional mantel will be a better fit with your style than a rough hewn one. Paintable ones are not expensive. It will break up the stone and make it easier to live with. It needs to be installed high enough above the opening of the hearth to meet fire code requirements for combustible materials. There is a formula based on the projection of the trim that determines the height but I'd just put it far enough above to hold the Christmas stocking out of harms way! I'm not a fan of painting this stone. Its going to be a tough job to get good coverage because its really rough. I'd make this the last item on my list after adding the mantel and a mirror or artwork above it. One comment on mirrors above fireplaces. If they don't reflect light or something attractive then they may not be the best choice.

Hang your window treatment as close to the ceiling as possible, to mimic the height of the fireplace and make the space feel taller. Choose some wall art that has more of a 3-D effect than square or rectangular paintings, and carry them across the fireplace and onto the wall to create a feeling of movement in the space.

In this type of space, I would lean towards embracing its small, intimate qualities and play with lots of fun textures on the rug, throw pillows and lampshades. Make it feel as cozy and personalized as possible. The attached image may have a more modern feel than your style, but it conveys the idea of adding layers of materials instead of relying on your main furniture pieces. The second image with the floor-to-ceiling plant rack is another jumping off point for utilizing space differently.

The key here is "Very little natural light". Pastel colors turn gray without light. For any color to look like a color and not turn gray you have to use a more saturated color.

ravensmom13, I like the idea of matching the color green, but was afraid with the cherry furniture, and dark colors in the fabric, that the room could be too dark. I guess it depends on the size of the whole room, and what kind of accent pillows are used. I do agree that the green in the rug is beautiful, as it is one of my favorites shades of green.

The fireplace does not look like it is natural, but something man-made. I generally agree with not painting a natural brick or stone fireplace. However, in this case, the fireplace needs some brightening up. Especially with dark furniture. You never paint cherry...that would be a crime. :-D

a solatube can add light to the room

From your description of dark cherry wood and the photo of the carpet, a soft antique yellow wall would add warmth and light.

Using glossy paint will help get more light into the room. A cool palette will open up the space but will make the room feel colder, warm colours will make it feel more enclosed and can easily verge on the stuffy. So depending on your climate this might be reflected in your choice. My favourite is robins egg or a very light soft grey, not sure that would go with the area rug you have, though.
Also, from the pics I get the impression that the ceiling is rather low or the proportions of the room are off.
If you want to correct for this, you might want to paint the ceiling pure white and pull up the wall paint a few inches on the ceiling. Then hang all curtain rods as high as possible, use roman blinds to suggest the window is higher and drape full length shawls to the sides of the window. This will look like elaborate window treatment without actually blocking any light and raise the ceiling visually. I would recommend slightly shiny fabrics without much pattern.
Hanging a mirror over the fireplace was already suggested. I would like to add that you might want to repeat the measurements and proportions of the window for the mirror.
Stress all vertical lines while avoiding too many horizontal lines.
Chalk white for the bricks and a simple white mantle for the fireplace. Looking forward to your pics!! Have fun with it.

Paint the ceiling, fireplace, and all trim in white. Decide on a light fresh wall color that will enhance the fabrics of the furniture and drapes.

I would paint the fireplace, ceiling and trim bright white. Any wall color you then choose will provide a nice contrast. I don't know your style but envision a brightly colored rug with similar colors represented on accessories placed on hearth.

which direction does the room face? North ? South? that info will help make the decision as well as how much natural light the room has. How do you plan to use the room? What is the mood? Formal ?Casual?

I'm a fan of neutrals, especially in dark rooms. I like the natural vibe you have going so far with the wood floor and the brick fireplace. Unlike others, I would NOT paint it. I would, however, clean it and add a wood beam or log mantel to it with some nice corbels. Put some leather furniture in, maybe a skin rug of some type, some accent tables of natural materials to hold reading lamps.

The room is on the east side of the house. We really don't use the room very much at all....I would say it has more of a formal mood. I have some antique tables, formal dining room table in the opposite nook, and a china cabinet. The room is small, so I don't want to go too large with a big sofa....maybe a love seat? I have a nice burgundy wing back chair for the room as well.

I love it the way it is. it just needs furnishings and accessories. I think it's impossible to
judge the color of walls when there is nothing else in the room