Paint ! Too dark and masculin.

All the trim? Then the walls a pale neutral. What would you do for color on the ceiling? Thanks for your input!!! I'm moving in shortly and it will drive me batty if I don't start on this pronto!

oooh, like that!

Paint it light and add reassess lighting

If you like the architectural detail and don't want it to disappear, use a slate/graphite tone. This will lighten the room yet keep the details as an intriguing feature. The slate/graphite will coordinate well with the brick and wood, just be sure to keep it a "light" slate/graphite.

Jasmine

These are some examples of the slate/graphite.

Its not a large room and the dark molding makes it feel like a jail. I would prefer to have the trim a nice warm white and then maybe the wall color a nice slate. I don't want the trim to disappear completely, just not be the most prominent thing in the room. What do you think? Thank you so much for your input!

If I were you I would leave the ceiling beams the way they are, the only changes I would make is paint the trim on the wall white.

btw, that's a really cool room!

Might I suggest you not reface the fireplace, but embrace the material and pattern of the time? It has been done in a lovely way, it is a nice neutral that is not difficult to work with. This appears to be a heritage home / historic space, so while painting the trim out is one thing, refacing the brick is another.

Due to the wood floor tones, select a warm white for trim, not a bright white. Titanium wasn't around when this home was built, so you want a range of off-whites for it to feel right. The floor is terrific with the dark accent stain lines - very 1930's.

The trim has obviously been laquered very dark .. which makes the next step hard - it is a huge job to sand this down, but layers of primer and paint can ruin the detail. And it will take layers with the dark. That isn't such an issue on the ceiling, but on the walls it could get thick and messy. You need to have a pro find out what kind of finish is on it - oil is not really commercially available anymore so if this is oil based, you may have a larger job on your hands than you thought. It might be less labor / a wash to strip the wood than to paint it out.
Shifting to a washed finish like J dowling shows might take the least amount of product and labor - you don't need to prime out the wood, and you want some of the dark to come through a warm gray tone. . .if you think you want a mid-tone palette when you are finished in the space, that might be a good direction to head. (Also, determine that the interiors of the windows are also wood / stained /paintable.)

A good furniture finish like this wood appears to have is very expensive, because the wood itself is so valuable today, so hire someone with a reputation for excellent quality and listen to them - collaborate on how to approach this. That will save you a lot of money and heartache.

I would agree, (libradesigneye) the brick adds a nice touch on its own! You can definitely swap the colors so the slate/granite is the wall color and the details are a white/cream. If you choose to go with a cream, stay closer to a cool tone rather than a warm or it will conflict with the slate/graphite.

Thank you again for your help. I would agree about the fireplace. I think what bothers me is the discoloration and the dark mantle. I have two Kravet loveseats covered in a sage,taupe, goldenrod color paisley pattern and I think they will look great once I can change the coloring of the walls, ceiling. Am thinking that the way to go may be the warm creamy white trim and perhaps one of the colors of the sofa, but a very pale shade. Love a project! (my husband wouldn't say the same!.)

It is a beautiful house dina . . with creamy trim it will be beautiful . . hang in there.
Here's some info - If you take a bunch of magic eraser / use a scrub brush and finish with denture cleaning powder brushed into the brick, (use a big bowl of water to wash the brushes and magic erasers till they disintegrate and go to the next one)
you will get a lot of the soot off - like brushing teeth on a larger scale . . . even use denture whitening toothpaste on the worst spots - the denture stuff is harsher and works stronger than most scrubbing powders for cleaning porous brick and stone!

Just a note, you might prefer the result if you look at historic colors when you select a color palette - maybe the trick is to go with a historic cream tone - look at
bm dunmore cream
http://www.benjaminmoore.com/en-us/paint-color/dunmorecream#ce_s=dunmo
with your upholstery, you could go further, paint the spaces between bm adams gold - that will make the cream read white, tie back to your goldenrod and you could take the ceiling, mantel and cabinets one shade lighter with hepplewhite ivory or windom cream . . .

Here are bm historic tones in a gallery link - http://www.benjaminmoore.com/en-us/for-your-home/color-gallery#&ce_vm=2&ce_col=HC

The main thing is that titanium white didn't come until the 1950's so a lot of the whites we have today could not be had before that time . . .given the warmth of your upholstery color palette, you can take advantage of that more gracious soft white.

Please come back and share whatever your result and congrats on your new space. .

Hi Dina,

Your idea of painting the trim all white and the walls a light grey is a good compromise. Although the photo example is a beautiful room when all white, you do run the risk of 'white-washing 'all the charm out of it. Paint is the easiest and cheapest decorating tool, just make sure you sand back all the timber first and give it a very good sealant before you paint.

Thanks again Libra for your terrific ideas (and you too Colour Confidence). I do lean toward the Historic colors of BW and funny enough my current living room is currently hepplewhite ivory (HC 34) with powell buff trim (HC 35). Flip flopped it in the dining room and added wilminton tan along the chair rail. Have a ways to go before I get started but will definitely post a pix of the result!

another choice might be what is done in this pic
Seagrass on the walls
Trim painted light color
ceiling beams remain as is
this approach might help lighten your very nice space!

PS the floors in yr pace are exquisite!!

HI -- I am going to suggest something I have seen done and it was stunning . Spray paint the whole room a mat white !!!! But not the floors ! Shocking isn't it ! This was for a more modern look and when the furniture was added it looked awsome .