We have a mid-1980s house and I am trying to update the family room on a budget. As was typical for the time, there is stained pine crown molding, trim around the doors, and horizontal wainscoting. A couple of my neighbors have painted the wainscoting but honestly I don't think it looks that great. The boards run horizontally instead of vertically which I never did like. At first I thought I would like to replace the wainscoting with bead board but that seems like such a huge project. What if I filled in the spaces in between the boards (where the edges of the wood are beveled) and painted all the woodwork which is how I am leaning right now. What product would I use to do this filling in? I suspect I would have to smooth over where the knots in the pine are as well. Would you paint a different color below the chair rail?
Ugh, and then there is the fireplace. All brick wall and all brick hearth. We put in a rather nice antique mission/arts & crafts oak fireplace mantle about ten or so years ago which I kind of like but I'm still not crazy about all that brick. My intention was always to put some thickset tiles around the opening. Also, one of my neighbors painted all of her brick and put built-in bookcases on either side of the fireplace which I thought looked really nice. Also to note, I have a lot of antiques but in this room they are limited to the accessories. Any hints/suggestions for me??