It is a bit dizzying to look at. I think I would paint the beams to blend with the ceiling and see what you think, keeping in mind that even if you were to remove the beams, the eye will be drawn to the peak. Also if that is popcorn ceiling between the beams, I would go ahead and get rid of that during this renovation period. I would also cover the stonework with drywall if you're striving to remove the lodge look. But again, you can make these decisions as you go.

Hi---yes paint the beams white... Hang pendants in place of existing lights---new facade and mantel for FP. Med-to med/dark stain for floors... Simple and inexpensive changes will give you the look you're after... Good Luck!
[houzz=]

Hey it's got good potential to be a great room, I've done a few similar ones over the years,
I would paint out the beams and the central one as well to match the ceiling, re the fireplace the stone work would be a shame to cover, if you decide to I would look at putting sand cement render with a steel trowel finish on it and leave it in the finished concrete color, the mantel I would do in a white washed oak and very plain but thick in profile,
I would consider painting the walls on either side of the fire place dark, as I don't know what style your trying to archive and I haven't seen your furniture I wouldn't like to advise yet,

The room could be made to look like a French farm cottage if you decided to head that way or a very cool seaside type feel
Good luck cheers Adrian
ARDH

Hey what's a "leathered" counter top?anyone

Is that stone or brick veneer, or a real stone or brick fireplace wall? How tall will your built-ins be on each side of the fireplace? Open or closed cabinets?

Instead of white, why not a cream or grey which will make the stone less prominate?

Squire Hill Buff: and Bleeker Beige: and


Look at and

Be very careful removing any popcorn ceiling ESP. If built in 70s as it may contain asbestos

Thanks for thoughts. Interesting that no one has said not to paint the beams. It seems many people hate the idea of painting wood but I do think we really have to in that room.

It is a real stone fireplace. Mortar lines are very thick as you can see. We may try and use some kind of sealant on stone to make the rock pop a little more and take eye away from mortar. I think if we have nice large painting above mantle it will work.

Planning built ins that will be cabinet bottom and shelving above. Ordered raw so we can paint any color we decide. We are not sure what to do with the top corner but will probably just drywall. I like the thought of changing it up with the paint color.

The house is a Tudor and we are trying to keep it feel classic and traditional but brightened up dramatically.

We are staining the floors darker but not sure how dark we can get them yet. They are hickory which supposedly doesn't take a dark stain very well due to its density.

Thanks for thoughts. Interesting that no one has said not to paint the beams. It seems many people hate the idea of painting wood but I do think we really have to in that room.

It is a real stone fireplace. Mortar lines are very thick as you can see. We may try and use some kind of sealant on stone to make the rock pop a little more and take eye away from mortar. I think if we have nice large painting above mantle it will work.

Planning built ins that will be cabinet bottom and shelving above. Ordered raw so we can paint any color we decide. We are not sure what to do with the top corner but will probably just drywall. I like the thought of changing it up with the paint color.

The house is a Tudor and we are trying to keep it feel classic and traditional but brightened up dramatically.

We are staining the floors darker but not sure how dark we can get them yet. They are hickory which supposedly doesn't take a dark stain very well due to its density.

Remove the faux beams then paint the ceiling a dark shade of your accent color. Something deep and rich to make it appear lower than it is.

The walls can be painted the same color or any shade of white.

Leave the fireplace as is, except replacing the mantle (as you stated.)

Hope to see updates!

I think the initial responses were based on a "lodge" style and not tudor. @lenahan - if possible, will you add a few additional photos, perhaps one of the exterior of your house?

Well outside needs a lot of work too but comments there would be appreciated also.

As you can see from first picture the previous owner painted the brick which is a shame and also painted the timbering and trim a lighter shade vs. darker which we also don't like. Second and third pictures are concepts of fixing that we are considering. We do want it back to a more classic Tudor look. Over time we may do something with stone and raise the peak at center of house but going to keep it to paint for now.

From the looks of the photos, it appears as though the previous owner just completed that work. If you live in a coastal region, it's okay, otherwise, I regret that they did this but I would live with it for a while if it's newly completed. The gray roof makes it difficult to switch to the brown. Regardless, your house would look awesome with some windowpanes! A few of the diamond shaped panes are a must for this home! I will look for a few photos.

Back to the living room...if you are honestly planning to return the tudor to its traditional style, I would not paint the beams. I would leave the center beam as wood and remove the faux beams completely.

Just a thought about staining those hickory floors. Ask your refinisher about "water-popping." I'm told that you wipe on plain water to open the grain. It's supposed to make the dark stain "take" more uniformly. Might work on a dense grain like yours. My floor guy was an idiot and it was the fellow we hired to fix his mess who said it should have been done that way. (Sometimes you just don't know what you don't know. . . .)

Yes we have the windowpanes in the basement and they will go back on as we get the inside finished up.

We are not coastal. The roof is a grayish with a lot of green so would work the darker trim off that color scheme.

For living room while we want the Tudor to be reflected we want it modernized. Feels like painting the beams lighter or white would accomplish that.

I don't think you should remove the faux beams if you are going to paint them, because they will structurally relieve the large expanse of ceiling without drawing a lot of attention to it and "wisper" tutor.

I have a similar fireplace living room layout. My fireplace is used brick with typical shades of red, some whitish and some black. My high ceiling also has exposed beams (real not faux), but the ceiling matches the beams in a warm brown. Floors are similarly colored wood. Room was just recently painted a light beige. My question is about the height of the cabinets you're planning around the fireplace? Are you going to limit the height to say window height or will you follow the roof line? And do you plan to have the cabinets blend with the fireplace/walls by using a similar color on them or something contrasting?

I think the colour of the beams will be decided once you have the floors refurbished. Once you know the colour of the stain (that takes) you can then decide on the colour of the beams. If you are trying to restore the "Tudor" style on the inside to match the outside, you may wish to look at keeping the beams the same colour as the floor. This is especially true if you are looking to put in a dark wood mantle. IF the floors, the mantle and the beams are different colours you will have a "pieced together" look which is difficult to work with.

The stone work is amazing but overwhelming. You may want to think of building around it (not disturbing the stones/colours) so that at a later date, you can remove the faux finish and restore the fireplace to its natural glory. What every you decide, try to keep the stone as "untouched" as possible. Painting trends come and go, but the value of that stone is huge! The more you "play with it' the more it looses in value! When resale comes, you can always advertise that the faux finish can be removed to reveal the original stone - HUGE PLUS! That stone work (to do to day) is probably $10,000 worth (or more...depending).

A VERY GOOD carpenter should be able to work with producing a faux finish on the upper portion of the stone so that only some of the finish (below the mantle) will be showing. You can then hang/decorate how ever you want!

Pat. Good questions. Don't have all the answers yet. What we are planning is to frame in the bookshelves up to the height of the ceiling line. Basically where the ladder stops in the picture. Will have cabinets below the shelves with a tv on the left side of fireplace on top of cabinets. Other than that it is still in concept stage. Thinking we will likely go with a white shade on the cabinets and shelves with a dark stain backing to the shelves that matches the stain on the mantle and floors. We could go with an accent color on the cabinets and shelves instead.

The masonry work on the fireplace is terrible. It must of been done by an amateur. I would remove it, paint it or cover up as much as you can. It is the focal point of the room and should be done properly because it will set the tone of the whole room. It won't matter what you do to the rest of the room if you keep that fireplace stone work as is.

http://houzz.com/photos/84392

To get rid of the lodge look the FP needs to be redone.

I really like the look of the stone on the fireplace. It looks "old school" and charming to me. Lighten beams (antique them) new mantle and all black screen. Have fun!

we have a real stone fireplace like the one in the original post that we painted over from its original dark gray. Here is a pic....now we are wanting to change it again after a total of 25 years. So to the original poster, painting it first might be a good option to see how it works for you before covering it?