Not an advocate of painting wood or brick, but in your case paint all the brown blue - paint the brick fireplace white. That should be a good start already towards a beachy feel.

my husband doesn't want to paint the fireplace.. wish theres a way to combine beach and cabin design..

I agree, paint the wood. I 'm not sure about FP, I would leave it until last and see how it looks before painting it. Is that green in the kitchen area? Blues, greens and an accent color of coral would be very nice, relaxing and beachy.

Consider Sherwin Wms Sea Salt or Window Pane or Rainwashed. Not sure what will work with the brick colors

Paint all of the brown white! Do not paint it some other color that will limit your wall color choices. Paint the walls a very neutral color and then add rugs, furniture, window treatments, etc.

What about painting the 1st floor walls under the balcony & stairs a light warm blue like Martha Stewart's Aegean Blue(far left) or similar?

thank you for your ideas..here's how the outside looks like, we were told it's better to stain it instead of painting it. so I think I might have to keep the brown baseboard and stairs so it still flows

I would paint the brown white and pick a lovely soft beachy color for the walls. I normally don't go for painting brick but I feel whitewashing this brick would help you achieve the beach feel you are going for.

I white washed my old brick fireplace and completely brightened my living room. My husband said no but I kept bugging him and he finally said yes. He said he was so happy he allowed it!!

A friend of mine had almost the same dilemma she used a type of stain that was like a wash that made it look almost pickled . What a difference made it much more modern.

I agree with all comments to paint stained wood trim white. If you want to keep it simple and neutral then paint your walls sand and repainted your kitchen cabinets navy. If you decide to repainted the outside of your house you can use a solid stain product in the color of your choice. Looks like a sweet house.