I like this sofa for your space....not quite traditional...not quite contemporary...and gives the red pop of color to your room. Might not be big enough in scale, though.

http://houzz.com/photos/2851088

Just came across this photo here on Houzz and it reminded me of your home and the look you're going for (I think). So I hope it gives you inspiration:

I would hire a carpenter to install wood moulding (white, like the fireplace) in all of the spaces surrounding the fireplace. It will tie the whole wall together. I'm going to search for a photo and try to post it for you.

Here's a thought. My last home had 19 ft. ceilings in the family room that opened up into the upstairs. To break up the expansive walls, we put thin trim 1/3 of the way down the wall all around the room and painted two shades from the same family, one below and one above the trim. would recommend beige shades in the B. Moore's Lenox Tan family. Upstairs use the two shades to stripe the hallway (wide stripes) and it will connect those spaces beautifully. As for the fireplace, keep the finish on the mantel, Run drapes from the second level to the bottom, and paint everything within the drapes the color you already have. Don't worry about trim within the window space. I think that would make your fireplace area feel bigger, and you wouldn't have to commit to a whole wall of red.

I think the base of the fire place is a nice neutral granite. It looks great curved and the surround is pretty too. This becomes a budget issue. If there isn't a tiny budget and you want a completely new look than exploring a stacked stone would be nice. However due to the placement of the windows you will have an abrupt end to the stone work you do so my best thought is do a panel wainscoting trim above and a framed bevel mirror. Run the molding all the way to the spceiling breaking at the windows as if they were not there. The fire place would looking stunning next to soft blue or yellow paint.

Thanks for all the good ideas. So many choices. I'll be sure to post some pics when all the changes have been done.

@carolins That pic is exactly what I'd love to do. But as firefighterswife928 said, my house doesn't shout contemporary. I feel like I'm stuck between a rock and a hard place. lol I'm being pulled towards the contemporary side, but there are so many traditional elements already in my home... I think I'd really welcome the change though. We built our home almost 9 years ago. Is there any way to mix the elements? Is there a happy medium? I guess I should really call in a designer.

I really think the simple answer is to paint the wall the same as the rest- pull the red color in with accents- or go bold and paint the entire wall red. It isn't your mantel that is making it look off it is that the wall looks unfinished/random with all the windows and the fireplace already there making a square area pop just isn't working for your room. Your house is beautiful and it is a pain to re-paint trim that doesn't need it- it will snowball and you will have to do the entire house..choose the simple route you will be much happier!

mariakeating, you already have a houzz full of designers, do you need to pay for one? :)
I had a similar styled wall about ten years ago. It never occurred to me to put up draperies because they wouldn't have added anything of value to the wall IMHO and the blinds were sufficient.

And now that someone has already mentioned it, I would agree that the room is not particularly suited for contemporary furniture. Now if you made some other significant changes that have been mentioned above, that would be different. But as it is I think a softer look would be desirable.

And back to the white leather idea, someone above mentioned that the dye on some jeans stained her auto leather. That is definitely one of the problems I had with my Natuzzi white leather. Fabric dyes can stain, especially if the fabric is damp from rain or snow. Do you need another headache?

@kroze, You're absolutely right! I DO have a houzz full of designers right here! Thanks for reminding me. I'm going to go through all the comments and make a list of what everyone has suggested. Once that's done, hopefully I'll have a clearer picture of what the room would look like.

@Osirius Designs. I like your suggestion of removing the mantel completely and using wood, stone or tile for sleek facade. I came across these wood panels the other day, and thought they might be interesting, but wonder if they can be installed on a fp wall due to the heat?

Just a reminder that the current curtains and furniture are being changed. The red chairs are not staying in the room. Basically it is a clean slate, and I'm starting from scratch. I was just hoping to be able to work with the beige walls and not have to repaint the house since it's open concept. But having said that, I guess I may not have a choice.

See... I don't think that your house has so many traditional elements apart from your fireplace and your current furniture and accessories.

But your floor is neutral in style, your kitchen is quite modern, the pillars in your room are not ornamental... I think that if you should see your house empty and painted white (not suggesting that you should paint it all white, although it would be a nice clean slate to start from), you'd see that you can go with whatever style you like and it would look good. The space is fantastic. Full of characteristic elements, like the windows and the high ceiling.

And you can certainly mix styles. Why not? Have you ever browsed the 'eclectic' section on Houzz?
It's my favourite section, because it's full of really personal interiors that have been lovingly put together by people who didn't think 'does this occasional table go with my coffee table?', but thought: 'Oooo, love this occasional table, got to have it!'

So... yep, if you want to go more contemporary in style, your house isn't the one that's keeping you from taking that step. But then again, I'm not a professional interior designer :-)

Thanks carolins. Your words of encouragement are really appreciated. I'll check out the 'eclectic' section right now.

Eclectic is wonderful. I have eclectic in my home now.
BUT, IMHO eclectic works best if it is totally eclectic...... not just randomly. There is a certain art to making eclectic work well.

mariakeating,

I don't believe in labels; e.g. contemporary, modern, etc.
I refuse to use labels and I won't be labeled because it is then too easy to be limited or dismissive in
choices.

What you like is your style and it is unique to you and does not require the "approval" of others.

“The first rule about decorating is that you can break almost all the other rules.” — Billy Bladwin

Totally agree with Aja Mazin.

I think it's a scale issue with the red fireplace accent... I would repaint in the original wall color and replace the art (above fireplace) with something bigger, louder, and larger scale. Like a large abstract painting with red in it. So you add the impact you may be trying to create with the red paint. Just a few tweaks away... :) Good luck.

carolins,

Thank you!

I'm a bit confused. If everything works well and there are no rules, why are we participating in this exercise of design? It is obvious to me that there are some things that just do not work well for an overall aesthetically pleasing appearance to most discerning eyes.

I will always believe that decorating is an art and there are some basic rules of thumb. Sticking to one specific style is not necessary, and in fact can be a bit boring. However, it is easy for a seemingly good idea to go a bit wayward.and produce an undesired result. That is what we all work against as we do our decorating.

I agree kroze, that's exactly what's happened to me... I thought I had a good idea, but it went as you said, a bit wayard... and therefore looking to the experts to get me back on track is what's needed.

Picasso didn't stick to the rules. Have you seen some of his portraits? Eyes all over the place. Yet...

It's only interior decorating. If you rigidly stick to the rules, there's no 'art' to it and we wouldn't have houses with windows over fireplaces.
But that is only my humble opinion of course.

Maria, you are such a nice person :-)

I am assuming the picture without the red was the before shot- the fire-place looked great against the neutral back-ground. I am always amazed that people come for color advice and end up redoing their entire house..Your mantel matches your kitchen cabinets and is warm and rich I would not paint it. The granite seems to also coordinate with your kitchen yes? Really the red paint seems to be what is messing up your whole decor. The upstairs hall way is fighting with your banister making it lose its wow factor- I would paint this back or change to a more complimenting color to the other walls. The area around the fire-place you could take two shades darker then the rest of the wall or take the whole wall two shades darker then the others if you wanted contrast without being too much. I really think color can come in accents, drapes and furniture. A new art piece over the fire place would really help too.

@ Amy, yes that's correct. I painted the wall on the advice of a BM color consultant. I had reservations, but thought hey it's only paint... I'll step out of my comfort zone...what's the worse thing that can happen.... My husband would have to repaint it. lol

What about the orange/red accents in the kitchen? should it stay or should it go as well? Does it compete with the cabinet colour too?

Your current curtains are not the style or scale for your grand windows. You need much more length and fullness on those windows for them to be treated appropriately. Look up your local window treatment specialist for the best advice on custom treatments.

mariakeating,

Of course!

A BM color consultant!

A person who makes money from the sale of paint!!

LOL!

Sorta like when someone answers a question on paint colour by telling the person that her window treatment is totally atrocious or that she should remove 2 of the windows in her home.

LOL!

Save us all from the unsolicited advice from the "experts".

I agree with the suggestion to go back to the "before" look when it was all the same color. I think you have enough red upstairs and can extend the red in smaller accents like pillows, vases, or even curtains I'd you wish to. The fireplace is very nice and the trim makes enough of a statement. I think it was beautiful before the red was added.

I agree that the area around the fireplace should be repainted to match the walls. As an accent wall I don't really think it works because you already have enough going on with the fireplace, mantel and number of windows.

Agree with Bonnie & Curacaoblue

I think part of the issue is that there are so many lines on that wall-windows, mantel, curtain-I'd paint it all the same color to reduce the effect of so many lines. Definitely, no tiles-just adding more lines.

Look what I found, to confuse you even more ;-)

Terrific photo carolins. Love the effect of no curtains.... so clean and sharp.
I haven't bought draperies in a very, very long time.

Se ve mucho mejor en beige

Repaint the entire wall the same colour - do what you want to the mantle, and,

You have two choices:
1) Paint the entire wall your orange colour - I happen to like the colour your chose, you just need to repeat it so it makes sense in drapery, toss cushions and accessories

2) Paint the entire wall another colour - and never paint just a portion of a wall again.I hate to use you as an example of what not to do when "colour blocking" but this is a what not to do...

Some inspiration photos to show you how you can bring those two colours into your room
and, I'd keep the orange-red paint colour, but I'd finish it off by painting the entire window wall! Good Luck

I love the red, I went thru about 10 before I settled I wold paint the rods silver,prime first then paint silver or grey don't be afraid of colors mix you will be surprised what going out of your safe box will do the room will open and inviting you didn't make a mistake you just matched everything go wild that's what paint more help I'm here

Don't paint fireplace add some color simple and inexpensive that's what I do and save money and time

Not sure what shade of red you will end up using but make sure all your art and accessories are within similar shades of red... Raisa

I love the red. But I think you have several other things going on there that may be bothering you more. As you look up the red you see that it has been bisected on each side by the curtain rods which stops the eye, and then it pushes up to the window frame which brings the eye abruptly to a halt which makes it all uncomfortable. The flow is missing.

My 2 cents- paint the wall from the curtain rods up to the window in the color of the wall, then hang a mirror or other wonderful thing that is the width of the fireplace and goes up to the height at least of the piece you have there now. Hopefully this will retore the flow and help you fall in love with your red color all over again.

Nice room...

Going to do a quick fix and repaint the chimney back to the original color for now. (My husband will be thrilled that I'm putting him to work again) lol. It will buy us some time before deciding if we will leave it as is or take the mantel off and resurface the wall. By then we'll hopefully have all the new furniture, curtains and rug in place too.

Thanks to everyone for contributing ideas.

I'm sure your husband is even more thrilled that you didn't decide to paint the entire wall red :-)

Good luck with choosing new furniture and all that. At least that's easier than deciding on paint colours. Have fun :-)

lol! i think the entire issue was that you'd posted not-so-good photos of your beautiful room to begin with... ones you posted down the discussion of your room look so nice!!
after all you must realize we houzzers, get to see the 'issue' through tiny windows (photographs) only.

By the way I painted I wall red and staircase red and he loves it

Wow - what a lively discussion! I agree with the comment that the color blocking is off, but the color choice IS lovely. If you are going with the white furniture, I could see that entire wall in the red with a stone where the red is currently to break up that big wall and bring in a natural element - with or without the mantel.

If you decide to keep the window panels, definately "beef up" the rod and take it wall to wall and make the side panels wide enough that they cover the wall on either side of the windows to give the illusion that those windows go all the way over. This will help with the scale of the big wall.

Good luck with all the choices and decisions that you will be making!

@ Tami Jones, Thanks for your suggestions. I'm changing the curtain panels once the new furniture is chosen, so I'll definitely think about extending the rods to the corners. Great suggestion.

The color is nice with the wood. If you want any easy fix, try matching the drapes with the new color and see if that doesn't pull it together before you spend a lot of money. A nice rug with both colors would also work.

older post

Wow. This is from year 2013. Guess no updates posted.

I have a trick that might help you decide.
Take a printed picture of the whole thing, cut out the red and then put other color choices behind. I did this for a front door and was able to find a perfect color!
I would not remove the window or any other major construction. I think you can work wonders with the right shade of paint.

2013...