I think it's a nice feature for the space. What some folks don't get is that the fireplace heats the rock which helps heat the room. I'd clean it and keep it as a feature.

One thing you didn't ask about, but I noticed it the handmade spiral staircase. I would figure a way to get a real staircase installed, especially it you are going to use this property as a rental.

I would clean it up and keep it, but then I wouldn't paint the rest of the cabin white, either. It is a real cabin, right? Like in the woods and everything?

I did paint it white, just to convince myself that I didn't want to.

Yup, I'd leave it natural.

KEEP IT. Clean the existing stone, and continue the stone UP!

The rock is nice! I would focus on safety with a 1968 cabin. Hire experts to inspect the interior of the fireplace and chimney, and put a railing on those stairs.

ya i agree, it's not really feeling like it should be a white washed beach cottage....

I think that when people rent a cabin they would want the cabin feel. I would not touch the fireplace except to clean and paint the vent to match the rock as stated above. Also cabins have stained wood not white painted wood. Now, that staircase looks like a lawsuit waiting to happen.

Vents painted out. I recommend that be done after the stone is cleaned. Love the rough stacked stone appearance. A work of art.

Nice room.

As decide what to do with the fireplace, understand that a lot of heat goes up the chimney of a traditional fireplace.

Definitely would want the fireplace stone as clean as possible before moving in. Would not cover the stone or rip it out. Definitely would not paint it or the natural wood in the room.

For safety sake, you might want to have the fireplace inspected by a pro. If there are any safety issues associated with using it as is, you might ask the inspector if using a triple wall pipe within the chimney attached to a wood heater fireplace insert would resolve such issues.

Some wood heater fireplace inserts will likely move more heat into the room while others may be better for ambience. Keeping in mind why you want a fireplace will help with choosing an insert if you decide to go that route.

https://www.google.com/search?q=Wood+heater+fireplace+insert&source=lnms&tbm=isch&sa=X&ved=0ahUKEwjvkpWb3qfdAhVG21MKHTaiD_4Q_AUICygC&biw=1366&bih=650

You might also consider gas logs.

What appears to be an elongated heat vent could interfere with adding a mantel unless you were to use a firebox insert -- then you could probably cover the vent with your mantel.

If you are renting to Air BnB guests, def. convert the fireplace to gas. Easy to use & cleaner than wood fire and many people do not have a clue how to use a fireplace or wood stove.

If you don't have gas available for the fireplace stock some duraflames :-)

I agree with Groveraxle that the white isn’t the best option; it’s too stark. I like the idea that you’re in a cabin with a great fireplace, but I think it could be softened a bit with the right beige on the walls and a darker brown above the stones. I’d play around with paint colors and also do what’s been suggested with the fireplace—cleaning and painting the vents.

Thanks all for the great ideas and advice... I think that we'll be keeping fireplace and walls as is (Groveraxle your mock up convinced me quickly) and/or maybe with a softened hue as NancyD suggests. Really appreciate it. From a safety point of view, I have had the fireplace inspected and it needs to be cleaned professionally and then re-inspected so we'll see what happens. I have thought about moving it to gas (which we might do), however, the cabin doesn't have a gas connection...just a 1,000 gal propane tank which works but could get pricey (then again, so could a house fire). I like the duraflame idea which we might make work for this season. And... the staircase (aka big cat toy) is definitely coming out based on feedback. Thanks again all... I'll be sure to post some after pics once it's done.

Also, I thought it might help to show you all a pic of the outside of the cabin... it's 2 mins from one ski resort (you can see the runs from the deck) and 5 mins from another one. The resorts get between 250 and 500 inches of snow a year with a fairly consistent base of 80 inches (there will be a lot of snow!). Summers are great here as well (as it's easily 20 degrees cooler than in the city that is 40 mins away) but winters are the best.

following...

before you touch that stairs: as soon as you do work on something the new something will need to meet code. make sure you have the space for a code staircase. we were able to do a plea bargain on ours and replace a 'whoa thats not code' spiral stairs with a 'thats not code either but its better than the last one" spiral stairs. don't do a demo on yours before you find out what you'd have to replace it with.

dont forget the large reclaimed wood mantel! it will make that fireplace.

Ditto the comment about people not knowing how to start / tend a fire. Suggest you store ALL "firewood" in a locked shed. Your Homeowner's policy will negate any claim resulting from a tenant-caused fire...unless you have informed your Carrier, in writing, of BNB use. Companies are becoming very persnickety about claims against BNB rentals.

Yes, wood burning is a frightful thing, and sometimes people think its just that simple, ash, soot flu, they dont know, they are only there for one night.

The only problem as far as renting it is that it would be listed as a working fireplace. You are going to get a lot of negative reviews if they can't use wood. It is a ski cabin and renters are going to expect a wood burning fireplace. You got a large firebox and a fake log just isn't going to cut it. We tried them last year in our fireplace and the fake logs are a joke compared to a real wood fire. We tried two and threw the others away. If you don't want guests to burn wood then I would just temporary close up the fireplace when guests are using the cabin and build a nice firepit outside. And advertise the cabin as a non working fireplace. Yes, you will get lower rent and renters will choose to rent a cabin with a real wood burning fireplace cabin to one without, but you don't have to worry about the fire hazard.

Hi folks-two things;

First off wanted to say thank you for your advice thus far. I’m attaching a few pictures so that you can see the work in progress… We did decide to go white but leave the brown stripes in between and leave the beams all brown. I really like the look.

Second, we have a bit of a design dilemma that I could use your help with again. Here’s the issue;

1. TV-I want to mount a TV over the fireplace but I’m not sure if I should mount it on the wall with a pulldown mount (not sure if anyone makes a mount that pulls down far enough) that brings it down to the mantle level or lower - OR- if I should try to mount it directly into the stone (with a pull down mount as well). I’m confident that I can safely mount it either way.... just more curious about which option would look better aesthetically.

2. Lights / chandelier - we’ve decided to go with this rustic looking chandelier which I really like. The problem is that in the room if you center it over the fireplace you pretty much block where the TV would be. The other option would be to buy another chandelier that matches this and hang one in line with the entrance (The front door is perpendicular to the fireplace) and then hang a second one further off to the left hand side. That way the TV would be roughly centered between the two.

Any thoughts or ideas? Again I’m attaching A few pictures from different perspectives so you can get an idea of the space. Thanks in advance for any help or ideas!

A few more photos

And by the way… Don’t get too hung up on the cord that I have connected to the light. That is just temporary while I figure out where to place it.

Well, you can't hang antlers in front of the TV. Build a little wall and hang the TV here:

Hadn’t thought about that... not a bad idea. Thx

I like the light fixture, but it really blends into the white wood, I would really consider painting the wood above the fireplace to blend in more with the stone, thus giving the light fixture some presence. look back at Nancy D post for color inspo over fireplace.

I totally agree with RL on painting the slats above the fireplace dark.

Really glad you didn’t paint the real rock white! Personally I wouldn’t have painted the walls white either but at least it will be easy to over paint later. Really like the idea of a TV wall being built. I’m sure you could mount a TV to the rock but hiding the cables would be nearly impossible.

The tv on the rock will look weird to me. You’ve spoken about how good the skiing is and people are coming to the cabin for a cabin feel. Find someplace else for the tv. A new wall to the right is the best suggestion.
I also think the wall above the rock is still too stark. Can you look at soft grays or beiges?

I think a new wall for the tv as groveraxle suggested is the perfect solution. This would cover up the view of the spiral staircase from the living room, but that is a plus in my opinion. I also think it would be a mistake to mount the tv above the fireplace.....leave the fireplace the focal point to emphasize the cozy cabin feel. I agree the wall above the stone would look better a darker color.....go dark, or pull out one of the beiges in the stone. Great place!

My fireplace is much smaller but this is a different idea. I did this to my fireplace and spruced it up. This was pictures during construction. I love yours the way it is.

I live in the water so the driftwood works here. My photos were at night so usually not that dark.

Great ideas... thanks to all. Mounting the TV above the fireplace is definitely out at this point. I’ll keep you posted on the tv wall and maybe painting the space above the fireplace a different color. Thanks again!

I agree with everyone else about painting that wall to match the rest of the dark wood.

Will that wall work with the staircase behind?

Just following up on this thread with a quick photo of what we ended up doing... I removed the wood stove and built a TV stand where that was and it worked well . Thanks again for all of your help!

And I do still need to do a large reclaimed wood mantle as per an earlier suggestion on this string! Still on my list and thanks again!

Thank you so much for posting the “after” photo. I’m so glad you kept the rock. That kind of craftsmanship is almost extinct. Like the off white walls. Where did the TV end up?

looks fantastic!

Very nice room! Very cozy and inviting.
One small suggestion: pull the couch away from the wall and place the feet onto the rug. The room will look better. As my designer says, you don’t want it to look like the furniture got blown into the walls from a hurricane.

IMO I think of you paint the beans in the ceiling the focus would be on that stunning fireplace and great light fixture. But that’s my opinion

All I can say is WOW! That is some interior. It's pretty spectacular rustic mid-century modern. I would suggest cleaning up the fireplace and surround and leaving it mostly as is.

Looks great! Good furniture placement suggestion from RedRyder, that will make it much more inviting. Maybe add a coffee table, side tables and lamps when you get to that.

Thanks all for the great feedback! We did actually add a coffee table a few weeks ago. Here’s a new pic with the coffee table and the new bar stools. @reupser, the TV is to the left of the fireplace where the wood burning stove was. Not perfect but ok for now (I built a stand and painted it with chalk paint... we store firewood under it). And appreciate the suggestion about the couch @RedRyder... will do that. Also good idea @Lisa Dipo re the beams. I need to touch them up at some point so maybe I go all white. Thanks again all... it would not have turned out the way it did without your help and advice!

And in case you’re wondering… The ukuleles don’t really go with it but we left them up there one weekend and some guests said how much they loved it so we kept them there ;)

Congratulations—you really pulled it all together! Must be so much fun, now that all the hard work is done.

Great job! So happy for you. Thanks for coming back with the updates.

I also love the touches of red in the eating area. And the new photos show the LR rug better - very nice! When /If you touch up the beams, a lighter color (not the same white of the ceiling) might give them some attention without being that dark. (Maybe a soft grey?)

Thanks all! @RedRyder I love the idea of soft gray beams! Makes them an accent but not obvious

😀