I like your fireplace. What's on the floor? wood?

you know what would look nice w/those beams? wood on the ceiling between the beams. (either left natural or painted)

T&G painted white with rustic beams. You could always wrap your beams in something better

or go darker and paint them black

but, for the light, do you like any of these?

White is not the only color brick can be painted. Think outside the box, IMO that reddish brick is terrible and not the least bit modern,........mor colonial in colors.

I love a black brick fp, but everytime I mention it people think I'm nuts.

my attempt at photoshop. you get the idea. Except, with this I'd do the beams in black.

If you go w/the mantel, I would suggest getting wood that matches the tone of the table, rather than a very 'warm' toned color wood like this:

I love the mantel w/the black brick, but so close to that dining table it clashes with it. try and find a wood or wood stain that is more of an ashy brown as opposed to reddish brown.

If you did this wood I'd repaint your beams black. that room would look amazing!

Another option, plywood that you rip yourself into T&G planks. a bit more work, but it's inexpensive. Beadboard, bamboo, regular pine T&G, are all other options.

For my living room ceiling I got reclaimed wood, used milk paint on them and installed it in a herringbone pattern.

Craigslist often sells reclaimed wood, so be on the lookout for that. You don't have to spend a lot if you know how to shop and are willing to do the work.

For the brick you could try using black milk paint (The Real Milk Paint Company) or even a black chalk paint. In the picture I photoshopped w/the black brick, she used BM Aura in matte black

You would prob want to apply a dark primer to the bricks first or else it will suck up the paint like crazy. if you have any spare bricks, try out diff paints on those.

some other black:

you could also do a very matte black and keep the mortar a gray instead of doing it in black.

Here are three more chandeliers, all from Shades of Light. You might be able to see them. All the black and bronze ones disappear against the brick.

You can do a light whitewash, then evaluate and whitewash over and over till you get it where you want it.

i like the light. I like the black color for that room better than the whitewash though.

7' would work if it was thick enough.

groveraxle....when you're done here, can you come play over here?

Pinkpeony would like your services? scroll all the way to the bottom and then read up a few comments. thanks

https://www.gardenweb.com/discussions/5231036/stacked-cabinets-and-hardware-choices

Valerie, that other light is way better looking than this one.

Pearson chandelier with 7' mantel:

How about just a very simple traditional chandelier, but oversized to make a statement?

Valerie, the one you like I got from Shades of Light, but it's actually not as big as I show it in the rendering. But similar chandeliers are everywhere in different sizes

The one I just rendered above was from Wayfair. I just selected "candle style" and filtered by size, choosing oversize which is greater than 30". If you find something you like and paste the link here, I'll put it in your room. Also, tell me how long the fireplace wall is and I'll do my best to make it proportional.

Here's an orb from Restoration Hardware. (I happened to have it on hand.)

valerie, what will be on the floors in this room? I like that last light you posted, but I also like the beaded one.

what about these?

Murray Fleiss.

These are approximately the right size:

Here's Brown Dog's suggestion. My only hesitation: once you paint those bricks black, there is no going back.

Great responses, I love many of the chandeliers posted! The beam ideas are fantastic too! (though I can relate to the budget issue)

I think the black looks great. The lime wash is iffy. I suppose you could start off with it, like you said. try the powdered milk paint option. it's more natural looking.