Lisa, you are right, I do not want all the brick to go away. In hind sight, I think painting the bookcases made the brick more pronounced. I want the framed wood to go up from the mantel to within 8" from the ceiling molding. And from the mantel ends to the edge of the bookcases is 8", approximately. (I will attach a picture showing the reason - the molding around the bookcase.) So there will be 8" of brick on the sides and top of the framed wood above the mantel. I know there is often a header (is that what it is called) below a mantel, I was not going to do that because of the soldiers above the fire pit. I do want fluted legs, is that what they are called, I thought headers, from the corbels down to the hearth. My questions are this - will this be totally out of the norm? Will this look good, and should I paint it the same color as the mantel and bookcases? Any suggestions or other ideas would be appreciated. Thank you so much.

I am sure you have already completed this project looking at the date you posted it. However, if you haven't I think the VJ boards are a great idea for a coastal look and will give a completely new look to the room. If you want to give an illusion of more height then go for vertical (up and down) boards. Horizontal will make a room look a little wider. I think both would work well, I would personally go with the horizontal ones as I feel they are more coastal in style and more contemporary. I am using this type of wall board horizontally in an outdoor garden studio I am having built. If you don't want to do the whole room in the board then I would just do the wall behind the head of the bed. Shutters would be another way of creating a coastal look or you could add some rattan Roman blinds for texture. Good luck and if it is completed, would love to see an image.

Use an off-white shiny porcelain subway tile laid in a horizontal running bond pattern, you said you have a low ceiling, lay them vertically side by side end to end, & us a very lt grey grout. It is classic, timeless and one of the least expensive tiles unless you fancy it up.

Well you could do the cabinets the same color as the walls..and the shiplap white..the gray cabinets might blend into the wall then and be less noticeable. Or you might like the difference, then go with it. It's yours, I need to something with my laundry..I hate it..boring and just too crowded with stuff. I wanted to use a few of the cabinets we took out of our kitchen..but I kind of forgot to tell anyone and they ended up in the burn barrel. Draw your ideas out..check how you like it. But do what you like..good luck. Or you could fill in the bead board with putty and paint.