" I only have about 1 week after I close on this to make this room sing "

The room already sings with bricks a wood ceiling. Not my taste but I didn't buy a house that had so much I wanted to change.

*I* would repaint the stark white window frames and door to something less jarring against the creamy brick.

The rooms already sing. I wouldnt do anything to them. The ceilings are beautiful, and the brick, is very nice. Its also a nice neutral color. Why on earth, would you buy a house, that is obviously not your style. Not every room, needs to be white, to sing. Appreciate what you just bought, its very nice and its very well done.

I know it feels like this all has to get done now. But get still with yourself for a moment and slow down. Realize that you could be making very costly mistakes right now and it is perfectly fine to live an a frankly unattractive space for 6 months or a year. It never killed anyone.

You cannot easily unpaint brick so do not paint it now. Rushing into this is a recipe for regret. Yes, there is a lot of brick and it is unattractive but painting it is only going to make the brick look worse, not better because of the shape and texture of the bricks. There will be a way to harmonize that brick, floor, and ceiling to transform this space but even a skilled color consultant would need almost a week to test colors in this space, find the right white or correct other colors to make it work in different lights, areas of the space, and at different times of day and night.

So for now, if you feel compelled to do something at all:

1. Paint the mustard yellow parts of the wall and the black line between the wall and brick a color that is as close as possible of a match to the brick. It will unify this room and make the brick not pop. It will be a fine neutral to live with for quite a while. Don't touch the built-ins until you have a much better plan in place.

2. Paint the french doors the same as the wall color. Do not remove them yet. Live with them open, live with them closed, play with furniture arrangement in the space, then decide what to do.

3. Don't remove the pony wall until you have a remedy for what to do with the floor underneath the pony wall.

4. Add a rug you love and your furniture and artwork and this room will be perfectly livable for the next 6 months to a year. This will allow you to focus your time and money on all of the new and costly repairs and surprises that come with a newly purchased home.

I agree with @Kendrah. You’re rushing to change a space you haven’t lived in. The only painting that you should do would be the regular walls. I wouldn’t use a white-white but a creamy ivory.

Moving in with area rugs and your own furniture will immediate change the space. I think you need a designer to help you. Whatever the fee for that person will be you will save you thousands from making mistakes.

No, you don’t paint this interior brick. You learn to design around the house you own. If you dislike the interior so much, I question why you even thought to buy it.

Slow down. Get into your house and don’t do anything permanent for at least a year. You really don’t know your home until you’ve lived in it.

I think it's a great looking interior! The only things I would change are the yellow walls -- the creamy white suggestion is spot-on, and paint the white doors and the white window frame the same creamy white. Put down a throw rug with some earthy colors in it - something with a warm, rusty red would look great with the brick and the floor and you're done for now. Embrace what you have -- it really is lovely.

Thanks for your comments. Sometimes you have time to go slow - and sometimes you don't. This time around, I don't have time and need to make these decisions now and act quickly. I don't see anything wrong with that...that's why I'm asking for help.

I appreciate some people's love of beige, but that's not me. I should've included in my original post that my style leans toward a simple, modern scandanavian style, crisp lines but softened with some transitional influence. I bought this house because of it's location and value...not for it's classic 70's architecture. You make your choices - I really do like the home and I can envision it as a place I will love to live...but ! So to start the transition, I will paint the walls and brick one color to bring focus to the fireplace. I had a color consultation with Sherwin Williams Virtual and she advised a white with soft/invisble green undertone = Oyster White (LRV 73) or a brighter option is Pearly White (LRV 76) or Alabaster (LRV 83) that plays nice with the wood ceiling.

Now the pony wall...the foyer area will be refloored with or without the pony wall. I'm just not sure if the division that the pony wall provides between the foyer and LR would be missed if it is removed. It frames in the very low ceiling...not sure if the low ceiling would be emphasized without it?

You did a virtual color consultation? That would not have been my first choice!

I would look for a local color expert. Maybe a local designer that has gone through the Maria Killam color course or The Land of Color (Lori Sawaya) color course.

The current floor color doesn't work with the stone/ brick. So I wouldn't toss the baby out with the bath water. At least wait until after you have new flooring before making that decision.

I would leave the pony wall. You need the separation to define the space and for furniture placement. Without a pony wall there, the low ceiling in the foyer is realllly going to bother you. Pony wall helps to make sense of the low ceiling.

What jumps out to me as problems are the very dark molding & ceiling beams. Then the floors being too close to the color of the brick/ stone & not a good color with the wood ceilings. Then the yellow walls.

Why don't you have time? You don't HAVE to do anything at all right now. If you plan on moving in the not too distant future, painting all that brick is going to de-value the home = bad choice. If you plan on staying quite a while, take your time and make a whole-home plan rather than jumping in feet first -- you need a well thought out plan to drive your choices.

Thank you Jill - great reference piece. Very helpful!

I don't love beige either. I just cringe at your plan and that is why I suggested holding off for now on painting. But, since you are hell bent on doing a cosmetic make over in the time frame of a Queer Eye episode...

The pics in Jill's link are nice, but I wouldn't count on your walls looking anything like them as they are mostly of exposed brick that have great character to begin with. Your bricks are decorative interior wall bricks and I suspect it isn't color alone that makes them unattractive but the shape and texture that will still be there after painting.

Am I correct that the pass through window wall from kitchen to the entry is already painted brick? If so, that can be your test wall. Start there and paint large swaths of it with your test color. It will give you a sense of what amplified elongated rectangular wavy brick looks like painted white.

Have you considered sheen? I'd go with the most matte finish possible. It will cut down on the shadow and bright spots of light hitting the rumpled texture of your bricks.

I'd also suggest hopping over to apartmenttherapy.com. You will probably find makeovers there that are more the slipshod type of project you are taking on with lots more trendy scandi - modern vibe.

I hope you post some after pics in the next few weeks. I'd love to see how it comes out and they'd be a great guide for anyone else online who is looking for examples of painted decorative 70s bricks.

We moved into a 1969 ranch that I've always really liked even though MCM isn't my vibe. I had several reasons for doing that, but I still wanted to make the home feel like my own. So I totally get this post. I tried to respect the bones of the house, but did a" full home, no room untouched" update. And for various reasons, some trivial some medical, I wanted everything on the interior done before I moved in. Of course, that meant we took well over a year to move in and not everything is done. Still, were er lucky. Not everyone has the luxury of that kind of time. But that doesn't mean that you may not want to get some things done before toting in and arranging heavy, hard to work around furnishings or exposing sensitive family members to construction, which may be toxic for them. I think, based on your described style, white paint is your friend. Just choose your paint shade carefully and hire a pro to get the best results. I am no expert, but my impression of Scandinavian style is that the walls are merely the canvas. I'd leave all of the wood tones, for now, which is part of Scandinavian design anyway. I'd paint the previously painted beams white, as that will be much easier (and faster) than sanding and staining to match, and it will give contrast and highlight the wood ceiling. I might leave the white doors for now. after you paint, they won't stand out so much. You can always default to leaving them open until you are ready to do the bedroom. As for the pony wall, will you budget accommodate new flooring? If not, I'd paint it and leave it for now. Good luck! The house is lovely and sure to be lovelier when you've put your touch on it.

If you're changing out the flooring, then I would remove the pony wall. It's a more in your face use of the brick than on the perimeter walls. ( must have been a mason who built this house).

I think one of the problems is the furniture is so light and emphasizes the walls instead of them fading into the background. Not just because they are brick but because of the color. If you decorated in a Scandinavian style with a blue or charcoal sectional, and some area rugs, vibrant art, they would dominate the space and the walls will fade away quite a bit. I probably would paint the sheetrock and also the bookcases and maybe the fireplace so all those areas, which are the focal points are subdued a bit.

why would you only have one week? most people make chamges only after living in a home for 6 months to 1 year.

On the timing concept, it's a LOT more difficult to do any major painting once one has moved thier furniture into the house. Flooring is even more complicated. So there is a good reason to remodel before the move-in. I also am not fond of painted brick. It reeks of remodel and I think the best remodel job is the one that doesn't appear to be a remodel job. I think how much you eventually like your new home will hinge on how well you like whatever you do with the brick, left as-is, painted, removed, or covered with a different material....or a combination of these. If you don't think you will like the new brick look....think really hard about buying the home.

Oh, I would absolutely leave the ceiling as-is. I think the black beams and the wood will pop once you paint the walls white.

While I appreciate the coments about my motives for buyng the home and timeline for updating it - I'm not really looking for that feedback. The home is in escrow and will be mine! And I'm thrilled about it. I need to move quickly - some people can't imagine that - but I can and will do it! I'm asking for help to do this. Thank you to those of you who understand the assignment and have given me advise and resources.

The clarify a little more - the floors are new, high end Italian porcelain tile - the photos read more beige/tan - the actual color is more greige. The flooring at the entry is old tile and will be replaced (not sure why the previous owner didn't continue the new tile here) - but I'm leaning toward leaving the pony wall because I think the low ceiling at the entry will be emphasized if it isn't boxed with the pony wall resulting in a defined entry area.

The ceiling will not be painted, however all walls (including the copious amount of brick) will be painted a clean white (with a very slight green undertone) that plays well with the wood ceiling.

If anyone has ideas on how to update the fireplace and built ins - I'm thinking dramatic contrast to the white walls - maybe the same color as the ceiling beams? Television mounted over the fierplace?

If you hate the brick and can fix the floor under the pony wall, you can remove it and easily create a boxed in entry with a piece of furniture like a console, or have a non brick structure built there.

What @Olychick said about the brick wall is spot on. Better to take it down and extend your new floor everywhere. Then you have options for a different countertop/prep/serving space in that open spot. So many ideas could work there.

It’s hard to recommend colors since online photos are deceiving. I’m glad you are getting a color consultant for the walls - that will make a huge difference.

Is the wall unit in consideration for a change of color? I would be tempted to paint that after you bring in your furniture and some rugs. Or it’ll look great.

Any contractor available in less than 4 months either is a hack, or charges so darn much that he is able to take time off in between clients.

Plus all the rest about not remuddling a high quality home with a specific design viewpoint that is valuable as is.

Gardenweb used to be a much better place to get input. Not so much any more.

For areas of brick that you may want to have as accent areas, like the fireplace, have you considered doing a multi-color (get an artist or someone with experience) to paint it to look like brick...just a different color? There are some youtube demos on how to make faux brick using drywall mud. That how-to includes ways to paint the faux brick so it looks realistic.

The article linked mentioned drywall over brick. Hanging drywall and texture coat are more time consuming than paint but would probably be a better looking result in the long run.

You could keep the adobe fireplace brick unpainted if you keep the floors...they complement each other.

I just googled Scandi style with exposed bricks and there are some nice pictures. I'm not sure white painted brick would look nicer - might even look worse. There is an awful lot of brick but if you ignore it and paint the walls to blend it in you won't notice it after a while. I like the pony wall and don't think it should be removed, but I am probably biased as I live where we need a foyer for boots etc.