Hi! I think that paint is always a hard thing to choose. At first glance, if you are wanting to go with a darker tone, I think a purple-red would look nice. Here are some throw pillows to use for paint-matching or inspiration:

http://deciture.com/shop/decor/belle-and-june/judy-ross-textiles-waves-pillow-rouge-cream/

http://deciture.com/shop/decor/belle-and-june/judy-ross-textiles-spray-pillow-cream-rouge/

http://deciture.com/shop/decor/belle-and-june/bardot-blush-pillow/

http://deciture.com/shop/decor/belle-and-june/judy-ross-textiles-fauna-pillow-cream-rouge-berry/

Hope this helps!

Just thinking how great your fire place will look after painting the walls in a warm grey.
Good luck

It doesn't look like you get a lot of natural light in your living room and you need that warmth to get the desired affect. Warm grays always look great in photos but you'll notice the big windows too. I recently tried to paint my living room but suffer the same fate - my dining room has all the light. Anyway, multiple attempts later I decided that gray always looked blueish and sickly at best. I tried to go from a light cafe au lait to gray with no luck. The paint samples were from my failed experiment. Just three of the six shades of gray that I tried with an update on the top left of the existing color. You decide.

I had a similar fireplace and faced it with 16" multi-color slate tiles. Then I chose brown and grey furniture and a red accent wall to set everything off.

I would take colors from the rug you have. This room looks dark to begin with. Update the overhead lighting, paint, find something substantial to place on your mantel and use another color from your rug for more accents.

I really agree with rocketjcat's comments about the lighting. If you can change to ceiling cans that is going to make a big change in that space. And, I would consider changing the facing of the entire fireplace with tile or a light colored natural stone. This is the focal point of this entire space and needs to be the commanding feature.

Bumping this up to see if lighting designers would chime in with suggestions?

If your fireplace is the main focus then I would leave it that color, put a statement piece on the mantel and possibly have some kind of seating near it/focused to it. Not sure how that could happen with the railing. I would take one of the rich deeper colors out of the rug and paint the walls as that would tie this space to your warm kitchen with the black counter tops. Your floors are beautiful so the contrast in the light of the fireplace mixed with the richness of the floors would further set off the room.

I am assuming that you want to paint your walls a light grey color as you stated you wanted to go with "grey tones". Paint the walls first to make sure a dark fireplace won't make your space too dark. If it does, paint the fireplace one or two tones darker than the walls. If you have plenty of light, then go with a medium charcoal. I wouldn't go to the trouble or expense of resurfacing with tile or slate. I would also put more dramatic accessories on the mantel..........a piece of art or 2 or 3 large vases in the color tones of your carpet. The small pieces you now have are the wrong proportion for the size of your fireplace.

Have fun and Good Luck.

Don't change the area rug as suggested above. If you went to a solid carpet color, your room would be boring. I like your area rug.

Check out Jeff Lewis Paints...sold at Home Depot....a beautiful line of darker modern colors.

I would lighten up the whole room.All the dark furniture makes that big fireplace stand out too much. Brighten things up!

You should pant it a light light green

The walls and fireplace same color?

I agree about a heavier mantle. How about opening some of the fireplace up (budget?) - removing some of the brickwork. If not how about some mirror or quartz or something that is light. I'd remove the lights that hang down from the beams too... (they add to the business of the room).

What a great fireplace! I'd go with a medium/dark gray, display some larger items on the mantle (use the rug for colors) and go with a soft gray for the walls ( I just found Gray Clouds by Sherwin-Williams ).

barbten, I just said the same thing about 4 comments before yours. I guess great minds think alike.

I did the walls of a white kitchen in a mushroomy gray in preparation for selling my home. It was stunning and made the white pop. I was sorry I hadn't done it years earlier! The room had a rustic slate floor which looked even more beautiful with the paint.

I would paint the fireplace 2 shades darker then the walls....( whichever color you choose for the walls)
Then I would paint the log holder box INSIDE a pop of color ...like an orange color from your rug...

If your going to keep that rug...I'd go with the burnt orange for the walls! You'll love it....looks warm and cozy, and it looks like you got some great lighting!

If your going to keep that rug...I'd go with the burnt orange for the walls! You'll love it....looks warm and cozy, and it looks like you got some great lighting!

I really like burnt orange, BUT, I'd be carful in doing the entire room in it. Maybe a accent wall would be more appropriate.

I agree. Burnt orange can get to be too much! Try some great arrangement of items on the mantle (painted medium/dark gray) in orange and red or teal? Make it pop!

A rich yellow is also good with gray!

Try Behr premium paint in Silver Drop. It's a pale gray with a touch of taupe. Looks awesome with white trim.

Terracotta/brick for the walls and a sandy-beige for the fireplace. You need a chunky mantle shelf which could be accomplished with a wide piece of trim moulding around the existing shelf. Try adding a small "touch" light in the recessed opening next to the fireplace and putting something textural in there (pine ones, dried flowers, a textural basket, etc)

Seems like the room is already dark, and grey would make it darker. I agree with checking out the lighting first. Also it seems like a strange arrangement, as though the sofa is backed up against a stair well banister? This does not center the rug on the fireplace.
Rearrange the furniture and put the rug centered ion the fireplace, pick colors from the rug...lighter color for the wall, accent color for the fireplace...ie terra cotta/brick as suggested by Irhicks. The fireplace needs re-doing to give it a more updated look. Definitely take the fireplace tools off the face, and make the mantle more impressive!

tootoovintagemarket, I agree with what you're saying, but it looks like the railing runs in the middle of the fireplace, so the rug couldn't be centered in front of it. Kind of an odd shaped room to effectively arrange the furniture around the fireplace.

judygilpin.......Hi...I looked at the photo again....it appears that the railing lines up with the end
of the fireplace?

tootoovintagemarket, Hi...Geez you have a long "name". Anyway, I hope you're correct about the railing. Otherwise everything has to be crowded into an area that pretty much ignores the fireplace.

I painted my living room Duxbury Grey from Benjamin Moore. The colour looks grey with a hint of blue and in some light people think it's green. The colour changes with the light. This colour was chosen by a decorator and I painted the ceiling and cove white so it looks really crisp. The furniture is charcoal grey with chocolate leather chairs, mahogany tables and a natural cherry floor. Check out this colour at your paint store or on-line at Benjamin Moore. It's considered to be a neutral and is a colour you wont' see often , think you will like it.

judygilpin......sorry about the name...that's the name of my vintage shop on Etsy.com. But take another look at the photo, and you will see that the railing aligns with the end of the fireplace........it is kind of an awkward arrangement?

Try Revere Pewter by Benjamin Moore for that warm gray, leave the fireplace as is.

I agree with the Revere Pewter. The Duxbury Gray looks too dark for your room......on-line, anyway.

I'm seeing lots of ideas here with mushroom gray walls. That would work with the rug if it is a warm gray. Then replace the ceiling spots with can lights, bulk up the fireplace mantel and stain it to match the wood floor. Instead of burnt orange I would use a more modern shade of orange for pillows & accents. The cream fireplace color would also brighten up the room as another accent color. A large modern painting with orange, browns, creams and grays would pull the room together as well. You might carry a few orange accents into the kitchen such as stacked orange bowls on the counter and orange kitchen towels .One last thing... I think there may be too much of a good thing with all leather. Perhaps you could slipcover the ottoman (and a chair if possible) in a geometric fabric). I know this sounds like a lot of change but most of it you could do yourself.

I also have the challenge of a dark room like this. I am guessing from the photos you may have a post and beam structure like I do. If so, your lighting options are limited. I've also had to use track lighting however I mounted it on the side of the beams, as high as possible. This is slightly less problematic. also there is now a variety of fixtures that will give you a more updated look.

Hmmm. You do have can lighting in the kitchen. If you can go to that.

A rusty finish on the fireplace, add larger items around clock. A warm gray on walls.

A dark grey would be a nice color if you get lots of light in the room. Color changes so much depending on time of day and amount of light in the room itself. It's best to decide when we're in the space. Decorating Den is a national franchise so you can find someone near you. Happy decorating.

Forgot to mention that we offer free initial consultations and we come to your home.

I personally think that in order to modernize the fireplace it will (at the least) need to be painted a bright, flat white. if you can spare the money, I would suggest adding some thin glass tiles in a staggered pattern. A grey/white/clear pallet would look great with the grey you mention.

Agree! A light,warm gray would work! How about a shade lighter on the fireplace with a few different width stripes (2-5") in colors from your rug around the fireplace ! Piece of art - !