what would you do with this living room??

rpalen29

So, me and my husband are house hunting. we love this one house, but the problem is the living room. there's dark wood beams on the ceiling and above the fireplace. I'm also not crazy about how the fireplace takes up the whole side of the house. 

our realtor suggested painting the wood to give it a more lighter feel. Is there a possibility that we could just cover up the wood above the fireplace with sheet rock?? I don't want to do a full renovation, just something very cheap. 

I need pictures/ideas! 

  

BeckyOff

Paint is easy & cheap.  I wouldn't this minor cosmetic detail deter you if you like the house.

TarHeels&Rebels

Ditto Becky.  Paint it if you don't like it.  That's SO minor in the world of homes.

Before they went off the deep end, YHL did a good job of brightening up their old den.

 

 

gymbugmj2k

i agree. try painting first. it's a cheap enough fix for now.  if you hate it, then remove/cover it later.

 also, some wood paneling is actually quite fake, and nothing more than a thinnnnnn layer of connected panels.  it's not too difficult to remove.

 

as far as the brick....once your furniture and decor is in there, you won't notice it as much. you COULD also do built in floor to ceiling shelving units to cover some of the brick, but it runs the risk of making that side feel even more closed off.

eodfurniture

why not to put some stylish sofa sets in your living room. One more thing you can do is to put up some collage on the walls instead of just pictures as that would be a creative one too and would make you do some good work on that.

MurphMama

Oh for the love of gawd PLEASE don't paint the brick! It's not like the entire room is dark brick like the other picture- it's just the fireplace. I spent weeks stripping layers and layers of mauve paint off the gorgeous brick wall in my last house.  Paint or remove the paneling, beams and walls and keep the color scheme warm.  I think it's a nice cozy room!

lizzer910

I would just paint the wood. I'm not sure what your design style is, but you could even consider white-washing the brick with a watered down paint (there are lots of tutorials for this on pinterest!). The white wash is a nice way to lighten things up while still letting the brick show. It also isn't as high maintenance as painting the brick because then you'd have to deal with peeling, chips, and fading.

 http://www.darlingdwellings.com

lizzer910

I would just paint the wood. I'm not sure what your design style is, but you could even consider white-washing the brick with a watered down paint (there are lots of tutorials for this on pinterest!). The white wash is a nice way to lighten things up while still letting the brick show. It also isn't as high maintenance as painting the brick because then you'd have to deal with peeling, chips, and fading.

 http://www.darlingdwellings.com

avaross09

Paint would work, but something that would look really unique is a piece of fun wallpaper in that space! I just completed a similar project in my living room with an accent wall using wallpaper, and it turned out awesome! It made the room brighter and I have received so many compliments on the addition...good luck!