Have you looked into the beadboard wallpaper that can be painted. With added trim, it looks like real beadboard at a fraction of the cost. There are several recent post about this. Do a search at the bottom of the home page and put in beadboard.

PS - Do you have a photo to help us visualize the problem? :)

I'm one of those who has been impressed with the pictures I've seen posted here of projects using beadboard wallpaper. I just saw that a recent thread on this w/ pics has again moved to Page 1 of the forum.

I agree w/ newhomebuilder that if you can post a photo of the room with the hearth it might be easier to spark some good ideas.

Yep, I agree and was going to recommend the annaglypta wallpaper too. And yes, pictures would be grand dear "wife&momof2". :D

As others have said it's hard to say without seeing pictures, but, one thing you said makes me wonder if the beadboard look will work. You mention that this is a corner. Does this mean you would only put beadboard on two walls? IMHO it needs to tie in to the surrounding areas. I don't think I've ever seen it used on just some of the walls in a space. I actually looked for this when I was remodeling my open plan basement. I really wanted to use beadboard but couldn't find a logical way to use it on some walls and not others.

I'd say the same as artlover. If this is just a corner, I'd finish the area with whatever is on the rest of the walls. Otherwise, I think you're going to find the corner difficult to decorate around.

Thank you for your input! I have been trying to post a picture but I am having trouble. Any help with figuring this out first would be great!

Upload your pics to a photobucket account (it's free), copy the html code under it and paste in the message box here and voila! it should appear!

Thank you!

Alright, here is the corner I am talking about. The beadboard would end at the windows.

A little background- The house is a 1950s cape in New England. There is an entry way that opens into this room that will also have beadboard.

I too think you just need to match the surrounding walls. Otherwise, I think it may forever look like a patched job. BTW, we had the same type of thing and it was jutting out into the room too much. Luckily, the plaster walls behind the brick just needed some minor patching. Maybe yours will be the same. From your photo it doesn't look like the walls behind the brick will be negatively affected.
Diane

I like your beadboard idea, in light of the fact that it will also be in the adjacent entry. Since it's a Cape Cod, you could really go very "cottage" in there. Is that your plan?

I think it would be better to beadboard the entire room or fix the sheet rock behind the bricks. I think putting beadboard just in the corner is going to look odd.