I don't mind the hearth- it is the same as the one in my 1923 house. I think some vintage or vintage look tiles installed over the brick with the black grout would help a lot. You can paint the brass firescreen, some folks on here have done that.
I like your paneling as is- it is very cozy and I am a painted wood person!

Exactly what cooperbailey said. Plus - I love your 'chicken wire' cabinet doors.

I would paint the fireplace screen with black high temperature paint. Other than that I am not sure I would touch it, other than cleaning it up. Do Not get rid of the grillwork on the doors even if you put something behind it.

Ditto!

Gorgeous!

I agree. The brass has to go. I'd get rid of that screen, if possible, and get a freestanding screen. Otherwise paint it black.

I'm not generally a pine fan but yours looks good. I think you'll find that a black screen will make the whole room look much better.

I think the nicknacks on the shelves are very busy-looking (especially with the open doors below). I think it would look a lot better to group the nicknacks and cluster them in groups rather than spacing them out (for example, the three items on the top right shelf).

Yep, black screen, no glass and I'd call it done!

I'd actually paint the mantle black instead of a white. Put some fab tiles over the brick and paint the fireplace screen. The wood is great, but it's all the same tone and nothing stands out. You need some contrast to make it work. The black will ground it and give the room depth.

I'll be the odd one out. I think it would look nice to paint the brick surround a cream color, and I would even leave the brass. I wouldn't paint the tile floor, I'd leave it. To me, the brass adds cottage-y charm.

I think just painting the brick makes a difference:

{{!gwi}}

And here's a thought (and a very very crude rendition), what about painting the mantel and the book cases?

{{!gwi}}

You could even leave the brick and just paint the grout:
{{!gwi}}

Here's my living room. Almost a match to yours, so you can see how it would look white.
I'd like to do something with the brick area and the hearth too. Haven't decided what yet.

That's one of the prettiest walls Ive ever seen. Your's too Pril.

It's practically perfection. If you must do something, get a free standing screen, and maybe paint the brick in the cream color Meg did.

Wow, do I like the green stain. That is a beautiful redition.

I am not a fan of the fireplace screen even if it were painted. Right now there should be a lot of new designs on sale, given winter is over. I also changed out my screen to a freestanding, but this is a major draft issue. Bought a new insert and sure changed the look and draft gone completely.

I don't blame you wanting to paint. That's a lot of natural wood.

I like Megsy's idea to paint the mantel and bookcases, or maybe just the bookcases. I think the suggestion to paint the grout a lighter color is a good one. Brass surround wouldn't bother me as much as the chicken wire. Just don't care for that stuff.

It's a really pretty room, but it is a lot of wood. I would paint the bricks and the screen black. Then I would make some panels to fit in the back of the bookcases, they could be painted whatever color you like or covered in fabric or wallpaper to go with your room and accessories. Also this could be removed or changed at a later date.
You could also use fabric behind the wire panels.

I would definitely make a lighter color the one. The white looks lovely and then I would add some accents like the green color and the black etc. I painted my red brick with a watered down tan paint and got in every nook and crany and it looked like it came that way. Really nice!

Love your room! Awesome charm and character!

Amy

A charming creme tile with hand-painted flowers for the fireplace surround, plus a freestanding screen if needed. May not be. I woudn't touch that lovely knotty pine. Could be a slab of something set atop your existing mantle (a deep green marble maybe?) could add a little punch.

On an entirely different note --
I couldn't help noticing the two urns at the base of your fireplace. Are you the poster from the Antiques forum who asked about them about a year ago? Or is it just an amazing coincidence? And if you're not that poster, what do you know about them?

I'd paint it white and look to some of the current blogs for accessory decor. It's beautiful. I would love to have a wall like that in my home. I would also look for a free standing screen and paint the brass.

A charming creme tile with hand-painted flowers for the fireplace surround, plus a freestanding screen if needed. May not be. I woudn't touch that lovely knotty pine.

Excellent suggestions! I wouldn't touch that knotty pine either. I've got original 1940s knotty pine paneling throughout my attic-conversion bedroom and wouldn't paint it for the world.

I'd buy a grout saw and get rid of that ugly black grout....
The pine is wonderful....and I would also get rid of the chicken wire. It's just a cutsey bit of kitch...what's the point of doors if they don't protect anything? Either remove the doors or replace with glass or wood....wood would be best.
It's really not ugly....just the black grout...
And I like the informal stuff on the shelves...looks very homey and uncontrived.
Please don't paint the wood.
Linda C

I would just paint the bricks black and change the hearth to black slate tiles.
I like the wood and the brass firescreen.

It's a beautiful wall; I'm sure the rest of the room is lovely as well.

Moneypitzela -

Here's the link to a thread on the Antiques forum that discusses the urns that look just like yours.

If you do have any information about them, I'd love it if you could post it either here or over there. For some reason, those pieces just really caught my eye...

Here is a link that might be useful: What is it?

I would paint the brick grout a similar color to the bricks and chemically antique the brass to a dark antique bronze color. I think Ball and Ball, Whitechappel or one of those has the kits to do it.

Based solely on your photograph, the fireplace and surround look fine, but the decorations are too random for my taste - it's a hodgepodge of colors and shapes with no theme.

If that is a high quality solid brass surround, I would leave it as is.

Before you commit to painting, you could take a straight-on photo of the bookcases and get suggestions here for arranging the stuff on the shelves so as to highlight the fireplace surround.

Oh, I bet if HGTV came in they would paint your wood! Brass is so out right now. Kind of a shame but true. If you have to do anything, take out the brass and go with black. Forget the paint, the brass insert probably cost $50.

Do not touch that pine. It will never be replaced, and is NOT "'80's oak"! I am a HUGE paint the wood girl, but not with lovely old wood like this. My fam. rm. is more like prill's,( and I love it) but I'd adore that warm, rich, pine and be proud of it. Generally, I don't often make unasked for suggestions, but graywings has it right re. the shelving arrangement. To soften the county look it needs uniformity of color and simplicity: Several sets of nicley worn books, (I'm seeing soft reds or creams) along with more and more books...with nice spines. Carefully add decorative pieces and edit as you go.
I'd get new grout and leave it at that, though I'm not a fan of the bright brass, I'd do all else and then see.

I'm with leahcate on this one. PLEASE, PLEASE, PLEASE do NOT paint that gorgeous pine. That can not be replaced. (At least not without great expense.)

Maybe you could try taking the brass FP screen down and just live with it for a while without any screen. Perhaps migrating to a black screen, something more subtle might make a huge change.

Cottages are supposed to be more rustic inside. But that old pine is to die for. Ask a builder what it would cost to replace that with similar old pine. It might make your eyeballs fly out of their sockets. Truly!

Pine that old is very very hard and quite a bit more stable than new pine. That's why old heart pine makes such great flooring material. But if you paint it, you've immediately devalued it.

sigh... it's so pretty. :)

Add me to the list of people that say don't paint the pine. I am really not a fan of stained trim but it would be a shame to paint over that wood.

The brass screen is too formal and looks out of place. The black grout HAS to go.

What about covering the back of the book cases with a pretty bright color, like the sky blue in the painting above the fireplace? You could use wallpaper or fabric. Or could make painted panels that nestle in against the wall and you wouldn't damage the pine.

I would try different colors using contruction paper and scotch tape to get an idea on how it might look.

Here is a link that might be useful: painted interior bookshelves

I havent read the other posts, sorry if this is a repeat, but I would paint the bricks and screen black and leave the rest.

I wouldn't touch the pine. I'd paint the brass black (with high temp paint) or replace the doors and call it done. Free-standing screens are cool...but old fire-places can be drafty.

If you REALLY hate the pine...it can be painted. The prep is pretty serious, however. It involves sanding, painting the knots with shellac-based primer (twice) and them priming...

I would paint the bricks a creamy white, and the fireplace brass to black. I would not paint the pine. I would also rearrange what is on your bookcases. I would cluster like items together to have more of a collection, similiar to what Prill has done. I would use colors of white, red, and some black in my collections. I am not crazy about the chicken wire, but I'm not sure what I would do about that. The pine is really lovely.

Thanks everyone for your suggestions! I know the vintage (late 1940s) and value of the knotty pine. The essence of "cottage" will indeed remain, but I do sometimes wish for a "pickled" brighter look -- influenced by much time spent on beach/cottage blogs linked from earlier posts. i think w/a few thoughtful decor changes (the fireplace surround and improved bookshelf visuals) I can brighten the room up w/o making major changes.

As this is a summer home for us, it tends to get second-hand extras and lots of beloved cast-offs that I have no idea what to do with otherwise. Your input here makes sense...lots to condense and clean up. Yay! Another excuse to spend even MORE time here and on other forums than i already do.

On another note, Sweeby: I'm so impressed by your astute memory, but it's a strange coincidence re: the urns. I picked them up at an estate sale years ago, and have often wondered about them. Mine are almost identical to the ones posted, but are extremely heavy (are ashes that heavy?). Makes me think maybe something is inside them...never thought to look. I'll be down at the house shortly, and will look more closely. If there's a treasure inside, maybe I'll be able to afford a decorator to come fix up the fireplace. Stay tuned here, and I'll post back.

Particularly because this is a summer place, I like the casual placment of things on the shelves and around the fireplace: its really unstudied and you can't make that happen if you try. If you try to arrange by the rules it could end up looking really stiff. I vote for leaving it be and letting it grow.

I am thinking to balance out all of the wood, you could lighten up your furniture! I love when cottages are decorated in shades of soft blues, blue-greens greens, whites; or even reds,whites with black accents. I love what I see in LLBean catalog. I love the Pine, and wouldn't paint it, I would try to work around it, and work with the furniture and surrounds instead. You have a lot of potential, can you post the rest of the room?

I love the gray or the white, both are wonderful. But white goes with everything.

mijjones43 et al: I'm on a makeover roll, thanks to the generous suggestions from those who posted here. I'm adding additional pictures and info -- under the new post question "BEACH COTTAGE FAMILY ROOM MAKEOVER". Can't wait to hear more from all who have helped w/ fireplace surround and pine/wood panelling input.

Money, have you seen this thread?

Here is a link that might be useful: Paint transformed my knotty pine paneling