Thanks, everyone! Actually, I should have told you that I don't plan on putting our tv there. I have a nice armoire, painted white, that my dad made for us when we bought our current (soon to be sold!) home in 2001. It's special, and our flat screen tv fits fine in it. Plus, it has tons of storage underneath to keep things out of plain sight. It will go in a corner of the living room. So that's why I was concerned. I have no idea what to do with the brick fireplace. Actually, my vision is either a beautiful mirror or a nice, large wall clock. It's a tough decision! Luckily, we will own the home for two months before we move in, and we are going to make most of the changes before we move in in June. I have to say that when I first viewed the home pics online, I was really drawn to the white fireplaces. I actually love them. No, they are not functional, but my husband is going to investigate. We would love a wood-burning fireplace, but gas would work, too. Thank you! Just wondering, really, how hard it would be to add a mantel, and if I should. I really love the idea of a pretty clock there. As far as the dining room goes, I think a mantel would work well on that fireplace, as compared to the living room. PS - I picked out my colors. SW Essential Gray for the foyer, living room, and upstairs hallway, and SW Proper Gray for the kitchen and dining room. I also chose SW Sea Salt for the master bedroom and bathroom. :) PPS - I wanted to thank all of you who gave your opinions on my current home's house colors. I asked if red in my dining room and kitchen would turn off potential buyers. It must not have, because my house sold in three days with multiple offers! :) Thanks!

"Are you suggesting I paint the fireplace mantel, staircase, etc a totally different color like blue or green? " Yes,as appossed to re-staining because (A) re-staining is so difficult to do a lastng job,and (B) paint offer's unlimited shades and tones to work with. Matching colors is far easier than coordinating them,stain make's it even more difficult. Frankly I'm not certain what I'd do after seeing the home in person. I suggested blue and/or green based on your discription(which I believe is accurate) of red floors and orange elsewhere. Call major paint distributors to see if they have a consultant in your area. If not,consider asking a paid consultant to have a look or taking actual samples of wall paint,floor and other woodwork to their office. Alternatly,use a camera with higher color resolution. After hearing you are already pleased with blue gray in another area I'm confident you can hit a double or triple useing it again. A color pro might turn it to a home run or grand slam. In the interest of full disclosure,this is not my field of expertise,it's just something I injoy messing around with. I may also be underestimating your eye for color and your desire to accomplish decorating without consulting decorators. I do it all the time simply because I like the satisfaction of "making it my own" rather than doing it "according to the book".

I was going to suggest the same thing that groveraxle seems to have suggested - eliminate the stone on the side walls. The stone appears to be thin veneer that is likely glued in place. Instead of painting I might suggest using a German smear technique similar to the photo posted below.

I live in a similar climate and building a covered trex deck over a patio and my builder told me we should put a coat of something on the beams. I want it to look nice underneath on the patio since we will be using it a lot but we don’t need water management since the deck is covered. The underside of trex transcend isn’t the most beautiful. We are trying to choose a color for the joists. Looking at sherwin Williams super deck in solids-caribou looks like it might be a close match?