It is fairly costly to have popcorn or any textured ceiling smoothed.... been there and have done that some years back yet only did this in two rooms that were open to one another such as the family and kitchen in my case. It was worth it, but a bit costly.

IdaClaire, I personally think bars have made a comeback in most to all regions for those who like wine or a cocktail. Most do bar carts it seem these days and some have smaller build in areas with a wine fridge or similar. I think all in all the wall and mainly the cabinetry and wet bar isn't fitting in to the space as it's adjacent decorated and also that wall is very heavy for the space. I also feel the fireplace isn't as much the problem.

I certainly think/hope Lydia isn't taking this as a criticism as it wasn't my intent nor is it now. I feel you'd be a lot happier lightening up the wall removing some of the doors for wider open shelving, a lot of the moulding (as circled above by Sammy) and making the bar less, "bar" like without the granite.

Something a bit more up to date and cohesive with the rest of the space is all and more balanced left and right of the fireplace.

I don't think it's a huge undertaking. Just some careful thought and looking at a lot of photos on line of similar photos that are more updated and making a plan if the bar is used frequently and must stay.

Many inspiration photos out there to update the surround of the fireplace using a lot of what is existing, removing some doors for shelves, etc. and opening it all up and staining the cabinets which would be a lot easier than painting. Again, General Finishes has a very user friendly, "gel stain".

Agree, there is really no other spot for the TV though due to the layout of the room being open and the sectional.

Hummingalong2 posts a second photo with the whole area white... you could do a different color on the back wall of the shelving. I think if you take it a piece at a time and don't feel like it all has to be done at once with a good solid plan it would be a lovely addition to the room and open it up and make it work as part of the room vs. a space that isn't playing well with your pretty furnishings, etc.

Going back to the ceilings, Lydia— IF you were interested in getting rid of the ceiling texture, but either don’t want to, or can’t comfortably afford to, spend the not-so-insignificant amount of money it would normally take, there are a few things you could do that would help keep the costs down, such as doing some (the scraping!) or all of it yourself, or doing it in stages (for example, downstairs this year, upstairs next year, etc.). In retrospect, I’d have looked into alternatives myself, not necessarily for financial reasons (though I do think I got ripped off considering the quality of work produced versus what I paid!), but for the amount of disruption sanding that stuff off the ceilings caused— the house was in plastic for several days and every inch COVERED with drywall dust. So, yeah, in restrospect, I’d have looked into either replacing the ceilings altogether, or going right over them with 1/4” sheet rock. It would have been MUCH faster (not to mention a lot neater) and therefore possibly cheaper, to have done it one of those two ways. If I didn’t have ceilings that required scaffolding to work on, I definitely could have done some or all of it myself. It would’ve probably taken me a year to do it, but I could have done it!

Another thought on the improving the look of the fireplace (which you could do easily...and right away!) is to buy a free-standing screen to hide the not-so-attractive factory-made fireplace (I have one, too.) There are SO many options out there for transitional-style decors (which is the category I’d put your house and furnishings in) that look really great and don’t cost a fortune.

I agree with Porter Edun..I think that the "entertaining" wall spells a very casual, a bit rustic maybe vibe, with brick, and granite, etc

while from your furnishings, one can see you prefer more refined, neo-traditional vibe. lighter in feel and in general-less casual

I think the color of the brick is not the problem..the main concern is marrying different styles-what the room currently is/wants to be-and what you'd rather want it to be

if you change colors and all (which seems a big undertaking to me; especially I wouldn't paint your kitchen cabinets)-you still have bar and granite..if granite stays-you're looking for earthier colors here, and then I'm not sure how it will be lightening the room, or signal its change of style. You still have your brick, you stull have your granite, your bar..it's different from if you had, say, just built ins

so -after taking down the molding as suggested upthread..I'd decide-what side of the room I'm changing/tweaking more in order to get more cohesive room?

You can do something more expensive, time consuming but more drastic and in line with your prefferred taste, by thinking what you do with the bar area, having a plan of what to keep, what to save, and then tackling the whole wall accordingly.

Or you can try to style-find the rug, the art, maybe window treatments, accessories, etc, that will make the other side of the room into more casual. Fabrics can be very good for that-something textured? seagrass, sisal? they go everywhere-and they spell casual but they're refined enough to stand their own.

Use plants, use colors in your accessories..you can take color and bling to the fireplace, and finds from nature-to use on the conversational side

use throws-they can be very luxirious by the way, but their own nature spells "we're here to make you cozy".

Mix it up a bit.

It's a nice room, you just need to figure out what it wants-and how you can make it happen by still getting what you want. You can bend it to your will (more hassle, time,money-but it will be what you want it to be, in th end)-or you can decide you'll compromise with it

but I agree-it's not the color of the brick per se that is the problem.

You have two options:

(1) You can do a whitewash, and leave the wood cabinets as they currently are, so they still tie in with your kitchen area. This will lighten up the area with the least amount of work. I don't know about removing those wooden trim pieces on top, you may remove them only to find they didn't brick all the way to the top and it's an unfinished mess.

(2) If you are willing to paint the cabinets, paint them in the same color/finish as the trim (usually semi-gloss) and then paint the brick in the same trim color but in a matte finish. You would then need to paint the cabinets in the kitchen, to achieve a seamless, cohesive look.

With your furniture/decorating style, I think you would be happiest with Option 2, even though it would be the most work.

Open House Home Staging & Redesign, LLC

Assuming/clarifying you are saying the, "trim" as around the windows and so on as discussed to a white tone?

"Assuming/clarifying you are saying the, "trim" as around the windows and so on as discussed to a white tone?"

Yes, I'm meaning to match the current trim color (crown molding, baseboards, doors, etc.). If the homeowner doesn't know the color, a good painter can always color match.

I think you could absolutely paint the built-Ins without painting the kitchen-it would benefit from looking more like a living room and less like a kitchen.

Open House Home Staging & Redesign -- if we went with option (1), do you think the whitewash would look to rustic, or it would be okay (okay, meaning an improvement, although not fabulous)? The trim is Benjamin Moore white dove. If we went with option 2, do you think the white dove on the cabinets, including the kitchen cabinets would look okay with the granite, which incorporates a lot of golds? The color is called giallo napoli. https://www.pinterest.com/pin/376613587582627514/visual-search/?x=16&y=16&w=530&h=530

The trim/shutter color is BM white dove. Open House Home Staging & Redesign, do you think if we went with (1) it would be an improvement? I'm worried it would add a rustic element that would just look worse. If we went with option, 2, do you think the white dove cabinets, especially in the kitchen with all the granite would be an improvement or look worse given the color of the granite, giallo napoli? Here's some more kitchen pictures.

White Dove is a beautiful color and NO you weren't asking me even though a few of us have recommended going light with the wood in the family room, but you were looking to update your living space. Yes, it does need to be cohesive with the rest of the space. However, you can consider updated pulls as mentioned before vs. the builders grade gold that are present. Something in a brushed nickel or other that you might like for now that works with the kitchen.

Lydia I think you ask the right questions since your granite will obviously dictate, to an extent, the color of the paint

It's a nice granite-yet it's earthy and asks, say, for cream rather than purer white

now say you don't do the kitchen, and concentrate on fireplace wall only. does the bar has the same granite? want to make sure as a bit hard to tell from pics

White Dove both Benjamin Moore and it has a every so slight gray tone yet is different from home to home and with lighting and so on.

I feel if you want to paint the fireplace with a full on paint and lose the brick tones all together it would be as one Houzzer states it, "putting lipstick on a pig". I don't mean to sound disrespectful, but paint the cabinets, lose some of the doors for shelving and ??? Almost golden. Your fireplace tones will still lend itself to the kitchen cabinets. It's what I would say, "a bandaid," if you paint the fireplace White Dove and leave all as is.

Wait – you weren't thinking about painting your kitchen cabinets are you? Your kitchen is nice, and it is very hard and expensive to do without devaluing the kitchen. It is more traditional (and better looking IMO) for kitchen cabinets to NOT match FP built-ins than for them to match, even in an open concept, so it is certainly not required for a cohesive look.

This is a look I think that is being pushed by kitchen designers as an upsell. My friend was told to do this by his kitchen designer when remodeling.

just some examples where woodwork around fireplace doesn't match the kitchen

I didn't read all the comments. I agree with removing the extraneous molding.

You're getting ready to hang your art too high.

following....

: )

No higher than this:

You can certainly go bigger and bolder (and lower)...

You can go with white wash or light white/gray to bring modern vibe in room

Or warm with some whites

This room could really use a rug to finish it off.

Celery girl, that is wonderful....You are so talented. Can you help me on this houzz thread? Progress and positivity Trying to imagine my fireplace in a different color. Thanks in advance. `boxer

How about all black/charcoal?

A fireplace in your room in off white:

I don't see that groveraxle and surprised a bit...... as much as I love 99.99 percent of your mock ups and suggestions... The fireplace/mantle doesn't go with the living space with the cabinetry/bar IMO.......

Aprilneverends, yes the granite is the same over by the bar.

Porter Edun, if I removed the doors, I would actually have to build shelves inside the cabinets to the left of the TV because right now the bottom one just has sliding drawers and build shelving to the right of the TV/remove the bar for it to look right. It just sounds like too big of an undertaking and the cabinets don't bother me. We just bought this house and I can't stand spending that amount on this small portion.

Groveraxle, I like that off white look because it is so crisp! I think it's a cleaner look than the earlier grays that Celerygirl posted. BTW, Celerygirl, you're awesome to do that! This is so helpful and I am so grateful to you all.

I think that Groveraxle's, image looks like a nice contrast with the brown mantle, but I agree with Porter Edun that it doesn't quite tie in with the adjacent cabinets. I'm trying to imagine everything painted off white and then I wonder if that looks too stark, like a hospital?

Everyone: It sounds like I'm trying to put a square peg in a round hole. I was quoted $5,000 to paint all cabinets (kitchen and living area) and brick white, but it sounds like considering the granite it still won't be right, and the existing state is not that bad. We just bought this house. Maybe the better solution is to just move in a few years and find a white kitchen/built ins that really work without having to create them from scratch! P.S. we paid for this house at the top of the market so it's hard to stomach doing a deep renovation.

I hear you on paying to change something that is functional when you are house-poor. I would not do the kitchen but the FP is a Diy. There are certainly colors (probably even your trim) that will look great with the granite. Nice t like a hospital. How many white kitchens have similar granite? A million. The image I like the least so far is the white brick with cabs as is. All (including brick) one color, cabs painted and brick left natural, or leave it as-is are the best options as I see them.

Greenfish, maybe that's what we do, then. We'll paint the brick and the cabinets in the family room a white dove to match the trim and shutters and then leave the kitchen alone. It will still be pretty because the kitchen and family rooms are separate and the brown kitchen cabinets will remain a good match with the warm granite, which is quite prevalent in the kitchen!

I think it will look fantastic. I'm not usually in favor of painting cabinets and brick but In This case I think it is the way to go.

One more question...what would everyone think about white dove brick with gray cabinets, a shade darker than the repose gray on the walls?

So this is what I get for not reading all the comments. I didn't know you were considering painting the cabinets. Let me paint them for you and you can see what you think. Back in a bit.

Oh my goodness!! How do you do this?! You are amazing!! What color are the cabinets? Are they a very light gray? Can you do one where they're a little darker?

Yes, I can make them a little darker. What I can't do is tell you what color they are. I intended them to be a medium off white. I'll darken them a bit and you can see what you think.

Light gray:

Slightly darker gray:

Wow, wow, wow! Thank you! I like all of them, for different reasons. The gray gives it more character, versus painting everything white. What is your favorite?

Here's a color that appears to be closer to the hue of your walls. You mentioned going a shade darker.

Lydia, understand now you don't have shelving behind the doors my bad for not asking you that.

All of Groveraxle's mock ups look fantastic with the room. I hope now you get a better visual of what we were all speaking of due to those great mock ups. Pairs much better with the family room... so much more fresh and ties in so well. I think something you could do on your own.

They do look great-thanks as always Grover!! My only thought between all of them is that the different color cabs and brick highlight the irregularities between the cabs (different depths, hearth under one and not the other). It is such a huge improvement you can't go wrong but something to consider when deciding whether to do one or two colors.

im still thinking black could be very chic...

Greenish, what shade of black: a very dark brown, charcoal gray, or totally black?

Goveraxle, all your mocks up look GREAT. You are very talented. Helps me to think about my own space. ~boxer

Lydia I am thinking the black or dark charcoal-dark brown although I like it may suggest trying to look like dark wood tone so eliminate the effect here? I could see you rocking it!! Everything is always about white or grey which is fine and would look nice but with a bold black wall you really show some design chutzpah.

I would go darker than this-BM Kendall charcoal-but it is an example of somewhere 98% of people would have painted trim color. I saw a pic on Houzz than inspired me to think inside someone else's box (Hahahaha I crack myself up) and to me it is a world of difference!

I personally love the current brick with your furniture. Although, white washing would work as well.