What other items will be in the room? So many people make the mistake of choosing the wall paint color first. To me the wall paint color is the last thing to choose...after you have selected all furnishings including rugs & window treatments you actually like rather than something that goes with the paint because you choose it first.. Then it is really easy.

Unfortunately, we need to paint before we move in (I am very sensitive to paint fumes, even with zero VOC paint), and rugs can't go down for 3 months so that the new floor finish can cure. I do know some things, but not 100% on all the specifics.

The current plan is at least for the time being to use our existing living room furniture - a grey-blue mid-century style sofa from Room and Board (this, https://www.roomandboard.com/catalog/living/sofas-and-loveseats/jasper-sofas, but they don't stock our color anymore), a brown leather chair from Pottery Barn. Coffee table, side table, and lamps are TBD. The window treatments will be only on the large windows on the right, and will neutral and very low profile - something like cellular shades or 2" blinds in a neutral color. I am not just a fan of big fabric window treatments at this point in my life. I am going to get a big vintage or antique oriental rug at some point, probably something with a lot of red in it (but it depends what I find).

What about cleaning the brick ...see if it makes a difference to the colour ?

The conundrum is that we haven't seen the fabrics and textiles you're going to put in this room. They are where you determine the paint color, which is the last step in the decorating process. So, maybe find the rug first; it is your major color addition to the space. I think the FP will be less of an issue when the room is filled with upholstery, rugs, art and curtains.

I love the brick color, although it looks more maroon in the full picture and more brown in the second. What color is the tile in front of it? What color will the flooring be?

@decoenthusiaste - whatever rug we get will have to go with the brick and brass and with the style of the house, which is a Craftsmanish bungalow, and it will need to stand up to a large dog at least somwhat. (So, not something super modern, and nothing shaggy or loopy). Like I said, planning on a vintage oriental rug with red tones. But I don't want a new one (or at least, I cannot afford what I want in a new version), so it's going to have to wait until I find the right thing. Like I said, we can't put rugs down for 3 months anyway. I have not been able to find one in advance because we don't have anywhere safe to store large rugs. We will not be installing curtains ever, because I just don't like them. (This is probably a decor sin, but we like what we like.)

Since I don't have the option of waiting around and painting after I pick everything else, maybe what I really need is help finding a color that will work with the brick, maybe a neutral. I don't mind having my other choices be constrained by the paint color.

@partim, in person the brick is quite maroon. I can't tell if it's been sealed or not in the past. The tile in front is dark terra cotta. The flooring is antique quartersawn heart pine - we are not staining it, so once it's refinished it will still be pretty red. We expect it to come out like this: https://www.longleaflumber.com/reclaimed-heart-pine/1-clear-quartersawn/

With a dog, you may like something from ruggable.com. They have a selection of Persian styles and they are washable and several are maroon, burgundy, merlot and garnet colors that night work for you. You can order the smaller size to see the colors, then return it for a larger one when you decide. Good reviews.

Hard pass on Ruggables, but thanks for the suggestion. I'm sure they are very durable and easy to clean, but they are fundamentally ersatz, so they are just not for me and especially not in the living room. (A vintage oriental rug has the advantage of being preworn, and therefore further wear and tear is not painful.)

@calidesign - thank you! We are doing the ceilings and trim in White Dove throughout the house. Would you use that on the walls (in a matte finish), or would you choose a different white?

I usually like a different color to offset the trim, but in your case, without your furnishings, I think painting the walls in this room the same color (but matte) would be a good idea.

I looked at your picture first before I carefully read your comments. I am glad we agree that it is the mortar that needs to go! When the mortar is darker the brick won't seem quite so dark, although I agree it is dark.

Since your room faces south, you should consider a "cool" tone on the walls.

I don't know why you think gray will not go with the brick. I think it will and it goes with red and navy. How about Gray Owl?

If you really don't want gray, there is a "shade" of White Dove called Camouflage. It has a undertone that will work with navy, red and the wood in your room.

I think either of these colors would be better with your craftsman house than all white, although that will look just fine. I've used for trim and really like it. I would use flat on the ceiling (it is cheaper than matte), satin for the trim and matte for the walls. I really like matte, the last time I painted used it. The colors are true and it cleans up easily.

Camouflage in a room.

York Show House Bedroom 2010 · More Info

And used in a kitchen.

Historical Colonial in Pasadena · More Info

Here is Gray Owl - according to the builder Brush Arbor Home Construction

"We use it alot as it's a terrific backdrop to our millwork, floors, etc. It's Benjamin Moore #OC52, Gray Owl."

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Thank you! I think grey won't go with the brick because we tested a couple of shades of it and it didn't look good - BM Shoreline and one other, I think Smoke Embers. I'll test out Camouflage and Grey Owl though!

following

@ Sonya Oden - no, I don't think either of the greys we tried has red undertones. Worth a shot.

You could use a warm white for the walls. I don't like white walls so I would use a taupe with a hint of green like SW Jogging Path.

If you like White Dove you can also use it on the walls. It will still stand out on trim due to sheen and smoothness of wood.

Given the space and other parameters shared,I would simply continue White Dove on the walls. Along with the floors,the fab ceiling, the trim in a higher sheen, the fireplace, and the "outside",you should have a complex enough envelope for your furnishings,art,plants etc. Of course,some subtle variation like BM Sea Pearl,BM Balboa Mist, or BM Pale Oak might work but harder to predict.

These are great suggestions, thank you! We can't get into the house for a bit because the floors are being refinished, but I'll report back with some test swatches!

Following...

emho23 I highly rec samplize https://samplize.com/ Cheaper and more exact way to test your colour(s). Kinda hope you keep us posted as this all progresses. I really love older homes.

I think some sort of green would look great with the brick and the stained wood. Green gives a very natural look. Or a very greenish gray:

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I like your distinctive maroon fireplace which echoes the beams. Get a color consultant! In the meantime, start looking on Houzz for rooms with maroon furnishings and floors like yours and see what colors the pros have chosen.

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Great suggestions! Our interior designer suggested a sage green and I said "ugh no," but maybe it's worth a shot. I especially like the green in those photos without white trim though, so I'm not sure it would look like that for us.

A very pale sage could look amazing with the fireplace and your floors. The trick, as the pros have said, is how furnishings work with the wall color. Your house looks wonderful. Good luck with it!

If you did green, then paint all the woodwork the same color. I'd also paint the walls the same green for uniformity.

@Diana - do you mean all the trim that is currently painted white, or ALL the woodwork including the exposed beams? What would you do with the ceiling? I'm not sure I can stomach painting the beams, haha!

Hi emho23, I was referring to all the white trim, not the beams. I wouldn't paint them. The ceiling could be an off white or a pale blue.

^ BM Coastal Fog

^ BM Grant Beige.

This is what I meant by a beige that hints green.

The trim and ceiling are White Dove.

An update, as I think we have a winner! Thanks for all the amazing suggestions - I can't even say how helpful this was. My husband rejected a few of the options, like the sage greens. We sampled some more of the finalists and were much happier with these choices than the cooler greys we tried last weekend, which we hated. It was a tough call between Sea Pearl and Revere Pewter, but Sea Pearl won, primarily because we also want to use it the same color in the adjoining hallway, which also leads to some other rooms where we will be using more dramatic colors, so the lighter shade seemed better.

Incidentally, we also decided that for the whole house, Cotton Balls will work better than White Dove on the trim and ceilings. We have White Dove in our condo and love it, but the light in the new house is totally different. The White Dove just seems dingy in some rooms, especially the north-facing ones.

I'll update this thread with "after" pics in a couple weeks!

Samples! You can also see that in the interim, the floors have been refinished! Woohoo! The Sea Pearl is hard to discern in this first pic because it's pretty close to the color of the raw horsehair plaster we will be painting over. (There used to be wallpaper.) But it's swatched to the left of the Revere Pewter, I swear.

Here's the hallway. It's crazy how different the light is from room to room in this house. (Still doesn't explain why the downstairs bedroom, just visible on the left, was painted orange...we're going to use the Revere Pewter in there.)

The Sea Pearl looks great!

Very happy that you made a decision! You have proved the wisdom of always selecting colors in YOUR room with YOUR light. Every house is different, every room in the same house can have different light and require a different color. Always a unique situation calling for unique solutions!

Make sure to post "after" photos!

AFTER!!! So gratifying! We're moving in next week -- finally, after 6 months of renovations! Thanks all for your assistance with this tiny, yet monumental, decision! We used BM Seapearl on the walls in both living room and hall - actually ended up running it all the way up the stairs to the upstairs hall. Trim and ceilings are BM Cotton Balls. Very pleased (and glad we did the work of testing a million colors)! Even the contrasty mortar looks toned down now.

Looks lovely. Congrats! By the time your furnishings are in,the mortar will 'disappear'.

do some research on craftsman houses. it looks like yours is a beauty.

@cpartist, thank you! It's a very charming bungalow. I wish I knew more about the architect and builder - I pulled the original plans from 1914, but they don't give that info! I think it was probably a catalog home, but I've never seen one quite like it, at least not in this area where it's a slightly more unusual style. We bought it in an estate sale and it had not changed hands in 60 years. A lot (although not all) of the original detail was maintained, although a lot of the wood trim was painted over at some point in the distant past.

Now that we are done with the major surgery, we get to the fun stuff! We are hoping to add some of the old details back (like the dining room mouldings that were removed by previous owner), as we make the house our own.

It looks great emho 23!! I feel the same way about curtains and drapes. I like your couch. Glad you didn’t paint grey.

Nice!!!

Very nice and I like the Cotton Balls as trim too.