The only difference between that detail and a typical residential floor-ceiling assembly is that the drywall in the fire-rated assembly is designed to stay in one piece after exposure to fire but it would provide no increase in sound separation. Air borne sound abatement detailing generally uses mass, resiliency, and absorption. In a residential ceiling the mass is provided by gypsum drywall, the resiliency is provided by resilient channels and the absorption is provided by thermal or acoustic insulation. Structure borne sound abatement usually consists of resilient coverings or light weight concrete toppings on the floor above. Ceilings should be easier than walls because there is plenty of room for insulation, less perimeter joints, and it is easy to hang a ceiling resiliently but then there is the foot traffic above to contend with. At walls the challenge is to provide reasonable sound separation without making the wall too thick which leads to many products from resilient layers in drywall to Green Glue between layers. The kind of insulation doesn't usually matter unless it is sprayed which seals cracks very well. Cracks create major sound leaks in field build enclosures.

Thanks for all the ideas! Turns out it is major $ to raise the height of the window (support beam issues), so I will be using a decorative solution. Mindimoo, what a clever husband you have-- that painted panel looks great! I have a question about your trim work. It looks like the profile of the crown molding on your cabinets (black crown) matches the profile of the crown on your walls (white crown). Did you make the crown on your cabinets yourself or order it from a cabinet company? Like you I have white crown running throughout the ground floor of my house. My contractor suggested running the white crown around the top of the espresso-colored (really almost black) cabinetry. I prefer your look, but will have to investigate if I can find oak crown and stain it to match my cabinets. Just curious as to how you handled this.

Your inspiration photo is not a stain. It is the colour of the wood species with a coat of finish over it. Your ceiling is probably a different species of wood. I think yours is pine (I'm guessing). The inspiration looks like fir. Fir is a much softer yellow whereas pine can be a STRONG orange. You could strip the finish (which is probably an oil based finish that turns orange all by itself) and then see what colour you have underneath. Then you can SEAL it and then apply a few coats of WATER based finish over top to stop it from getting DARK ORANGE as it is now. You *might get it a step or two lighter....but it will not go as light as your inspiration photo. And the reason you need a sealant is TANNIN PULL. Many species of wood exhibit tannin pull (the orange colour bleeds into the surface finish = turns yellow/orange). This is made WORSE with water based finishes. Therefore you will require the sealant over top of the raw wood. Then you apply a few coats of water based finish. Again, I think you will get a colour that is half way between the two photos you are showing. Whew. All that work just to get a slightly lighter ceiling. Personally I would leave the beams, paint the slatted planks of the ceiling white (after stripping and priming...and priming again because of tannin bleed). Then I would tackle the flooring. It is easier to strip down to raw wood...and then look at a water based finish that will be two steps lighter. Those two things will get you CLOSER to your inspiration photo.

Hope finding the brick above gives you a little peace of mind. Years ago, (dating myself) we had an oval shaped cast iron wood burning heater downstairs and a metal shelf hung between rafters in the ceiling to hold brick above the ceiling and thru the roof. The triple walled pipe attached to the back of the heater took the smoke from the heater to the brick. Covering that heater and pipe with the least possible brick or stone -- least possible expense -- would likely have resulted in a triangle shaped chimney. That is why I suspected you may find a wood burning stove or fireplace insert and some triple walled metal pipe beneath the stone -- but you may not be able to know for sure unless/until the stone is removed. Even if you eventually discover you don't like the look of the brick behind the stone downstairs much or any better than the current uneven stone, it would be easier to clad "straight/smooth" brick with something you do like than to try to alter the current stone. Also, without the stone adding to the size of the fireplace, it is likely there would be less of the floor to redo to match your new flooring. Looking forward to the "after" pics when you make your home/fireplace what you want it to be.