It’s lovely! I love the fireplace, too. You wouldn’t believe how many pros/non-pros advise OP’s to limewash or paint fireplaces exactly like this one. “Update” it. Makes me want to yell.

You can put Romabio (?) on it! I love how it still has the fireplace screen curtain thingy.

It's very nice.. although too brown for me. It would be fun to debrown. And that crown molding would pop right off I bet.

What do people use if not the mesh curtain? I wouldn’t want free-standing, too clumsy.

I use a mesh curtain with glass doors. Then when you go to bed...or suddenly want to leave....just close the glass doors and the room is safe from flying sparks.

But that one looks like old midcentury brass, not oil-rubbed bronze or whatever metals are now acceptable with your whitewashed fireplace. :)

Pretty cool that the bookcases have...what is that thing? Books.

This house was probably built in the early ’60s, so I imagine the fireplace and its curtain are original. And look! Actual fireplace tools!

Tools! I have a similar style FP--not as grand or extensive (or centered or nice). The POs stuck a hanger for tools into the stone so I do have tools hanging, even though the fireplace was converted to an insert. If I removed the tool rack, I'd have a hole.

Cool tip: if you let enough dust build up on the fireplace screen, you can't see that it's a fake fireplace behind it!

I have two sets of tools. Both will be getting extensive cleanings once fireplace season is over (we had one last night).

My dad had this one custom forged at a local place, 20+ yrs ago. It’s super heavy.

We found this vintage set last year at our fav antique mall. I’m trying to decide if I want to polish it up or leave it aged/tarnished.

We actually use them both.

Another project after the season is cleaning this Austin stone. It looks awful. Not looking forward to that job! This is the smallest firebox I’ve ever had, but I still love having it. :)

If we needed more evidence that "dated" doesn't mean bad, this is a nice case in point.

It's too brown for me also, but I can see potential. I agree with the time period. My grandparents built there house near us around 1963-65. Their fireplace was similar - same stone.

It's very interesting to me that so many people like this. It just shows that there is a real design "bubble" that has much narrower "standards" than the population.

Maybe I can't get past the furniture or the general brownness of everything, but this is a big no for me. I do love the bookcases with all the real books, I could maybe live with the fireplace if I had to and appreciate the style for the age of the house, but I really dislike the color of the stone. The room is depressing and lifeless to my eyes.

Love the room although I would choose a bit more color in the rug and furniture. Love the fireplace, too. That type of stone (pretty sure it's lannon stone) was used in many homes in the Highlands area of HP, and what used to be called Gretta's ghetto in west Glencoe.

what is HP?

Highland Park. This house is nearby.

Like I said, the furniture isn't my style. I think I like the sofa fabric but it's hard to tell from the quality of the photo.

I like natural materials, so wood and stone are definitely on my list. This room also seems horizontal to me, with the lannon stone, broad hearth, the green walls (green reminds me of broad lawns) and I like that feel.

I don't get a "brown" vibe at all, isn't that funny? It would be easy color up with reds, or teal or turquoise. maybe that would call for a different wall color.

Furniture, I'm thinking vintage Baker, Michael Taylor, clean soft lines, warm stains. Not atomic MCM. I really do like the rug, though.

Mtn, maybe it's because it's late at night but I'm not sure I understand what you said?

Maybe it's a difference in monitors. The only thing that I see that ISN'T brown is the green wall :-) In which state is Highland Park?

I think it’s bad photography, almost a sepia tone. The lampshade, rug, furniture, wall, wood floors, etc probably look more colorful in person. Highland Park is an exclusive enclave of Dallas (unless there’s another I’m not aware of, which is possible!).

Thanks, Jinx, I thought sepia, too, but for the green wall. Which reminded me, what ever happened to that color that was all the rage when I started hanging out here...was it called Baby Turtle or something like that? The green brought it to mind.

Yes, Baby Turtle. :D

Remember there was a Gallery board? Oceanna had all these great color threads. I miss that! It’d be fun to go through now. Early to mid 2000s, I think.

I like it too. I’d ditch that TV completely. At least they didn’t stick it above the fireplace. I like warm beigy colors so I could move right in - with different non-brown furniture

@olychick @Jilly in this case, Highland Park is in IL - about 30 miles north of Chicago on the lake.

Oh, geez! I should’ve remembered the Illinois HP! Thanks, DLM. Love that area.

It's too brown for me too, plus the green wall and bright white ceiling. I do like the bookcases. Maybe other colors in the room would mitigate the fireplace, not loving the stone.

I'm not sure I understand what Mtn said either. :)

I think mtn means that there is a larger variety of what people like than what we see or are told is popular and good design. Not everyone is going to like it just as not everyone likes the ever present 'modern farmhouse' but there is a segment of the population that will like one or the other - or stuffed to the rafters English cottage or spare contemporary or, or, or. There's a flavor for everyone.

haha, my own living room has Benjamin Moore Quiet Moment on the walls, oak bookcases, and a brown leather sofa, and a green leather Danish modern recliner. All I’m missing is the stone fireplace; mine has the neutral beige marble that was also popular in the mid-century. Of course, we didn’t actually ”decorate” our living room. But someday . …

What I mean is, not only do I not care for it, I would totally be in the camp of "it must go." Yet a lot of people are giving it the thumbs up. Proving my standards about what "must go" are too narrow?

I get ”well, as long as you like it” a lot.

Here’s the listing. Definitely a 1964 house with remodeling.

I suppose the fireplace doesn’t hurt the Zillow estimate, but if that’s accurate someone sure got a bargain. Take a look at the screenshot:

Proving my standards about what "must go" are too narrow? We like what we like so individual standards are ours to enjoy. I think we all have our standards of what constitutes attractive design expanded through repetition - the more you see it the more accustomed you are to appreciating the look. Doesn't necessarily follow that's what you will choose for your home, just that you understand more about what others find appealing.

So the Zillow estimate for the house is $12million. I know, it’s a typo, but just to note that in the same town you could have THIS house complete with its own tram to the beach for a mere $3million more.

I was trying to think of a room I’d just seen with a vintage fireplace like this. Heidi is one of my favorite designers:

bpath I think we bid on that house years ago - kidding! But we did look at a house (carriage house) on the same street in the 80s. Even then we couldn't afford the neighborhood.

Jinx, my cousins had a fireplace like that in their 1960 addition, including the ledges. It took up most of a wall, and included a niche for the tv to one side. Fabulous. Maybe that's why I like my top picture, reminds me of fun times, cozy times, happy times, family.

Some people just don't like this type of house. It's an informal style that tucks away affluence instead of flaunting it. It doesn't look expensive. (I have no idea if this was an expensive house when new or not. I'm guessing it was at least midrange because of the size of the room.) Instead, it's comfortable. It's got low ceilings and sliding glass doors. It's not glamorous or showy. It's a different way to build a nice house.

Many homes from this period are gracious without being pretentious, and that's what makes them so cool.

But **** is this room brown! My stuff would look good in there. After removing that crown molding. Which is so very wrong.

I really like the fireplace and book cases! I generally don't like beige much so the furniture and rug aren't to my taste, but I like the wall color as well. I can (sadly) see lots of people griping about the fireplace color and wanting to paint it, which is sad.

I love, love that room! It feels so cozy and comfortable. I could pick it apart but I won't.

I'd love to sit on that couch, read a good book with a warm fire burning.

I love it!

Jane

Some of this (like or dislike) might be climate specific. I love the room, because having a living space centered around a big real wood fireplace that will warm up the whole wall due to the stones absorbing and radiating heat, is a huge plus when you live in a cold damp climate like HP in Chicago. So that type of fireplace, and the warm colors still appeal to me. As do the "comfy chairs."

That's probably one of the main reasons I don't like "modern farmhouse." All that white and grey and cold hard surfaces is not appealing, and says "poor" in a climate where being able to afford warm and comfy digs was a sign of affluence. It's probably why I like the British influenced styles, they live in the land of perpetual chilly too . . . however, in OK, where the Gaines live, you want stuff that doesn't get damp with the humidity and deteriorate in some way, and facilitates a breezy and cool vibe most of the year. Your fireplace will be smaller and mostly decorative.

Around here, some folks use their fireplace with an insert for heating parts of their houses, in this rural area people have access to less expensive firewood, sometimes from their own or a neighbors property. So they may have a different fireplace aesthetic than someone for whom it is purely decorative. My last house had a huge brick fireplace that was totally decorative, no chimney or even possibility of installing one on the wall in that row house. It took up a lot of space and only made me wish I could have had a fire in it. It would have been a lot of trouble to electrify it which is why I didn't do that, and also why many of the neighboring houses tore them out. Despite the ambiance of the look, tearing them out provided much needed wall space that was at a premium in a small urban row house . . .

That's one of my beefs with the idea that there should be a one size fits all "au courant" way of decorating, and that other practical solutions to local conditions are necessarily "dated." It is just a large corporate marketing ploy, to sell the same stuff regardless of region . . .

I like the room. However, to freshen up so much brown/tan, a different oriental style rug with some blues, greens, cream, and perhaps some terracotta could go a long way in adding some fresher colors. I would change the pillows to pick up some colors from the new rug (emphasis on blues), get rid of the muddy green paint, remove crown, and remove a FEW books to add some coordinating pottery, etc. I would pull some color from the book spines :).

That big chair sure looks comfy, but might not go with new added accessories.

Pink, my son had a vintage apartment in Chicago where his bedroom seems to have once been a living room. Besides the wonky doorway, it had a fireplace! i suspect it was nonfunctioning. But it had built-in shelves on either side. He put the head of the bed in front of the fireplace (there was no other place to put it), used the mantel shelf that went wall to wall for his ”nightstand”, and of course packed the shelves with his books.

Maybe it’s my screen, but I do see deep red and green and beige or cream in the rug. Not brown.

I saw the listing, beautiful home.

Another view of this room:

Bpath you are right…..in Jinx’s view the colors show up much crisper in the rug…not as ”brown” as I thought. Much better view of the room! I still think I would pull in blue/green in for accessories.

ooh, I love fireplaces like that!

and I love the pass-through window. TV snacks, anyone?