I see this languishing way down on the Design Dilemma queue. That's not good. There is something so wonderful about the light spaciousness of that room that I'd suggest you go for a very light grey -- I think cool will work better with the blue-green range of colours you are thinking of. White trim. I was thinking it might be best to decide on the fireplace when your furniture is in and the walls are painted, but I suspect carrying the wall cover over it will work best, because it really is a rather imposing chunk, isn't it? Not sure about the aqua ceiling .... I'd like to hear others' opinions about that.

If you like the fence and want to keep one I would look at installing a horizontal wood fence where the existing fence is located. This would enhance the existing horizontal lines of the house. With the lighter tones of the brick I would paint the dark brown colors a lighter tone. This will reduce the disjointed effect of the dark against the light. If you're interested in seeing some virtual makeovers of your house, check out my website, Creative Visual Concepts. I don't think it will take a lot to improve the look.

it's a really cool door! a little too "flower power" for such a sleek modern exterior, but painting it will make it look better and be a nice holdover until you could afford a new door. (and keep the old one, I really do love it. maybe it could be repurposed somewhere else.) I'd suggest a new handle set too. updated but not too modern (anything too hard edged might look odd with that flowery design). such as this one from kwikset? I think it comes with a keypad version too if that's what you want. you can always relocated it to the new door when if that gets replaced.

it's a mixture of lava rock and another type of rock. I'd be more of a fan if it was really tall (and I lived in the mountains) Or, was this cool dark color. (the copper hood and wood slat bench make the space) BTW, you could easily make it look like this. Romabio Masonry lime tinted a brown/black, and a very dark mortar for the joints. (which you could also 'paint') I still like the mortar wash option But, if you want to keep it as is, here's how to spruce up the stone. (Because right now, it's just not nice looking) Clean it w/a good stone cleaner. redo the mortar joints (repipe it ) and then apply an enhancing sealer to the stone. you should get pretty close to this look Looks better w/the appropriate lighting and the wood ceiling. The rock itself isn't anything to leave earth for. it's not some iconic mid century design. It's just something done in the 60's. if you like it great. But if you want to pay homage to more of a mid century look, there are better options. Do a roman brick like mentioned above, or even a glazed brick If it was mine, I'd do something darker like this (stacked brick) Bring in the right design, and this is gorgeous. more of a modern look w/3D tiles and black surround try a basalt or slate tile (I think the darker ones look so much nicer than lava rock) redoing it w/something a bit more linear: And, if you remove the stone, you can restyle it anyway you want. Here are the thinner bricks in a matte black w/a vertical paneling above the natural wood mantle. imagine it w/o your popcorn and the eyeball light and vertical blinds! so much better