thnks kelly. your room has a ton of potential. but don't put the cart before the horse! I'm glad you're painting the tile. (down the road maybe you guys can DIY it and retile? it's not difficult)

if you take a photo straight on the fireplace, ncluding the side windows, maybe I can play around w/photoshop and mock up the mantle and the windows w/some blinds.

this angle is wrong, and it's too close for me to do nice mock ups.

but if you want to know how everything would look w/the white trim,,,here ya go

or, look at this fireplace. once you do the black tile, get yourself a thicker mantle, paint it white, do your mirror, the sconces, and these other elements. perfect!

have you decided on an actual wall color?

I like this. it's Swiss Coffee. notice the mantle and the window trim that's white. bringing in these other elements (like the black) looks super w/the leather

love the kendall charcoal as an accent. or BM Wrought Iron

you could also paint the wood trim in that room the dark charcoal, walls swiss coffee. now THAT would look really cool

or, do an accent wall or wainscot

I know you have the wood trim everywhere, but it's fine to paint it in just this room. it will make a huge improvement. trust me. (and you could just remove the wood trim, get some plain, more modern window casing, the MDF, cut and install it around the window and paint it. you'll still have the original wood pieces if you decide you don't like the white. But you will ;)

https://www.thegritandpolish.com/blog/we-sampled-8-popular-white-paint-colors-here-are-our-favorites

yes, I understood where you meant.

Here.

But the sconces would look better over the fireplace area. And I'm still not sure the picture will look good in this spot. which is why you need to wait until you get all that foundation stuff done first, so things are properly proportioned.

or you may want to get two of the framed photos and stack them like this

those windows will look so much better properly trimmed.

basically like this. right now the windows look 'too small' for the wall because the current wood trim is too thin.

You just want some simple window trim, something like this. its rather easy to do. (obviously this isn't finished)

this is finished around the door, but it's the same around the window. looks much nicer, yes?

everything looks better properly cased. these are Zebra blinds, btw.

another project you may like for above the mantle is some simple tongue/groove, nickel gap or shiplap molding.

Also, You see how these windows are framed out, woven wood blinds, and some simple white drapes? makes the entire wall/ fireplace a nice focal point.

This one too. just look at the windows and fireplace design, not so much the materials used

but again, lets get the trim paper removed, the walls painted, tile painted and the floors in. then maybe we can rearrange the furniture. This is why you don't want to hang stuff up on the walls yet.

above I mentioned a nice charcoal color and how it looks w/the leather? here's one example. with the nice white window trim. pretty w/the leather, right?

I'd consider these colors for the room.

I added more pics kelly! I keep posting it, and then going back and adding more items to it! check out the last 6-8 photos at the end. see what you think about doing your room like that

Thanks Beth.  I am taking in all of your ideas right now.  We are getting hardwood floors installed this week.  We are taking the border down and will message you once we have more of a clean slate to work with.

great. once floors are in, post a pic straight on w/the fireplace/windows so I can photoshop

and if doing the floors w/that baseboard, are you doing a shoe molding?? (or quarter round)

Now is the time to decide before they do the floors!!

If you do the quarter round molding, you'll have to match the stain color and run that all the way around the room to hide the gap from the cut wood planks.

basically would be this but against your wood baseboard

what you want is this look

If you remove the baseboards, they can run the wood up to the wall and you can put new baseboard down on top to hide the cuts. paint it white

now would be the time to replace the baseboards and get the 5.5" baseboards in the white MDF.

Then you'll be able to do the same mdf white trim around all of the windows and doors so it will all match.

I hate that quarter round

If you do a shoe molding to hide the cuts, you could paint everything at once

or, see if you could do something like this. the white ones go right over the wood. maybe it will also hide the wood flooring cuts

the wallpaper needs to be removed before anything else

Beth - we just got castle brown stained (red oak) floors.  Is your opinion to make the baseboards all white?  Bright white? Is the wood trim outdated?  The first 2 pics are of the family room.  The third picture is looking into our dining room and living room.

Patricia,

I don't post the photos for you. I post the photos for people who don't know what's available and to give diff examples. Not everyone knows what shoe molding is. It's easier to post pictures. sorry if they bother you. The OP of this post has emailed me privately a few times, so I'm guessing she doesn't mind them.

Kmd, the floors turned out really nice. I like the color

IMO, the wood trim isn't anything special,

like this. this is old, craftsman, vintage wood. you do not have this (and the stain colors match)

But notice how these older window trims all had wider window casing. yours is just too tiny.

So, I'd paint over it. plus, it's a diff tone than the floors and not in a better way.

Similar to your room. what do you think??

Personally I'd replace the window casing altogether (like I mentioned earlier) because I think that current trim is too thin. But that's up to you.

for the baseboards I'd do the simple 5.5" molding (and at the sake of sending pat over the edge, here's a pic)

and here's the window w/a thicker casing. it just looks better(if you look up DIY window casing, you'll see tons of ideas. I'd just use a simple molding to match the baseboards)

Here's a close up of window trim and the baseboard. you don't have to do a top trim piece on othe baseboards like shown here. just get the one I posted above.

But see how nice the wider trim looks? then if you get the woven wood or bamboo shades:

the new white trim looks against the flooring?

once you get the walls painted and the baseboards in, it will look 10X better.

If redoing the casing is too much at this point, then I'd certainly paint them. scuff them up w/a 220 grit, wipe w/mineral spirits to clean all dust, then prime w/an oil base primer. You will prob have to find sand the dry primer just to get it smooth. feel w/your hands. sand w/220 or 320. wipe clean w/a damp rag to remove all dust.

now you can paint. You can do these windows a bit at a time.

and just because I can, here are some other pictures if you wanted to do a light wall color and contrasting trim. you could do a slightly darker white, or gray/taupe greens/blues or even blacks.

these are pics of contrasting trim colors. you don't always have to choose white

You have to admit, this darker baseboard and window/door casing looks amazing against the white walls and dark wood floors!

And, if you redo your fireplace tile in this black and get a reclaimed wood beam mantle (or one you can 'reclaim' yourself) that fireplace will look great w/the new colors

Thanks again, Beth.  You've been tremendously helpful!!  I'll keep you updated on our progress. Appreciate your time :)

kelly, you may want to look at this one. she was also asking about painting the trim, and she did. she just posted a new pic today at the very bottom

https://www.houzz.com/discussions/6333152/updating-my-1997-home-should-i-paint-the-wood-trim-and-wainscoting#28301158

Hi.  Beth- We took your advice and painted the fireplace a dark gray (instead of black).  We are working on doing white trim around windows and baseboards.  I have a few questions.

1.) What color rug should I get??

2.) Where should I place these woven baskets on the wall? 

Thanks!!

looking good.

If you could get a wood mantle beam, I'd prob hang the baskets over it, along w/some other items. here's a quick photoshop

what do you think about painting that wall all black w/the white trim on the windows?

you have some nice pillows. get a rug like above, or something like this one:

Or, maybe you want more neutral? this rug/ottoman, some black/white framed pics

light rug w/a layed hide over it

Check out Wayfair, Loloi rugs. ChrislovesJulia also has some of them on wayfair.

tons of colors

diff wood mantle

Beth - thanks for the ideas! I am actually going to hang those 3 woven baskets on the largest wall about the loveseat.  What arrangement do you think I should do for that? Like put two together and one further away? I love the idea of painting the fireplace wall black but I'm scared to do that.  I'll start looking for rug ideas.  Thanks!

Kelly, look at the wonderful colors in your children’s photo. See the color of your darling dog? Think of that as your caramel leather couch and chair. Then…see how the other colors are vibrant in the portrait? You need to bring some of that into your room to add life to the space. While the black and cream baskets are lovely, they are actually deeper than they look. Dimensional. (Look at their depth in the “details” portion of the ad for them.). They might stick out too much. As has been suggested, wait on items like this until you have the walls painted, the furniture in the space, and a rug. While black, white, camel look great together, you also need to add some “life” in the form of color to your room. I think a rug is the way of adding that personality to your room.

Kelly, it's only paint. if you don't like it, paint it back. or try a slightly lighter color than full black. BM Wrought Iron, Kendall Charoal (which I did in my own family room) are warmer charcoal colors.

In fact, here are some darker colors not quite as harsh as black that would all play beautifully w/your wood floors and leather furniture.

as for your baskets, I don't know. just use tape to temp hold them up and play w/the layout. you may need a few more baskets.

I'd still do a wood mantle.

Beth- thanks for the advice.  Do you think we should do a wooden mantle or paint it white? 

I'll play around with the baskets.  This is what I was going to put on the fireplace with 2 candle tapers on each side.

ptreckel- Thank you.  We painted the walls Alabaster white because most pics of rooms we looked at with caramel colored couches had white or lighter colored walls.  I will consider what you said about adding the colors in the red truck photo to the room.  Thanks for all these great ideas! I'm just excited to decorate and I really liked those woven black and white baskets.

I like the mirror. no white mantle (I mean no plain white floating mantle). do the wood.

Unless, you do it like this?

now you're bringing in more traditional looking elements.

what is your media cabinet under the tv going to look like?

side tables? what else is white in there?

If you guys can fabricate this type of mantle to go over the black tile, go for it.

can you DIY?

Just don't do a single white mantle.

I'm thinking this

(for cheap,, get a fir beam at Home depot. 2X6, 2x8? maybe thicker? 4x6? depends what you want. have them cut it to your width. drill out some holes in the back and fit lag bolts into it. cut off the other end. screw the lag bolts into the studs over your tile. you could beat up the beam to age it, stain it, sand it, etc. we did it to ours. cost about $40.

The black one is nice too.

bring in the jute rug, a nice table, fur throws, etc

Beth- what do you think of this picture?

Do you like the fireplace?

These are our end tables and this is our TV stand

 Eventually we will need that updated

Also, the candles will eventually go on the fireplace that are currently on the end tables

Love the rug you posted.  We ordered a similar one from Wayfair.  This is the pic you posted.

kelly, yes. I like that fireplace and your end tables.

I'd still change out the molding around the window to something wider and less ornate

something along this line

try a simple 1x4

ditto the door casing. simple minimalist style molding. at least 4"

so this monstrosity, I would change out. you need a console almost as long as this wall.

the tv dwarfs the console AND all this black is too modern looking for the room.

Mount the tv to the wall. maybe find something that will hide some of those speakers (or upgrade to a good speaker bar?)

'the console should be 2/3 longer (1/3 on each side) than the length of the tv. like this one.

even this would look better. speakers could go below, tower speakers on either side.

Livingston console

see how much better it looks?

But that tv needs to be mounted!

Not too high either.

ignore the fireplace. just think about something to put the speakers in (leave the doors off) and maybe the towers for the vertical ones.

This wood printers cabinet would be great looking in your room

or, look at doing an Ikea hack w/the Besta model, maybe some shelves on the side.

Ikea Besta Hack.

you can do these w/the Target Caned consoles too. nail them together to make a longer console. (look it up)

lots of ideas on how to do these online. get two of the target pieces and mount your big tv. (this one is mounted too high)

Target also has this 80" Vik unit

if you could fabricate something like this one, you could hide the speakers entirely.

Beth - thanks for the ideas on the TV consoles.  The TV console is very old.  Eventually we will update the console.  That's on the back burner for us project wise.  Thanks!  We are doing the white trim and baseboards.  This is an unfinished pic of the window trim.

those look great kelly!

did you check over here for the loloi rugs?

https://www.wayfair.com/brand/bnd/loloi-rugs-b17965.html?curpage=2#sbprodgrid

Something like this one would look nice w/the floors and leather,

https://www.wayfair.com/rugs/pdp/loloi-rugs-oriental-machine-made-power-loom-polyester-area-rug-in-beigebrown-cloi1221.html

this one too. almost the same fireplace look. (and you could layer the one above over this one)

https://www.wayfair.com/keyword.php?keyword=jute+sisal+rug&class_id=

https://www.wayfair.com/rugs/pdp/angela-rose-x-loloi-blake-oatmeal-spice-area-rug-arxl1012.html?piid=73829613

or what about this charcoal and spice color?

https://www.wayfair.com/rugs/pdp/loloi-rugs-bonney-oriental-area-rug-in-charcoalspice-kbpk3665.html

https://www.wayfair.com/rugs/pdp/loloi-rugs-bonney-oriental-area-rug-in-sunsetgray-kbpk3672.html?piid=68848809

kelly, I can't respond to houzz messages anymore (they want us to pay for it)

So, here are the rug colors you can try, plus some links on some other rugs.

just pick out a color that you like that works w/the warmer wood/leather tones. (and really, just about any color will work)

Hi.  What do you mean you have to pay for it and can't respond to messages? I literally just saw all the rugs you posted.  I wanted help with the other thread...the other living room I have with the gray walls and chairs you said were oddly configured.  I didn't know what color rug to choose for that room.  Not the room with the fireplace redo.  You've been a tremendous help to me. I really appreciate all of your feedback, and I'm sorry if you're getting annoyed by me.

kelly, not here on comments on a post, it's when you send a DM. I responded yesterday to yours, but it won't let me today. something about a free trial. I have many many private messages that I can't even access. oh well.

Oh you wanted help on the other room rug? i'm confused by all the diff posts.

weren't you doing a rug in this room? I mean, the rugs posted here will work in the other spot too. it's all the same flooring and decor.

Thanks Beth! Sorry for the confusion.  That DM was a link to the discussion about the rug options for the other room with the bay window.  Thanks again for all of your help.

Beth- here's the rug we got.  The pic is kind of dark.  You can see the window trim we are starting.

I like it. you could push it back under the sofa a skosh more.

I wouldn't do a dark wood table on top of it. Light wood would be ok. Or do metal table w/light top, or go for a few ottomans

This slat bench could work. believe it or not, these are actually pretty easy to make. get vintage legs like this if you want this look,

or order some welded iron supports (Etsy) like shown here

heck, you could easily make something like this too (I've ordered these hairpin legs for my own projects. very easy to attach to something)

metal table, light top, get one of those white leather poufs too

trim is looking good

Thanks Beth.  Are you able to tell me your Zelle name.  I can download it.  Thank you for all your help!

kelly, thats ok. could you email my private add though? I never got to answer your other question you sent me on Houzz.

Hi Beth! I emailed you!

Hi Beth.  My husband hung the shades.  They are expensive and nonrefundable...I don't like the overhang of the shades with the white trim.  What do you think and is there anything we can do to help or fix them??  Please help!

Also, our walls used to be a mint green color.  Do you still see mint green on our walls?? I do.

There are lot of caramel tones, but I will use this sofa for an example.

Kelly, can they be pushed back any further? did you buy inset blinds or outside hung blinds?? I think you did the latter.

they don't look bad when viewed face on. since it's on the fireplace wall, you really won't be seeing them from the sides.

leave them for now. I do like the type of woven wood you got. if it still bothers you, maybe you could remove the valance portion and have someone reposition it or just leave it off. hard to say.

how many coats of paint did you use over the mint green? (and which paint was it?)

maybe you need another coat? what if you used a slightly warmer white?

(which white are you painting the trim? I'd use a semi gloss Don't forget to fill those nail holes with wood filler NOT caulk. caulk can't be sanded. you want all the holes and any joints where two pieces meet to have the white wood filler. when dry, carefully sand it smooth and level w/the trim piece. PRIME it. (or it will flash) you may have to fine sand the primer when dry. (320 grit) wipe clean. Now use a semi gloss white paint. Oxford White, Simply White, Pure white are good ones. after it's all sanded and primed, you can go along the edges of the trim/wall w/caulk if it needs it)

see where the arrow is? don't know if that's a smudge or gunk. needs to be sanded smooth before painting. here are two fillers I use

for the walls

Thanks Beth...

They are inset and they are pushed back as far as they can go due to a shallow depth window opening. Tha valance covers the hardware for the retracting mechanism. We are using wood filler and the spot you pointed out, my husband has already started to touch up.. there was a crack from where he was nailing pieces together. For the paint, we used two coats of Sherwin Williams Alabaster paint on top of a primer as well.

Beth- about the trim, we are going to use a semi gloss...the trim color is Sherwin Williams pure white with semi gloss finish

Beth, btw, the trim is unfinished and not painted yet on the window

ok. sounds good.

is there no inside trim around that window that you could remove to set the blinds back? I know on mine I have some quarter round. or are your windows just very shallow?

I figured the hardware would be under the valance, but didn't know if you would be able to remove anything that protrudes and reset it. hard to explain without actually seeing it in person. I get what you mean though.

the other option is the trim itself

Right now your pieces on the side allow for a reveal at the top. I know it's way too late for this, but using a thicker casing would hide a lot of the protrusion. Your husband will prob kill you if you dare mention this option. lol

Hi Beth.  Here is a picture from the side. We could maybe slide it back 3/8", but it would be getting close to hitting the window when it's open.

ok, yeah. I see what you mean.

You could have gone w/thicker trim around the window to disguise it. But I don't think it's going to look that bad once it's all done.

what do you think about doing something like this where the tv is?

A console like this would look better too.

or, one like this w/the black wall panel.

I showed you the rattan consoles earlier, yes? pair it w/this vertical plank paneling done in black, and it's so nice looking!

if you really want the wall to look cool, paint the wall black and do some wood slats, or do black wood slats.

how does this look w/the leather?

https://lovecreatecelebrate.com/how-to-make-a-diy-wood-slat-accent-wall/

paint the wall black first, then put up the slats. this is actually pretty simple to do. full tutorials

https://simplyalignedhome.com/affordable-slat-wall/

https://withinthegrove.com/diy-wood-slat-wall/

doesn't have to be a full wall. just do some 2x1 or 1x2 wood trim pieces in a design you like:

Or, you could just do the white and keep it uniform. but you really need a diff console. and mount the tv

horizontal wall panels in a charcoal.

your fireplace area between the windows? instead of TV, do a large art piece.

https://averageinspired.com/2022/12/diy-fireplace-makeover-wood-slat-fireplace.html

Not this art! and no sconces. just trying to give you an idea of the look.

If you did the wood accent here, I'd try and find a console in the same wood stain color for under the tv.

(just some other options for you to consider. Is that current console you have paintable?) I think it's still too short in comparison to your tv, but maybe w/some modification on the sides for the speakers, it would be giving the illusion of being longer.

you have room to build out a foot or less and get something like this look. on the sides the speakers would fit in, giving them more of a built-in look

https://www.ashleyjolley.com/blog-1/diy-built-in-entertainment-center

this would be perfect! and look at the storage you get. this is a DIY. see link above

they used Ikea Besta cabs

see? doesn't come out that far.

I would for sure consider something like this. (and you can paint it whatever color you like. HomeDepot has inexpensive butcher blocks

https://www.ashleyjolley.com/blog-1/diy-built-in-entertainment-center

OR, how about some unfinished cabinets (cheap at lowes) that you will trim out and paint? (if you get the upper cabinets, they aren't as deep as the lower base cabs. )

So, you'd basically be doing something like this:

https://simplyalignedhome.com/custom-built-in-how-to-install-base-cabinets/

You'd have to finish the side panels on this one (the example is done inset) but heck, I think this would beat just about anything you bought.

instead of butcher block, 2X6" boards secured on top of the base cabs, sanded and stained.

You wouldn't have the upper shelves (I think your tv would take up most of the wall) but you could copy everything else. and see how they didn't even go all the way up? you could do the same and just top out even w/your doors on the side.

I like this light in your room too. it's a nice mixture of modern w/the traditional look.

Here's a similar look and how to.

imagine your tv hung above this, maybe add some sconces, shelves.

this was $900 to make this, including the lights)

https://www.handmakeshome.com/post/home-office-makeover-built-in-bookshelves-diy

could also be an idea for your husbands office

Hi Beth.  I love the fireplace. We were going to do the charcoal gray shiplap and a wooden mantle in the fireplace.  Would it be too much if we painted the wall with the TV black and did the fireplace dark charcoal too?  I love the last picture you sent of the built in console.  We will probably end up doing that eventually.  I like that idea for Brian's office too.

Also, Brian has almost that exact light fixture in his office

If you're going to do the fireplace for sure w/the charcoal, wait and see what it looks like completed. Personally I love the black walls, but take it a step at a time.

Although, it might look similar to this.

or, use the same charcoal color as the fireplace accent. if you do that, then I'd get rid of the black tv console and do something in a warmer wood. this is so pretty

I just saw this black console under the tv. maybe you could find somethng like this (if you're going to do the cabinet idea in his office)

I emailed you a bunch of other sofa/wall ideas.

Hi Beth.  So, we will probably paint the fireplace charcoal and see how that looks.  We'll definitely get a lighter console for the TV.  Thanks for all the great ideas.  I'll keep you updated.  I love the built in idea for the console.