What to do with this ?

[Elasticatedwaist]

Fireplace / chimney breast / walls
whole cottage Reno and serious decision fatigue.

floor will be medium oak
sofa is brown leather (practicality ! )

cant change the surround or log burner which is new.
Have a million paint samples.

your best ideas if you please 🙂

Oops pics would help !

i would not get a brown leather sofa. They suck all the light out of the room.

what about a dark blue with stain guard on it?

paint the whole room school house white (farrow and ball) and the wall paper the chimney recess in a stark wNt paper. House of hackney have amazing ones. Chimney breast should be the white and the get as big a mirror as will fit the space.

Looking at the pics, I assume that @Elasticatedwaist already has the brown leather sofa, otherwise I would agree about these sucking out the light. We found this with an antique oak sideboard in a room with very little natural light - it just made that corner so lifeless and dark 🙄

I'd want to bring in as much colour and pattern as possible - at the moment everything seems very brown/beige.

Look at adding colourful wallpaper, highly pigmented/saturated colours in emulsion and lots of bright cushions, throws, artwork etc plus a large area rug that extends beneath the sofa(s) - either something in a traditional style or more contemporary...whatever suits your preferred look.

Yes to a large mirror - there are so many fabulous choices from antique to vintage to contemporary!

I'm not a fan of white (even F&B!) - but obviously many people disagree - so I'd want to wallpaper throughout if going down that route. If, however, you prefer natural tones you can still add interest with texture, pattern etc - look at Abigail Ahern for ideas for layering neutrals.

thanks, yes , already have the sofa and unfortunately a small budget doesn’t allow for a new one so I’ve to work around that.

More pics. Scuse the mess. Been here a few months and believe me this looks fabulous compared to how we started off ! Pic on the wall is only temporary. I can’t leave the surround pine as it will clash with the new flooring.

Paint it out the same colour as the wall (I'd go for quite a strong colour with the oak floor and brown leather sofa. A strong blue, oxblood or dark green would look lovely. Tile the sides and back of the fireplace with encaustic tiles or a herringbone small stone to match the hearth

i'd leave the fire surround to do last. get a colourful rug and curtains and the walls painted etc and let it all settle down. then decide.

I'd get a fluffy light-coloured throw or blanket to drape over part of the sofa. to add some texture. The fireplace is nice and I would stain it to match the floor.
The area rug needs to be anchored.

I'd run with the natural vibe on the picture. Soft greens and blues and some plants. The brown of the sofa is quite a cool brown so might not work to well with reds and creams, and all beige walls will make the brown floor and furniture a bit plain.

Are you sanding/varnishing the existing floorboards or
laying a new floor on top.
What are the floorboards made
from!?
The fireplace looks like a style that could have been cast. What about painting it black and adding a mirror above.

The floor will be engineered wood on top of the existing floorboards. The colour / stain on it is a grey toned brown I’d say. We’ve already got that just haven’t put it down yet.
You can see some of the planks laid out in this picture.

Lovely flooring OP!

Nice flooring. And that’s not a bad leather sofa!

Will you be using the room mostly in the evening? If so I’d agree with the suggestion of a deep/rich colour on the wall - deep blue or green or red or aubergine. Or even a mustardy yellow like India Yellow if you feel brave.

If you don’t want to go for a deep colour then go for a warm colour, maybe a beigey pink like Setting Plaster. Or a warm (yellow toned not blue toned) sage green like Vert de Terre.

Fireplace off white, or off blackThere is even a paint which looks like cast iron - Craig & Rose maybe. You could paint a bold accent colour inside the stove recess if you wanted.

If you do go dark on the walls then a large pale rug will help keep the room light. Ideally a bigger one than you have (sorry) but not the end of the world to keep that one.

I’d put a large mirror above the fireplace. and lots of lamps. Cushions with patterns picking up the wall colour.

The rug is going it’s had it 🙂