What colour would you paint this dated fireplace?

[missrachael]

Navy blue velvet sofa, beigey walls, gold/brass accessories and a mixture of navy blue and ochre cushions

Dark green could work as well @missrachael ?

I asked Chat GPT to estimate the age of the hearth and surround, and this is what it came up with. Obviously this might be incorrect but it does suggest the fireplace might be original to your house if it's c1910....

"Focusing just on the hearth and tile surround, and ignoring the gas fire insert itself, the features suggest something older:

The glazed tiles in cream and greenish tones with moulded floral panels at the top corners are characteristic of Edwardian and late Victorian fireplace designs — roughly 1890s to 1910s.

The shaped arch and relief patterning were typical of tiled fireplaces fitted in middle-class homes of that era, often paired with cast-iron inserts for coal fires.

The tile colours (olive, beige, cream) became especially fashionable in the early 20th century, moving away from the darker tones of the high Victorian period.

So, the hearth and surround likely date from circa 1900–1920, Edwardian or just post-Edwardian in style — later fitted with the gas fire you see now, probably in the 1950s or 60s when many such fireplaces were converted."

I posted earlier. Just spend any £££ on having the sofa recovered to blend with the existing fire surround and take the colour tones of the surround as the colour reference.
I mean this nicely, but your designing the room in a back to front way.

I would recover the sofa with a deep sage green, have beige tone farrow ball stylee colour on walls, same on ceiling and skirting and any colour highlights, do with new cushions.

I didn't want to say it but interior design in renovations has been my work.

That original fireplace had far more value than a modern sofa.

I would have said its more 10s/20s than 30s, more Art Nouveau twiddly design and Arts & Crafts style (they don’t all have wood surrounds).

Agree with the thread - hold onto it for now at least but get rid of the gas fire and replace with something more in the style of the house.

I do get what you’re saying but I absolutely love my sofa, we’ve only had it a year !

Yes I will keep it as it is and once the gas fire is gone I think it’ll be much better

That would cost a lot though. Fabric plus labour around here for a two seater is over £1k.

Seeing this definitely makes me want to keep it. The elderly vendors had been there 58 years and hadn’t touched anything feature wise, they just decorated. Which I love about it !

And we’ve got two of the sofas ! I’m not willing to change my sofa anyway as I love it too much, I think I can make it work

I managed to pick up this bookcase - I could paint this an olive green to match the fire surround ?! Or should I just paint it cream?

Read through the whole thread to find most people agree with my initial reaction - keep it!

I like the muted colours. Will look good with your colour scheme and once you have a beautiful plant and a mirror above it will come together.

Maybe a single plant though instead of a clutter of small ones. A beautiful large pot with colours picked out from your bright blue sofa. Or ochre. As you have brass/gold things.

Thank you ☺️ any idea for the bookcase?

I've seen your post about the floorboards. Don't rip those out unless they are rotten or damaged in another way. The pine used when the house was built is much higher quality than you'll get nowadays. If you have to replace any boards, use reclaimed timber of the right period if possible.

I'd also suggest living in the house before making major decisions about some of the changes you want to make.

The stained glass lights (upper parts of the windows) can be encapsulated in modern double glazing. Be aware that bay window frames in houses of the period were structural and any replacement needs to bear this in mind.

Hi, thank you for your post. The windows I am thinking of doing what you said as there is no way I want to lose them. Unfortunately the timber on the outside of the house does need replacing, can we get new window frames but wooden ones ? I really don’t want upvc on this window as I just don’t think it’ll look right

God, I wouldn’t paint it. Those tiles are nice. Work with it. Sage green walls, etc.

This. And please don’t use stick-on products in a period house.

Take it slow and live with it for a while. You will make better decisions if you give yourself time.

Yes you can get wooden window frames. They are more expensive than uPVC though. Find a local maker and get hardwood as they're much more durable than softwood. Remember you'll need to factor in re-painting to protect the exterior wood every few years. A good carpenter may be able to repair the original frames though - that's another consideration.

Yes I also wondered why you're thinking of replacing the floorboards. From the photo they appear to be in good condition? You could just get them sanded and refinished instead.

It wouldn’t be yet, in a few years as dh wants to insulate for a heat pump or something ? Not sure

You’ve probably guessed by now that I’m in a listed building (a fair bit older). Of the ten or so original windows in our house, we’ve only had to replace one lower sash. The rest were successfully patched (the quality of the pine was much better than the modern stuff that is grown quickly).

We’ve found some tiles in two of the upstairs bedrooms

Those will be the hearths from when those rooms had fireplaces too I should think

Yes, they are in every room on every floor of our Victorian house.

I mean this in the nicest possible way but only paint stuff if you are good at it otherwise it looks crap. Definitely do not paint the fire surround tiles, decorate around them, once the fire is gone/ replaced, they will look fab..

Can you re-tile it? Or buy a cheap wooden surround to paint.