I think the mantelpiece would look good painted white, although if you want contrast you could consider matching other wood types you have in the room, e.g. furniture, doors etc. A word of warning about painting the bricks, they are heavily textured so won't be easy to paint. You will need to thin the paint and do at least three coats using a brush. There are probably some guides on doing this on the internet. A masonry paint is best. Not sure if the fire itself is used and is being kept, but it looks rather dated and could be worth replacing at a later date, or if not used, getting removed by a plumber, and being replaced by decorative pillar candles or logs...just a thought. Good luck with the decorating and Happy New Year!

Diamond Bloom Floral Wallpaper Mono Arthouse 257001 Crown Luxe Highgrove Damask Wallpaper Charcoal M1203 Passepartout Trees Wallpaper Black and White Rasch 605419 I've just picked out some of the colours you mentioned to go work with, it is a little hard to suggest things without a bit more direction, but I thought as a jumping off point incorporating the black but not making it too dark was a good place as any! Over at www.worldofwallpaper.com, you can easily browse papers by colour or theme if you've got something more specific in mind. Plus, currently, we're celebrating our launch by offering you 20% off your first order with us when you enter LAUNCH20 at checkout. Hope you're feeling a little more inspired and a little less frazzled! :)

Thanks everyone...and Carolina! Im going to need a good hour or so of peace and quiet so i can peruse all the links you have sent through to me!! Cant wait...will let you know what I have decided later! Its to go in my dining room and we are having this design of cupboards for the drinks area so its needs to link what that. The base units will be painted in farrow and ball railings.

<?xml version="1.0" encoding="UTF-8"?><md>Weve now gone "bold" in our little cloakroom and totally transformed the look of it....we are so impressed