A brick wall talking!!!! This has made me chuckle!!! Margo, I saw that Tom had commented after me asking what the home owners did in the end!!! I thought, at first, ' hang on a minute! They have hardly had time to make a cup of coffee and read their Houzz thread!' Then it suddenly dawned on me and I scrolled back to see that this was in fact a two year old thread and I had put such a comprehensive reply on it.... as if my life depended on it! Never mind! Maybe the owner will revisit and post an after pic one day soon!

so with the bed against the chimney breast you think its better to wallpaper the whole way round? i tried the picture on the wallpaper and it just gets lost and doesnt pop at all. i think the plain chimney breast gives a nice backdrop for pictures and makes the room look wider and brighter. with it plain it also gives option to paint chimney breast down the line. really appreciate your advice. i guess im now thinking i'll leave it plain with another layer of lining paper for now and worst case scenario if i dont like it in a month or two i can order more paper and paper over it. maybe its just one of those thibgs that takes time to get used to it. thanks

Our next house has a similar ceiling height and recessed bay window so I've been giving this a lot of thought recently. I love a combination of textured walls in chalky F&B light blue with woodwork in white satinwood. 2 square sofas in light grey velvet facing each other, picture / mirrors framed in dark grey/black with a hint of soft gold metallic to pick up the sandy colour of the fieplace (as someone else has said) with off white mount board. Almost black wool rug under a glass coffee table. Cream, chenille full length dress curtains with low hold backs. A simple pencil pleat on dark wood or black nickel pole. Roller blinds in a dark, accent colour like berry red and pick this up in patterned cushions. Tall table lamps with slim, metallic base and round silk shades in light cream.

Yes we needed an RSJ and all of the walls underpinning as there were no foundations. Was very costly but definitely worth it as we live in that end of the house. I think that With having an older property, costs do just spiral. I can’t remember how much the RSJ was, sorry. i think our building work was about £25000. Can you leave the fireplace in and have it open so you can see it from both sides? Then have your kitchen and dining in the current lounge and your living area where it is at the moment but open it up apart from the firePlace? We’ve left in our old exposed stone work and cleaned it up.