Hi- just an fyi, I'm American and we Americans do NOT use real wood for weatherboarding!!! 20-30 years ago ppl used vinyl but that had issues, now they use a very strong resin board. No rotting or painting.

Paint/wash it the same or similar colour as your walls. It will tone down the darkness but you'll still retain the textural contrast of the brick

Hello elfie, I first want to talk about lighting.. It may be a darker day that your image was taken, as I write today, there is a lack of sun.. I think you can create more light for that room. So my first suggestion is to buy the largest mirror you can get into the home and situate it if possible on that rear wall. I would suggest moving the rad to that section between the door to the garden and the arched doorway if at all possible or one that will fit into that space.. In this way you can have something like an 8ft by 6ft mirror to lean up against that rear wall.. It will not only be fabulous at reflecting light, but will also give you the appearance that the room is twice the size.. If you are to dine in here, candlelight and your main lighting will also look fabulous reflected back... It's a gr8 way to add interest whatever the size of room.. If you could perhaps consider another way to store the books.. In this room it might be most beneficial to keep it as light as possible with less dense objects.. So have a think about the idea (if you want to retain the books) that you halve what is currently on the shelves, and divide them between the alcoves. Leaving the upper half bare, in this way you're re-distributing what you have but thinning out visually its impact. You might also want to take out the stove in favour of a basket and logs for an open fire.. If the chimney breast is intact. They can look good as they are without an original surround.. You could add a mantle of some sort but it's not a necessity at all, and I would also suggest a large mirror for the chimney breast.. It too will add to the feature and focus of the room and reflect more light back into the room... For pendant I would suggest something narrow and wide.. It will maximise the room spatially and balance it more.. I'll add a few things I think will work beautifully.. I also like Jonathan's idea of a roll top bureau which were also prevalent in the 50's up. Or you could have some small cabinets to store the books or what's on the shelves and remove the shelving entirely.. I'll add a visual. I have purposely left the wallpaper, so as to encourage you to consider the idea of something lighter but textural or interesting.. See how large reflective objects such as the mirrors offset the wall coverings beautifully.. :)) This kind of wallpaper would also give you texture and retain a lighter aesthetic which I feel is right for the room and your blonde furniture. I would use it on the chimney breast.. I think it has a lovely bright but warm feel plus it works with an industrial feel such as the metal table and chair in the image.... For actual lighting consider paring a pendant shade like the one in my image with interesting wall lighting, such as something like this... So it's a sophisticated mix of mid century elegance with an industrial twist... You can angle the light to where you want it.. Architecturally, perhaps consider opening out that arched doorway to unify the two rooms which will in turn add more light..

Really nice cottagey fireplace. Doesn’t need much faffing about with. I think a nice thick wooden mantle rather like the pictures below may look nice? The accessories you have on the top of it are rather small and get a bit lost. Maybe a nice big clock, candles in lanterns etc would look good. Your hanging heart is the sort of thing that goes well (I love heart accessories!) and a basket of logs would look very much in keeping. Whatever you do, don’t paint it, the colour of the bricks is cosy, lovely and warm.