I had a similar situation in a house I moved into years ago. I did a quick fix of painting all of the walls, woodword and the cupboards the same shade of cream. Sounds a bit OTT but it really knocked back the cupboards, which in all honesty are not something you want to make a feature out of, and created a calmness to the whole space. In your case, I would go for an off white so that the gang plug wires, radiator pipes and covers hiding the wires for the extractor fan etc., are disguised as much as possible -- that will tie in with the palest of the tiles in the splash back, and then you will have a pretty basic colour scheme of a very place colour and the dark worktop, fireplace and floor, which will stand out more. I think you need more storage with doors -- that bookshelf isn't doing anything for the kitchen. If you could get something in there that could hide lots of clutter -- even if just something cheap from IKEA, that would help greatly. Or work something around the filing cabinet that you have? A huge cheap mirror over the fireplace would bounce some light around too. If you don't want to go for undercupboard lighting, and if you have enough plug points, how about some lamps on the worktop, especially at the FF end with a floor standing lamp at the end with the chair. For the table, I would go for a table cloth and reupholster the chairs if they are not to your taste. A new blind in a much fresher colour would be great. Depending on the colour of your filing cabinet (if you use it), I think a petrol blue could add a nice vintage vibe to the chimney breast, and make more of a feature of it. I would try and go down a vintage/slightly industrial route rather than country. You may have some stuff lurking around that you could use, once you have got the base colours right -- currently it just feels a little cluttered and a bit of a mish mash. Best of luck. Looking forward to seeing some after shots :)

Greg think you have made a great start, just needs a few colourful statement pieces. Firstly the chest of drawers are fab, my suggestion if you like them would be to utilise them in the lounge either side of the radiator under the window, for storing what looks like cd's the other side of the fireplace in these. You could put the existing cubes either side of the two sofa's. I would ditch the rug in the lounge, and get something bold and bright such as cobalt blue with orange/yellow. In the bedroom, keep the IKEA drawers and paint them either black or dark blue and have them adjacent to each other on the back wall opposite the bed, with the TV on top as someone has already suggested. The art work is great, but would swap it over to where the mirror is and move that elsewhere. Again ditch the rug, maybe an animal skin would work well in here, keeping a masculine feel. Pick some of the colours from the artwork for a well chosen throw and cushions for the bed, and don't be afraid to use some other accessories such as vases, lamps and dare I say candles!

Hi, Yes the chimney is still open and a wood burning stove option is a route we're looking to go down. Just not sure about the finish. Was thinking plaster boarding and maybe split faced tiles. Not completely closed off though and just throwing it out there to see if any better ideas.

The rest of the house is nearly restored and we are down to one of the final stalling points, what to do with the main fireplace. I've attached some better photos. Since taking them I have made a start on stripping it back. I've removed all the old fabric from one of the chairs and sanded a section back. The dark finish is not ingrained in the wood so sands of relatively easily. I'm thinking I may as well have a go at painting it before my wife makes me take it out! Its not the main living room so we won't be using the room very often. Therefore I don't think it matters that it's not really practical.