Hello One option you might consider is to stencil above and around the fireplace - like fireworks exploding out the top - you can use teal and other colours too. This will provide a real feature for the room. The photo below shows a similar idea (note that we chose teal here, too). We used matt emulsion and took a lot of care to avoid too much bleed - you will need to be patient if you've not done it before and may need to do a bit of touching up afterwards to get nice clean lines; but it is worth it - practice on a large board to see what happens. Depending on the stencil you choose, you might re-use the same stencil (or part of it) in several locations, and you can turn it round to get a mirror image, so it would be a good idea to plan the layout to scale first (we produced several scale sketches to see what worked best). You could even intertwine the stencil around a wall object like a mirror above the fire. Then you could add a pair of large paintings or large family photographs either side to accentuate the width of the room. If you are really clever, your stencil could reach out and draw them in too - like the branches of a tree. There's a great stencil site called stencil-studio (note the hyphen, as there are similar sounding sites) that have some magnificent oversized stencils - I particularly like those under the "decor" tab. Hope this helps.

Hi Shameem, Brass accents will complement the fireplace nicely, a few suggestions, 1 Light Ornate Glass Ceiling Pendant - Antique Brass Lecce 3 Light Semi Flush Ceiling Light - Antique Brass 1 Light Frame Ceiling Pendant with Cube Shade - Brass For more brass lighting click here. To fill up the space above the fireplace you could add a mirror. For colour scheme I think navy and grey hues would complement and help the brass lighting stand out. You can also always fill up any space with plants, this will add a great refreshing touch to the interior, and help fill the room if needed. Hope this helps, if you have any questions please feel free to email us at customerservice@litecraft.co.uk or you can give us a call on 0161 359 4777 Kind Regards, Litecraft Team

kevnick80 I am trying to find the right intense blue. I've currently used Sanderson's Sea Blue but the one I wish I had used, and which I found after I'd painted the room, is Abigail Aherne's Bowery Blue. I've put a spread of it on a wall, next to a spread of the one I've used to compare them, and it's richer but brighter and very intense. I will paint over the Sanderson one as soon as I've got the energy. Here's the Bowery Blue - if you put your cursor on the paint colour you see it with good lighting which is, of course, important with dark colours; mirrors make a difference, too: https://abigailahern.com/search?q=bowery+blue

Hi Minnie, thanks for your reply. The paint brand is Johnstone's. My wife also thought Brilliant white might be too cold so we are now considering something with a little bit more warmth, possibly a more 'creamy' colour. The living room faces West, the dining room East - the living room gets the sun in the evening. The paneling would be going around the inside edge of the arch, basically an architrave that wraps the sides and the under edge. I have had it suggested to me that we paint the two window walls and the archway in blue as that will link the rooms together whilst ensuring that the colour is visible regardless of which room you are in or where you are sat? The boards will stay exposed though we are sanding them are treating with a light oak coloured varnish. Furniture wise, the sofa is an beige/mocha fleck colour, dining table is 'shabby chic' wooden top with white legs, Coffee table is wood topped with white legs.