You take good photographs! It's hard to focus on the ceiling when I am admiring the pretty china.

Paint the ceiling and paint the beams. You will still have the architectural interest of exposed beams.

There is nothing wrong with the garden light being there. Leave it until you find something you like better - which may be never. I just replaced a pretty garden light in my house because it was a fire hazard. I like the new one because it throws the light up rather than down. I love uplighting - it softens a room.

A big NO! It's beautiful and as much as I love wood I'm not a fan of most knotty pine. When it's a ceiling as beautiful as this one, it's a different story. I love love love it! If you do anything, think of adding a couple small sky lights down the road when the budget allows. Until then go with the Kim Miles rule...get more (and larger) lamps!
1. Uplights work great to add more light with out it staring you in the face. Tuck them wherever you feel it's extra dark.
2. If you have electrical outlets for the ledge add some lighting up there. Check the link below for one idea.
I think your home is beautiful just the way it is. I don't see a thing wrong with it. Fake flowers are fine by me. I can't keep anything alive in the house anymore. I used to have a forest, but not any more, so fake it is. And all you have to do is soak them under the sprayer in the sink when they get dusty. As for displaying things bought by your children, that just tells me your a great Mommy! God bless you!
~Becky

Here is a link that might be useful: LED Linear Strip lights

I normally would say paint it, but I am going to say leave it at least for the time being.

My cousin actually had real pine put in her house for the simple reason of having it painted. And it looks great, her house is a show stopper.

But I happen to like your ceiling and you can always paint it anytime. Leave it for a while and enjoy it. Your house is not exactly chopped liver either.

....Jane

I suspect that you will paint the ceiling as well, in the end, but why not paint the beams white and then decide about the ceiling.

I hesitate to offer my opinion, I have 2 pine ceilings and love the look! My LR is vaulted like your room, and my dining room is flat. I look into my LR and it is a big room, there are 'fake' beams on my pine ceiling but the beams are the same color as the ceiling and I have 3. I think those beams might be too dark and they are large, I might lighten them? I used to have cream colored walls with a blue accent wall and painted them a warm color and what a difference that made!!

Barb

I think it's stunning and unique. However, I think the ledge above the windows is a distraction from the ceiling. I'd do something about that first.

Paint the ceiling and the beams! What a huge dramatic change -- and let in the light!

Yes -- in the future -- consider removing the ledge. BUT -- after painting -- place a large simple plain white china platter (on a stand) over each of the windows.

Jan

Instead of painting the ceiling, paint the walls a color that will work with the ceiling and your furnishings.

Here's another suggestion - stain the wood with a light vanilla colored stain. You will still be able to see the wood, the knots, etc., but it will lighten it up and I think you will like it a lot more than regular paint.
I've used a colored stain before and loved the look - kept the 'wood', but got the color, too! :)

OMG No!! The ceiling is wonderful!!
If you want to make it look like every other house, then paint it. But it's great and unique and stylish and classy and about every other good thing I can think of!
And I like the walls the color they are.
Linda C

What color are the walls in this room? Here are a few combinations to look at, heh heh. They include two knocked down browns and two whites.

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As per Squirrel's brillant (as always!) virtuals -- I still vote for painting both the ceiling and the beams!

Jan (waving at Squirrel and then slinking back under my rock .....)

Please, please don't paint out all of that lovely wood.

Try adding more lighting first. You might even want to try deepening your wall paint. I know that sounds counter-intuitive, but not every house is 'meant' to be light and bright. Some are meant to be warm and intimate, and deeper, warmer walls with pools of electric lighting might transform the space into exactly what you didn't know you'd love.

If that ends up totally not working for you, I'd defintiely try a sheer stain, white-wash, or waaaay-thinned down paint first. Keep enough wood showing so that you can see it's real wood, knots and all. That's some nice stuff you've got there, and IMO, it would be a crime to paint it all out. (Not to mention impossible to undo.)

Ya know, when one asks these kind of questions, one must be prepared for many a different opionion...some even from a Sunday night drunk..........soooooooo, here ya go:

No, no, a thousand times NO, do not paint that ceiling! It is gorgeous and unique as someone else mentioned. I even like the shelf above the windows. Put a bunch of "warm" elements on it to add texture. Also, add and build upon the wood elements you somehwhat already have going on in your furniture to tie to the ceiling. Honestly, the thing I kinda don't get is the flooring. What is that? It doesn't seem to go? Get a big ole rug to cover that up. All and all, I think the rooms already are on their way to looking great!

Caveat Emptor.....seems I'm beginning to fancy myself as a decorator here on this group. Alas and git back Loretta, I am a homemaker/former accountant in real life. Most times I'm loooking for decorating help here........so why the heck am I giving out advice?? Could be the Chardonnay.

Good Luck,
pup

I understand your indecision. I had the same situation in my lake house which has all douglas fir ceilings and EVERYONE said "don't paint them" After ten years my husband said "let's paint the bathroom ceiling and that started the ball rolling. The two of us painted all the walls and ceilings in one week, lol. We more than love it, it gives the whole room a cleaner brighter look and it still reads like wood. If you feel you'd be happier with a light ceiling, go for it. I've seen Candace Olsen paint ceilings just like yours and the outcome was lovely. Either way you have a lovely home.

Ooops, I didn't read that middle part where you mentioned you needed a rug....and I WAS wondering about that lone vase up there, too? So, you're on the right track. I think I might even change out the curtains for something with a subtle pattern to coordinate (not matchy matchy) with pillows or cushions that you could add to your furniture. Finally and goodnight....I like the light.

pupper

Oh, no, no, no, no, no, please don't paint it! It is unusual, not to mention beautifully done which is such a stinkin' rarity these days. If you paint it, it might as well be pressboard and fake foam beams glued up there instead of good honest woodworking.

You've already said what a big chunk of your problem is - you need a rug. You need some weight on the floor to balance the weight of the ceiling and bring the eye downward. See, right now you have all this white/almost white, a couch that makes a single dark splotch (and which does not at all fit the "light and airy" aesthetic you say you wish to embrace - it's a fabulous couch, I love it, but it's just not playing nicely here), and then this vast expanse of a stronger color overhead so of course your eye is yanked upward. Yank it back down.

Does that ledge thing really have to be there? It gives me the sense of grimly lowered eyebrows over the windows and makes the windows seem much smaller than I know they actually are. To my eye that is WAY more dated than the ceiling treatment. If there's any way that could be removed I think it would go a very, very long way toward opening up the room and giving you much more of the airiness you are looking for, especially if you replaced the slightly stodgy (sorry) pinch-pleated drapes with full, flowy, translucent linen or cotton curtains in a color similar to the wall color, on a slender, subtle rod. (If you can sew at all or know/can bribe ;-) someone who does, I have a great online source for inexpensive linen fabric.)

If you'd be interested in going in such a direction, this room could be fairly easily done up in a soft, casually-pretty-but-unfussy style almost like a very gussied-up lakeside cabin. I like the use of the iron porch light and I think that's what is piquing this idea. The tile is kind of an odd color and seems like it would be a tad tricky to work with so I'd like to see a big, light-colored faux-sisal rug: polypropylene/olefin is very easy to care for and quite inexpensive, these are often sold as "indoor-outdoor" rugs but they're much nicer than they sound! Keep an eye out on the secondhand market for a big comfy couch that could be slipcovered in a natural canvas or twill, since the budget is tight. The metal chairs are so delicate that I would create a little conversation spot in a corner with those two chairs, a pretty floor lamp, and that tiny end table you have hiding in the corner (which I'd think about painting unless it's an antique or heirloom piece). A sizable round or oval coffee table with a black iron base and tiled top (look around at the end of summer when the patio furniture all goes on sale) could be surrounded with three or four more comfy chairs to make an arc facing the couch, rather than the very predictable second couch or loveseat. These chairs shouldn't be too massive but they should still have some "oomph" to them, and again washable twill or canvas slipcovers can hide a multitude of secondhand sins. :-) You could even get away with a couple of dark-stained seagrass or rattan armchairs with cushions that matched the couch, something substantial enough that it doesn't shout "patio furniture", if they were comfortable. Since you seem to like florals, going by the floral pillows and china, artwork, pillows, perhaps an art quilt or floral embroidery/tapestry on the wall would be a pretty but not overpowering way to bring that in here.

Is there somewhere else the books and bookcase can go? The bookcase is awfully stark and utilitarian for the room. If the books must stay here I would switch them to a long, low-slung bookcase in a painted finish. One with doors would be ideal - I'm not normally one to hide books (just the opposite!) but these are SO heavy and formal. If the books and bookshelves can go elsewhere, a painted console cabinet with drawers or doors would give you display areas for things like your DDs' vase (and I don't think there is a room in existence that couldn't use more storage anyway!).

Keeping the furniture and such relatively low and horizontally oriented, and just sticking to artwork, sconces, etc. higher on the walls, lets that ceiling be its dramatic self without crowding the room.

The window and door framing is extremely scant, so much so that it's almost the opposite of a decor element, and so if you can paint that to the wall color it will no longer be an issue. You seem to have pretty views out the windows anyway. :-)

As others have said, if a room's too dark, add lighting! Just painting everything that doesn't move too fast for you to paint ;-) white or palest-pastels isn't going to make a naturally dark room any brighter, it's just going to be a dim, shadowy white that tends to look a bit dingy. Using color-corrected (neodymium) light bulbs like GE Reveal or Sylvania Daylight goes a very long way to make artificial lighting feel much less artificial.

Oh, and don't feel bad about faux plants. I have a whole bunch of them - bugger what the style mavens say, I have a black thumb and a clean, decent-quality faux plant looks a whole heck of a lot better than a straggly, barely-hanging-on "live" one. The cleaning lady I used to have (a luxury I miss terribly) tried to water one of them once so it couldn't have looked too bad! My mother was a florist who worked a great deal with silks and drieds as well as cut flowers and live plants, so I have absolutely no bias against a good artificial. Nice faux plants don't have to cost a mint, either. Most of what's at places like Michaels is terrible, but one out of fifty or a hundred pieces is just right and they're always having 50%-off sales so it's worth digging around in the piles. I've even found great faux plants at Home Depot, of all places, twenty bucks for a huge hanging fern in a pretty coir-lined wire basket (which blew apart in a windstorm because it wasn't really made to hang outside :-) it's all currently in a trash bag waiting for me to put it back together).

Oh my!!! So many replies, far more than I expected. Thank you all so very much for your time and thoughtful analysis.

Unfortunately, you have just increased the conundrum. What to do, what to do? I am glad so many of you like the ceiling on the one hand, but on the other hand I was kind of just hoping you'd say go ahead and paint....certainly food for thought.

I think you are right about the ledge. It should go eventually. I loved your eyebrow metaphor johnmari, I won't be able to forget that one.

Thank you suero and squirrel for the fascinating mock-ups. I can see from them that I don't really want to paint the walls a darker colour. They are a light greeny-gray off white at the moment. The house is pretty dark as is, I don't want to darken it any further (I understand what sweeby is saying about some homes that are meant to be dark and cozy, but I'm not sure this is one of them).
Squirrel's mock-up with the white washed ceiling is certainly very interesting though. I am actually surprised most of you prefer the pine as is! I thought it was hopelessly outdated.

Johnmari - I know the couch doesn't quite fit the look I was going for, but I saw it at a garage sale, I love it, and will fit it in by hook or by crook! I love your ideas for furnishing the rest of the room, especially the tiled coffee table. BTW, I do have (literally) another thousand or two books upstairs, all 'informal', paperbacked, etc. I had to put some books in the living room (upstairs hallway is packed) and figured these sets would be the nicest. I actually painted the bookcase white, but could repaint to any other colour (it's a pine bookcase; I've got many more in their natural state upstairs).

Lighting - you all suggested more of it. I know I need bigger lamps, and at some point a big ceiling light fixture (chandelier?) BUT - we don't turn on the lights during the day at all, and I want the house to be bright enough that I won't have to.

I'm going to post another picture or two so you can see what I'm working with.
Again, thank you all!!!!!!!!!!!!

A few of you wondered what kind of floor I'm working with. Well, it's thirty year old terrazzo. In my eye, it doesn't match the yellowed ceiling in its tone, nor does it go with the orangy brick fireplace. I may retile the floor at some point...I just suspect that all these major elements somehow don't harmonize. I don't know what I should change to make it 'work', and worry I will make a big irreversible mistake. Opinions?

If you are going to stay in your house and you could afford it would you consider hardwood floors? Your house has such a comfortable feel to it and I think it is so sweet. I bet Sunday breakfast is wonderful there.

....Jane

What an interesting room!

I can understand wanting to paint the ceiling, but since it is so fabulous, it is the last thing I would do before trying other things. People here have given some really good suggestions.

I love the effect that painting the walls has that Suero photoshopped. And I would definately get rid of the shelf and hang the curtains higher. And yes a rug- in a light color? (BTW, I feel about your floor the way I feel about the ceiling- it is really great, and I would try to work with it before I changed it.)

How about considering whitewashing or painting the brick of the fireplace so that it would go better with the floor?

And if the room really is too dark and you hate it, I too would consider skylights.

Thanks newdawn and barb for the comments. We've been here one year and I do love the house, and hopefully we will stay here many, many years.
I just feel that the major elements aren't working together, and the house just feels a bit 'tired', like something needs to be freshened up (it's 30 yrs old and little has been changed since it was built).

Newdawn - would hardwood floors with the wood ceiling be too much? Hardwood is actually kind of rare around here, tile is far more popular.

Barb - do you think the floor can work with the ceiling? I have considered painting the fireplace. I'm just worried that the busy burgundy/maroon floor would still jar with the yellow pine ceiling.
Well, let these be my only problems!

You're right about the floor, brick and ceiling not playing well together...

But since you're on a budget right now, I'd try to keep the beautiful ceiling, and that floor which can last about forever. So I'd try a rug that includes a bit of the floor's maroon and some warm golds to tie in the ceiling, then stain or paint out the brick.

Oh, my what were they thinking - orange bricks and red floor. I would paint the fireplace. Love the terrazo floor.

Coffeepoetry , I am not the best when it comes to colors, but perhaps a cream for the fireplace brick, especially if you do end up painting the walls a color. But even if not, considering painting the fireplace the same color as your wall color now.

I am also wondering about painting some of the woodwork black- I am talking about the top of the ledge you have pictured, and perhaps the newel posts and handrails on the staircase, with the spindles a cream. Black would help the red floor next to honey wood problem. I hope someone better with color sense will chime in, and also perhaps some more help with the photoshopping.

No help here -- I would paint the fireplace -- as well as the ceiling and the beams -- and even the stair banister! Just my opinion!! And not always the right one here! :)

After painting the whole area would look far more unified -- like a European country house -- and the floor would blend into the room. Add a seagrass/sisal rug to the sitting area for the summer months.

Jan

I'm back....but I have a headache. HA! I ditto what Sweeby said. Actually, now that I see the floor better, it's nice. There's just alot of it. I think the single thing that will help the most is a large rug. Oh, and eyebrows be damned! I still like the shelf and think it could be so cute and interesting with a bunch of stuff crammed on it. I love stuff, though. Look at that smaller pic of your room that Suero posted. Put your pointer fingers together in a line over the shelf so it disappears....some smart Photoshopper person could make it go poof, but not me. Anyway, when I do that, the room loses some interest. Also, without it, it more emphasizes that your ceiling is way UP there and your furniture way DOWN here. Shelf kinda ties them together. Get you a bunch of stuff on that shelf. It will be like giving those eyebrows some bangs...and the ceiling will be the beautiful boufant hairdo!

Good Luck...I love your house,

pup

I would not paint the ceiling. I would paint the fireplace before painting the ceiling.

The walls are high enough that the wood ceiling does not give the room that "lodge look". The wood ceiling isn't drowning in wood built-in bookcases and trim, and paneling, and flooring. And you are not using a lot of wood in your furnishings. The knotty pine is a nice feature to the home.

The floor is beautiful. Terazzo floors are practical and easy to maintain.

You have furnished it beautifully and once you get the area rug you say you want to anchor the seating the room is perfect.

(I would change out the Early American style stairwell rail for something that goes with the architecture of the house though.)

I love the ceiling but the coloring is too orange, I think. Looks like it might feel very heavy overhead, too. I wouldn't paint it, but I would tone the color down. You can see that in some of the virtuals. Then it would blend with the floor, too.

If the ceiling Were to be painted, I'd do the beams in a lighter distressed brown wood. I actually like the fireplace. And the eyebrow. I wonder if you could tone down some of that orange in the brick, for the floor. I think B-Mom showed something like that she'd done in her house?

It's a gorgeous space and home that has a lot of European appeal, rather than a dated look, imo. Of course, we only have a small window here, unlike you.

Where are you located? Just generally.

IMO, if you paint the ceiling and beams, then your house will look like everyone else's. Most homes are short on architectural details, but your ceiling the way it is just makes the room stunning.

If the wood wasn't as beautiful as it is, then I'd say paint it. I wish we did our ceiling like that!

I would paint the brick and get a new rug. I love the floor and ceiling, it's what gives your room its personality and uniqueness. It's a great room, so interesting!

The terrazo floor is gorgeous. I agree the color is a problem, but like you, think a large light colored area rug will make a big difference. Look into a carpet remnant and have it edged. Usually less expensive than buying a large area rug.
As much as I love the brick fireplace as is, I'd paint it with an ivory high gloss heat resistant paint. It would then look like subway tiles *and* look better with the floor. Best of all it would reflect lots of light into the room.

I'm normally a painting maniac and usually have no qualms about painting anything--brick, wood--you name it. But, I love your ceiling and I love knotty pine. I strongly agree with the others here who suggested painting the beams, though. I think it will make the huge difference you're looking for without covering up that beautiful knotty pine.

That reminds me, I was thinking that a border around the hearth, to transition the orange to the red, might make that work better for you. Personally, I think it looks very good with one. I was thinking a gray slate, but something dark is nice. A sealed slate might get as dark as the lighter version.

The terrazzo goes right along with the rest of your home's European flair. In the fp pic, I do like the colors and materials together. I'm not opposed to a red/orange thing, if they're the right shades, and often like them. Cameras (and computers) can be very deceiving with colors, though. A rug to break it up, overall, sounds good.

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That is a good idea Squirrel. Never thought about that, but you did and it's a great one!
By the way, I tried my new program I think I told you I bought at Sam's Club. It's got the tools, but I have to learn how to use them. I tried recoloring the fireplace brick, but it looked as though they were covered with a spray paint haze instead of repainted. LOL.

Oh dear. You are all so wonderful with your input, but really, I am now more confused than ever!

The general consensus seems to be: The ceiling should probably not be painted, and if painted, then just the beams or whitewashed (although there are some convincing posters who argue otherwise! hello teacats!) The floor should probably stay as is, since it adds a lot of character. It is a superpractical floor, you can't see a thing on it, even after 5 kids wreak their daily havoc. BUT it's really difficult to co-ordinate anything to go with it, especially anything with pattern. It is very dominant and busy.

So most of you say to keep the ceiling and the floor as is (my husband is going to love you all, as he loves the pine and the terrazzo). And a few of you think I should paint the brick to connect all these disparate elements (and perhaps the banister too). Hmm...any others want to chime in? Would painting the brick fireplace a glossy off-white solve my colour clash problems? Especially if I added a slate border like Squirrel so kindly showed?

The ledge seems to be a point of contention. It's seriously constructed btw, concrete or something - not something we could take down on our own.

I definitely plan on getting a very large sisal coloured rug for the living rm. I've added some blues and greens since this pic was taken (there's a bit in the pics above in the plant pot on the fireplace and the chair pillows). That's the colour direction I prefer, rather than golds and warmer tones (heaven knows the house is warm enough as is). The curtains were the past owners', and I will change to something like johnmari suggested when budget allows (I might have liked some pattern there but don't think the floor will allow that).

Squirrel - I'm located probably on the other side of the world from most of you, in the hot and sticky middle east (Israel, to be precise). Unbelievably hot this month, thank goodness for a/c.
Once upon a time many houses here had similar terrazzo tile, but it's long out of favor. The popular look of the past decade is very modern, and most of the terrazzo has been covered with tiles that look like limestone. Brick was never a common material here, and hardly anyone has a fireplace (not the right climate), so this house certainly is an individualist.
I really appreciate all your input, even if you have made things more confusing! Not sure I can quite bring myself to 'convince' my husband to paint the ceiling or retile after so many of you loved those elements. Well, thanks for imbuing me with a new appreciation for my house!
And I seriously welcome any more ideas on how to deal with the colour clash. I mean, one element will need to be changed, I guess.

I have not had a chance to read the other posts, so I'm sure you've already heard this, but my $.02 worth anyway. I love the ceiling and I am normally not a fan of wood or panelling, but your is beautiful. I reminds me of a country gothic church. I would paint the beams a lighter color to match the walls or trim in the room, though. Your home is lovely and you have so many beautiful things.

OOoh! Thanks for providing the sense of place -- That really helps!

Since you're in the middle east, I'd bring some of that in -- What about some fabulous Morroccan or Tunesian tiles for your fireplace? Blues, reds, golds on a creamy white background? Bright, local, ties it together?

Definitely gauzy drapes. Embroidered pillows. More iron work --

I like sweeby's ideas above, and I would definitely not paint that lovely wood ceiling, nor the brick fireplace.

I'm located probably on the other side of the world from most of you, in the hot and sticky middle east (Israel, to be precise). Unbelievably hot this month, thank goodness for a/c.

I was confused about the unique style of the home and the fact that your profile said you were located in Canada. The home looked like so many I've seen in Mexico both in style and in function. When there is no AC, the cool stone floors help keep cool. There is no central heating but often the night time temps drop to a chilly temp, and a fireplace or a gas space heater, is sometimes used for a little bit of heat.

It all makes sense now.

Homes with AC are now common in Mexico and in those homes they put in "modern" wall to wall carpeting, never thinking about how easy it is to sweep sandy dirt out, that gets tracked in on shoes instead of trying to vacuum it up out of carpeting, which is nearly impossible. People are going back to tile floors in homes now.

I love Squirrel's idea of a border to separate the fireplace from the flooring. It really makes it look "finished" and transitions the colors. Great idea! And not expensive either.

I think the ledge is needed in the room's design. It just needs a couple of large ceramic art pieces up there. Nothing dinky.

I like the lightweight pinch pleat curtains in the room. It give some sophistication and makes the room look "mature" rather than "beachy". Of course I do lean towards MCM design, and the pinch pleat drapes are what one would use in a MCM living room in nearly all cases. Yours look very sheer and lightweight, and not suffocating. You really have a very pretty home.

I too thought you from Canada, and was surprised at your style of home there. Not that I really have any idea what homes look like in Canada. I've only been to Toronto once and didn't get out of the hotel much.
Are you originally from Canada?
If you have an album somewhere of photos of Israel I'd love to see them. Such history in your country. I can only imagine what it must feel like to walk there. Boggles my mind.

Dilly and Justgot - I just filled the profile in randomly (or subconsciously thought of a nice cool country where it would be nice to vacation this July!)

Anyway, I am not 'from' Canada (I was born in Israel) but spent quite a few of my teen years there.
Sweeby, I like the idea of bringing in more colour to make it brighter and more local - thanks. Artlover, it's funny it reminds you of a church! Jenny - you wouldn't paint anything? Or change the floor? And Dilly- I too am not sure what would happen if the ledge were gone.

I still think the room's colours don't blend, the red floor, orange brick, yellow ceiling. Should I just paint the fireplace a glossy white? Anymore opinions? I am so indecisive myself, your thoughts are more crucial than you know. (And I read everyone of your responses to my husband last night. OK, translated every one of your responses. He was so happy that he's not the only one who loves the pine and terrazzo).

It's interesting you are in Israel. That certainly explains your home's foreign appeal! Countries use colors differently, so what looks off to you, growing up in Canada, may be combinations they love, rather than someone without an eye for color.

The ceiling is so massive that I'm thinking some massive pieces in the room would help balance it. It feels very heavy overhead, to me. Big armoire, huge coffee table, that sort of thing.

I take it you didn't care for re-toning the wood on the ceiling? I would not paint the fireplace. It works with the ceiling and is needed for that, imo.

I liked the white washed photoshop, squirrel and lyfia. I actually saved it on my desktop to ponder. I'm not sure I can do it though, since the wood probably has varnish on it or something, and the beams are already stained dark. Can one whitewash over that? I'm also worried now that I'll ruin a good thing. So many of you seem to think the pine ceiling is perfect as is.

Squirrel - I think the past owner just didn't think the colour combo over very carefully. I certainly haven't seen it around anywhere here! But most people don't notice the clash, since most people aren't that attuned to shades, etc (unless they frequent decorating boards....). The main thing people notice is how 'outdated' the floor is, and I am often asked if I am planning to cover it with porcelain tile at some point.