Carleenimlach your fireplace is stunning. It is infact original in bungalow detailing, and the bricks are not painted. I know this treatment very well. They had a brick stain applied, which is a red oxide painted to give the appearance of an even red brick face, this was done when tuck pointing is applied to the mortar course. I can see yours was. It looks as though it was charcoal, also another Edwardian bungalow detail, and the lines accentuate the archway. The mantel itself is absolutely beautiful. I myself would restore the brickwork, and let this period detail return to being the heart of the home. The hearth bricks definitely need to go, in their place I would lay a single slab on stone, which is a little costly, but overall, is worth the expensive you save in defacing the brickwork anyway. I suggest a rough sawn bluestone slab that will further enhance the charcoal tuck pointing, and grey is not only a current interior colour, but it is also what edwardian bungalows often featured. So you get to have a current, updated interior whilst preserving the beauty and character of a period home. This is where the homes value lies.

Your home is lovely, my thoughts are if you are hesitating about the dado rails, maybe consider turning them into an elegant and timeless feature, by converting them to wainscoting? (I sense from your question that you are not a devotee of the Victorian style :-) I also agree with what the others have mentioned about changing the colours to something more neatural like a shade of grey that you like or a dusty blue, and leaving the lower half white. For a more updated look, you could look at updating the pendant lights to something a little more classic, (to your taste of course) and if budget permits, changing to carpets to perhaps a hardwood floor. All the best, I hope this helped. Ive attached a picture and link to an example. http://www.charmingzebra.com/2011/07/wainscoting-success-sort-of.html

Hi everyone, I've finally gotten around to creating a "Before and After" post which includes my kitchen and the remainder of the house. Pop on over if you'd like a look! We are very happy with the finished project. Thanks, Louise

hi we have about six months ago now, re done our bath room , similar size to yours, and , i can take some photos and email them to you , we have maximised space, and walls , put in a white stone bath under the window , it is a metre in width , with a cool water spout coming off the centre under the window we pu t afalse ledge in to sit , candles etc on , , we tiles floor to ceiling, off white , wall mirror cabnit with three mirrors , inset into the wall so its only sits out a we bit from the wall tiles , floating bath room vanity , so that it makes the floor space look bigger , . matching stone square basin sits ontop of the vanity to one side so plenty of room to sit all your bath room stuff when need be , seperate shower all tiled as well , with inset , shelves for shampoo etc, also , when you open the bath room door and walk in when you close the bath room door behind it next to the shower is a very narrow floor to ceiling shelvec for towels, now the hole is there we jaust havent got the shelves put in yet. , we gt loads of comments as the bth room dosent look small evn though it is , , most expensive item the sqwat extra wide stone bath , made to order basin / tap ware and shower spray thing ,oh and the white stone vanity which we had made to order as well , due to the sizing .