standing room only, apparently...

I prefer natural brick myself - and thats expensive paneling to paint over too - but essentially, every family needs to do what works for them and adds in the enjoyment of their home. Life is too short to live with raw brick if you hate it every time you walk into the room.

I think having a movie room like this would be super fun.

It could use a little furniture (maybe a rug) but I like the wall color! We actually painted our basement a dark color and it feels cozy and warm.

Seriously do not like. Would have taken out the fan. And there was one too many sources of wood. But painting that cypress wood paneling and fireplace were bad ideas. Ugh. I'd walk into that home as a buyer and cringe at all that paint. Any big "home theater" system like that quickly becomes outdated. Remember those movie screen TV's with a projector in front of them. Lol.
Also...highly advise against products from lumber liquidators. I bought some no nail bamboo flooring from them and many panels came out of the box with black belt marks under them laminate from where they came out of whatever machine they run them through. And the products don't wear well. Biggest waste of money I've ever spent on a reno was with products from them (and Ikea). LL refused to take back the faulty pieces. Just a heads up as most of us don't have money to burn in a reno.

Initially, I thought this was their living room and thought, wow..what did they do to the room but after realizing that this room is actually a media room, I love the new room! I usually like the look of bricks but in this case, those bricks weren't the nicest looking ones and painting it white made it look so much cleaner and modern looking which goes well with the media room. I think they did a great job.

Hmmm, I think it looks better than it did. I would have painted the brick and ceilings the same way, but left the wood walls and columns alone, and maybe darkened the stain on the existing floors to more of a tobacco brown if that were possible.

I hate it when people post before an after pictures from different angles. Come on... They should have taken down the paneling and sold it. What a waste.

I'm so tired of folks being concerned about resale! I've made my house my own. One day I may move out - but I don't care if some of the choices are not to others tastes. I want to live in something I love. So if you hate brick and wood paneling, then paint it. If you love that sort of thing, don't. But do what you love. And if you can't be bothered to take down the paneling, sell it, and put something back in its place, then don't!

PS. I've had great luck with beautiful Lumber Liquidators flooring.

AMEN EMILYRYZ!!

Overall, I like the redo, even with painting over wood. I think the fireplace in it's natural brick would match the new walls better than painted white.

Being from the home theater business, I do see room for improvement. With all the hard surfaces in the room, the sound will be overly bright with a "ring" in the sound. Toe the speakers in toward the listening area to reduce side wall reflections, add some area rugs in front of the room to reduce floor reflections. Also, since the screen is not as wide as the room, small low wattage uplights in the corners while watching will greatly reduce eye fatigue by evening out the contrast between bright screen and dark walls.

Second the AMEN, emilyryz!
Further, if you really hate something and need to cover over all reminders of what once was (for whatever reason, creating bad karma or whatever it might be) then get rid of all the reminders. The next owners may have the same taste. If not they can move on.

I think the room is perfect good job.

I like the painted brick. Natural brick isn't for everyone.

WoW, don't care for 'before' OR 'after'.

From ugly to uuuugh!

I completely agree, @kchurst14. The BEFORE was not "good" brick.

Emilyryz hit the nail on the head on this one.

I also don't understand people losing their s#!+ over painted brick. It's dried mud, people. Rectangles of reddish-brown dried mud. There's nothing "special" or "charming" or "unique" about brick and as many people appreciate painted brick as those who hate it. It also tends to make rooms look *very* dated, especially in this instance when combined with wood paneled walls. Personally, there's a little too much paint in this room for my taste, such dark paint at that.. but I get that its a home theater so dark paint was necessary. Overall, they did a great job with execution.. it looks very neat.

Maybe if they bring in some "earthy" elements through furnishing to warm it up? Like a raw-slab coffee table paired with warm textiles and pattern? Or whatever suits *them*, since it is THEIR home and all.. :)

They've taken all the warmth and character out of the room--it looks like a warehouse now.

I love how folks decorate their homes to their liking! With the economy being so bad and ppl still losing jobs and all sorts of crime on television, it's wonderful to see how others make their homes their heaven. Be happy decorating and living in your space as you see fit rather others approve of your aesthetic choices or not. Wonderful choice to paint the brick. Enjoy movie night with your family! Love the transformation. Now I'm off to improve my home one project at a time. Thanks for the inspiration!

So, so awful. It looks like an institution.

Seriously, whats with people getting upset over painted over wood? That panelling looked so dated! And those bricks were drab and old fashioned - the white is fresh and modern. Not everyone wants to live in a time warp. Great job on this long overdue makeover.

I think it looks terrific - I can't believe anyone would complain about dated, ugly wood panelling or brick being anted over. The after is SO much nicer - and I bet once the owners have some cosy furniture in there it'll look even better

It actually looked quite nice before, but after it looks absolutely horrific. Awful choice, in my opinion.

I'm in the "I liked it better before" camp. Sure, you can do whatever you want to your house - but if you post it online - expect people to give you their opinions. IMHO this room will look dated and "ugly" when the "grey is the way to go trend" is over - just like brown is no longer "in". As for the "do what you want don't worry about reale crowd" you will be affected when your "expensive trendy but now dated" home is up for sale and the young, hip, modern buyers come in and don't want to buy your "old fogies" home.

I also don't think it take a lot design skill or knowledge to slap the latest colors on the walls, floors and furniture and call it "good design".

It looks really good -- huge improvement. Exposed brick can be beautiful, by the brick on that fireplace was AWFUL. Much better painted! And that paneling also looks great painted. Great, inexpensive update.

We just moved into a new townhome that was painted all neutral beiges. We immediately set out to paint all of the main rooms. Turns out that the previous owners had painted the bedrooms dark gray - the color we love - and painted them neutral in order to sell the place. We then spent a weekend painting it back.

Be bold!

I think the after here is awesome. I think it's sleek and sophisticated. Once the art goes on the walls and furniture placed, it'll warm up.

I also can't imagine how much work it was to paint over both the paneling AND fireplace.

Kudos to you!

Not sure if I'm a HUGE fan of the color choices (the contrast between light and dark is perhaps too stark in my opinion, but I paint everything white), Nevertheless, this is a quintessential Apartment Therapy project/post! Going back to the roots of AT, when the "befores" and "afters" didn't consist of complete overhauls of remodeling and demolition. When contributors shared their more 'budget-friendly' practices of a simple paint job and fresh, new decor accessories, etc. etc. Better (less depressing) times!

It needs something more to make it cozy and inviting. Right now as it is I would not want to watch a movie or hang out in there. Too boring and blah. Not to mention you hid all the interesting details.

Oh wow, are comments typically this negative? It's not what I would have done with the space, but still... yikes.