Possible Pottery Barn Carport Addition Make Over?

When I recieved the Pottery Barn catalog that came along with my bedding order weeks ago, I was eager to thumb through it. Truth is I could stare at it seven ways to Sunday and still only be able to afford something in there once in a blue moon.

But as I was looking, I noticed something, many of the photos featured wood beams and wood work through out.

(Image copy right Pottery Barn, this is not my image).
The above photo is the one I want to copy, but instead of the dining theme I want to do a living/gathering room theme in the same colors.(By the way, if anyone knows this color PLEASE message me). I know PB uses Benjamin Moore colors and they generally tell you which color they use in which photo but this one didn't have the color. I am thinking it is Hazy Skies? I could be wrong..

Here is another imagine in the catalog I loved, and this one has beams colored like ours, ooooh decisions, decisions. Which would you do?

I am torn because I like the cool calm colors of the first image. However my dad, a real estate broker advises against painting brick because people like it exposed. I kind of have to wonder if he is thinking of former clients in the 90's as opposed to clients that are now my age and like the painted look? hmmm...

Then I got to thinking..MY DEN has similar woodwork! My den is actually a carport addition to the 65 rancher. The previous owners had it set up as a bar, but they took the bar with them and left us with a very long room that had no real practical use..UNTIL NOW :)
This is the den as it was when we purchased it pretty much:

Four years ago (or more) I painted it red:


It's pretty much been the mix match of all rooms, computer room, the clutter room, whatever you want to call it, it just hasn't been useful and barely gets entered other than when we sit on the desktop computer.

It has an exposed brick wall with more wood work:

(note the wood is lighter than the last photo)

Then there is the issue with the ugly builders grade carpet. I had the man of the house cut a small section up to see what we were working with below (I was praying it was anything but concrete or press board subfloor - it is a car port addition after all). I was PLEASED to see HARDWOOD!!!

Okay, don't get all excited for me just yet, because while I did find the slats between the boards, we didn't pull it up enough to see if it was hardwood like the rest of the home, or if it was just plywood. EITHER WAY, I am going to lightly sand and stain it VERY dark.

Yeah, I know staining plywood? TRUST ME, it's solid it will be nice:) even if I have to go in with a router and carve the lines out myself to make it look like the hardwood planks, I TOTALLY WILL lol. When you are on a budget and have little money to do a makeover, you just have to improvise.

The room is large and a low grade carpet would be a minimum of 500 bucks PLUS additional for labor, same with hardwood. I figure, what have I got to loose to sand and stain this bad boy. Atleast if nothing else, the ugly carpet is gone and the wood floor will be sanded, stained, and sealed and last a couple year until we can afford something else. :)