Is this continuous with similar areas -- i.e., is there panelling throughout the house, or just here?

Ideally, I'd want to get rid of the texturing of the upper part of the all and either get rid of the panelling or paint it white to convert it into a more summery wainscotting. I'd paint all the trim as well, which will lighten the space and moderninze at the same time. But if there's wood trim everywhere else, then it might be hard to change this in isolation...

Beyond that, maybe a narrow console table to catch mail and keys, etc., and it might have a drawer for mittens and a shelf for shoes underneath. Just some thoughts.

I agree about painting the wood. It is just too much. If that is all you do, it will improve this entry by making it brighter.

It's actually not paneling. It's knotty pine. But one thought I had was to paint it white. Thank you for your suggestion:)

Prime first, but painting that knotty pine will look nice. I know someone will come on and say not to though.

Maybe paint the door all one color too.

I'd start by removing the texture from walls and ceiling and paint the walls an off white (Swiss Coffee). Then, clean and scrub the wood with murphy's oil soap and try to bring some luster back. Adding a lot of light (add additional ceiling lights) and maybe replacing the door with a full glass to bring in more natural light will brighten the space. Here is a sample of knotty pine with the off white walls. I'd go so far to say do not put any art on the walls. But, you may want to put in a long colorful runner.

You can design your own runner with Flor carpet tiles! Plus, they are easy to take off to clean at the entrance. Not these squares...just for the idea.. Ohhh...the second photo carpet runner is beautiful!

It's panelling, just real wood (high quality) paneling. If I thought it was fake, I wouldn't have suggested painting it. :)

If you have it all over the house I don't know what I'd do, but if it's just it the hallway, clean it, rough it up w/ liquid sandpaper & paint it either all one color, doors & all, or use a slightly darker color for the trim & lighter color for walls & doors. Add a bright floor runner to add to the lightness.

Paint all the doors and paneling a warm white. Paint the upper part of the wall and ceiling a pale celadon (see the green on the door). Maybe like http://www.benjaminmoore.com/en-us/paint-color/silversage .. . Paint the door a mid tone like grecian green . . the whole door. It is too narrow for the dark wood colors . .

You could pickle it but if you painted everything it would make a big difference. Here is ugly old paneling before and after primer. I ended up doing venetian plaster myself but just painting would make a world of difference.

Wow, jtbino! Great job!

So jtbino, did u sand or use liquid sandpaper before you paint the paneling? Also did you have to do anything special to paneling to use the Venetian plaster? The walls you did(which look great!) look flat. Did the plaster cover the grooves in between the panels?

Also what does pickling mean?

I washed the walls down with TSP. I didn't sand. I filled in the cracks in the paneling with joint compound and primed with latez primer/sealer (Zinnser or Kilz) before applying venetian plaster. There is probably at least 3 coats of plaster on there. It is flat but when burnished it has a sheen. Pickling or whitewash is achieved when you brush on and wipe off latex paint mixed with water, so that the grain of the wood still shows through. You can look it up online.

I would not only paint the wood paneling, I would upgrade the flat panel doors with applied moulding and paint those to match the paneling. Below is a video of how to add moulding to a door.
http://www.ronhazelton.com/projects/how_to_make_a_flat_door_into_a_panel_door

ritagirl...how much of this panelling exists in the home? Many of us are dying to know how big of a project this is going to be.

Personally I think you would do very well with a paint (with all the necessary preparation work) because you have two different wall surfaces and there is a difference in thickness between the textured plaster and the panelling.

Pickling (white washing) wood that is this dark can be a difficult process (the colour of the wood will show through) but painting (solid colour that covers the wood) would do very well. What you do to the walls you would do to the doors as well or your are going to get a rather odd look.

I would love to see a light gray on the wood and the doors/door trim in white...but the red floors would make this rather weird colour combination...there are other colours out there other than gray so chatting with a colour expert would be a great place to start.

I agree the wood is too dark to pickle. Just paint it.

BTW...I agree with everyone that painting "white" will look best. But, it also depends how big a project you want to start! If the entire house has the knotty pine (and you may like knotty pine) there are other ways to brighten.

Just this hallway has the knotty pine. I'm loving all of your suggestions! Keep them coming! Thank you. I will be painting it white.

I think that will do the trick. Add a bright striped runner (stripes from side to side), take down all wall hangings (decorative anyway). I think you will be amazed at how bright it becomes.

My mother-in-law has the same knotty pine in her cottage. What she did was use citrus strip to remove the old 1930s varnish that had turned the wood that dark nasty orange over the years and then she "pickled" because she wanted the drift wood look. This look is not meant to be perfectly white because you still want to see the character of the wood. (See the example pictures)

Also see that great textured plaster! Makes you wonder what were they thinking back in the day. That stuff is impossible to remove just paint over it without the gloss paint. I'd go flat or eggshell finish at best. BM Carribean is a beautiful color and might go with your other room. Paint the exterior door solid white or the same color as your other room (looks like Aqua maybe?) but either way get rid of those two green squares. I agree with take down all the knick knacks keep maybe one larger picture on the wall. Add a runner to the floor and find somewhere else for the shoes (closet?). It will be beautiful just like the magazines. Lots of elbow grease but not very expensive. Maybe $300.00 the runner would be the pricey part.

Be careful with everyone telling you to "just paint in white" because you may end up with the opposite problem of it being a big void as opposed to the current dark tunnel. Look at lots of pictures online and at your hardware store to get ideas before you waste your time and money. Good Luck!!!

Runner idea

I recently replaced all the interior dated wood tone doors in my home with new 6 panel white ones; the budget friendly hollow core ones were only $65/a piece but there are many design options to choose from. Also, I held onto my knotty pine trim for years, but my husband finally convinced me to paint it a bright white semi-gloss and I love it. If you go the white paneling/door/trim route, you'll have a lot more options for paint color

The space is too narrowed and dark. I wood take off the wood panelling and paint it white with large horizontal stripes light grey or beige...