I love your house! I don't think you need a bit of help!

Since you like Linen White better than the stain, I would stick with it (sort of like the private rooms' delimiter on the first floor).

Love the desk. Not crazy about the chair, but it looks like a chair a DH would want, so use it. A throw and a pillow can change the look if you'd like.

I should disqualify myself on discussions of red. I strongly dislike it in all forms at all times. With that as disclaimer, I think you should stay with the tones you currently have.

You seem to have all options open ... But before we talk paint specifics .... what will be on the floor? That is where I think you will take your cue?

I love love your house.

I agree, you're doing a fine job so far and I love your kitchen. You may want to try to wipe down some of the wood with mineral oil and see if it changes the tone. It did for me as there were so many years of dirt on the wood.
I have no problem with different tones of wood . From a practical point of view, wood is much easier to maintain than painted wood.

I like the idea of painted trim and painted built-ins with the mantelpiece left stained. The wood tone would tie in with your desk. As for wall paint colors, I think red sort of defeats the purpose of painting all the woodwork to lighten it up. If you want red walls, I might change my vote to refinishing the wood trim.

Thanks Mtnrdredux, I appreciate the compliment! The problem is, the other rooms just immediately came to me based on their features and the pieces I had with which to work. I might have struggled over the exact wall hue or which accent fabric, but I knew what direction I wanted. This study is in pretty bad shape, and it's mostly for my husband, and we're reworking some big elements in the room, so I have too many choices!

As far as the floor covering, that is up in the air also. The current rug is a nice old wool Wilton I really like with black and soft blue and salmon, but I could use it in two other rooms as well. I would love to pick the rug first and use that as the jumping off point, but nothing has spoken to me yet! I'm constantly searching CL and eBay, though, so maybe soon.

Yayagal, do you mean mineral spirits, or did you really use mineral oil? I tested the finish with denatured alcohol to see if it's shellac, and I'm still uncertain. But a thorough cleaning is a good idea. The ceiling and windows were filthy from years of nicotine, so that could certainly be a factor with the original trim.

I've been searching for some inspiration pics of wood mantels and white trim, but I can't find many. Here are two from Houzz:

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[Eclectic Living Room[(https://www.houzz.com/photos/eclectic-living-room-ideas-phbr1-bp~t_718~s_2104) by Chicago Kitchen And Bath Rebekah Zaveloff

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[Traditional Family Room[(https://www.houzz.com/photos/traditional-family-room-ideas-phbr1-bp~t_720~s_2107) by Cambridge Architect LDa Architecture & Interiors

I like that they are both vintage mantels in a more transitional decor. My mantel actually looks a lot like the second photo. It feels somehow appropriate that the mantel stand out from the trimwork in these cases. But neither one has bookcases or built ins surrounding it. Would that change the balance somehow? And they both feature light color walls which helps the trim blend away a bit. How would the overall look change if I did a deeper wall color, white bookcases, and my oak mantel? Too busy?

Beautiful home and you've done a great job so far. I would go with a deep rich forest green for the walls. Or how about a bright navy? I love jewel tones and they work so well with the dark furniture.

It looks like an oriental style rug on the floor...any color you can pull out of there for the walls?

Equest, seems to me that the study trim already being painted gives you some freedom. If you paint now, it's not a "forever" decision the way painting original wood trim might seem. You can go the "easy" way and hopefully be very pleased, and eventually convert to wood if you decide you want it later on.

As for color, if you paint the trim, you might consider choosing a color to blend with the walls, rather than contrast. The door to the guest room will be closed almost all the time, anyway, relegating it to the back of the house, so colors in there need not affect your decisions for the study. The kitchen is a "back" room and traditionally need not be affected by, or affect, the front room choices.

So, for example, if you painted the red you liked, intending a red, gold, and green scheme, you could do the trim in a medium to deep gold. That way its value would harmonize with both the red and the old wood and not jump out as so different.

Wow...... I'm so jealous. I got nothing.

Fun2Bhere, I'm ambivalent about the red walls. Red is really the only color my DH expresses a preference for, but he lets me do just about anything I want. So I know he would like red, but he's so easy to please, he would probably like another color, too! Here is the Mayflower Red I used in the last house:

I don't know what color the trim is in the old house; it was the original color. But it gives you an idea of the shade of red with white trim. It is a warm red, but it has a LRV of 15.69, which is pretty deep. I also wonder if the south and west exposure might make it feel really hot.

Annie, I've thought about a blue for the walls. I've had a BM Philipsburg Blue chip taped up for months. The rug has black, light blue-gray, and salmon in it, so a blue would definitely work. I also have dark blue, almost navy, drapery panels that would work. I'm not a fan of dark green, and the living and dining rooms are both a grayed green, so I'm probably leaning away from green for the study.

Rosie, I hadn't thought of a color other than white for the trim. That gives me something to mull over, but it would introduce a third trim color to the downstairs and I'm not sure how I feel about that. I may do something like that in a bedroom upstairs that has all wood walls and ceiling. I've sanded it all down and may do a whitewash to leave the grain showing but paint the trim something interesting.

But you have a good point about the study trim already being painted. I don't have to be the guilty party who defaced the stained wood!