For sure paint the paneling! It will look so much brighter and if you liked the way your cabinets looked painted, you will definitely like the paneling painted. What's nice is if you have the lower wall painted white, you can always go a bit bolder in the wall color. I also think you should paint the mantel if you decide to paint the paneling. Good luck!

Painting the paneling will make your room look much cleaner and more up to date.You're fortunate that your paneling is nicely balanced with the wall. If half or two-thirds of the surface were paneled, it wouldn't work nearly as well. I would definitely paint it, but would use a third color--not the white of the cabinets nor the grasslands of the wall. Maybe a deeper blue-green or dark cream from the rug?

I suggest you paint all the wainscoting before deciding what to do with the fireplace. You may want to stain the mantle darker, or build a heftier mantle, or even paint the brickwork. The room will look quite different when the wainscot is painted, and you may want to go in a direction you can't see yet.

Also, the paneling looks like it has a sheen. You will have to look into what the wood has been finished with, and determine what has to be done to the finish before painting. There could be a lot of prep work required, but even so, I'd definitely encourage you to paint!

It looks like you have some trim issues to figure out as well. (1) How will you treat the wood trim below the windows if you paint the paneling? Can you post a close-up of the molding below the windows? (2) Will you paint the trim around the doorway to the kitchen? Not that you asked--but beefing up that doorway trim would add a lot of appeal! And (3) is the oak trim nice enough that you want to consider leaving the baseboard and chair rail unpainted and just paint the paneling itself? Or are you planning to paint everything that's currently oak?

Okay here is part of the room done in the SW paint program with the Alabaster. For some reason that program makes the walls look blue...but they are Grassland which is a green.

Yes, yes, yes...paint it all; it'll look FABULOUS!

Is the trim in the rest of your house white? If so, I would paint both the trim and the paneling in your (white?) trim color. (It looks like it from glimpses into other rooms.) I would probably also paint the fireplace mantle to match, unless the wood mantle matches other elements in your decor or house. Make certain to do a good job of prep work (probably sanding and priming - maybe experts can chime in) or your paint will not last.

Paint it all -- including the mantel above the fireplace! What a HUGE change that step will make -- thanks to a great virtual inspiration!! :)

Jan at Rosemary Cottage

I agree with pricklypearcactus, paint all trim, paneling and mantel to match the doors and trim in the hallways.

Thank you everyone for your comments. I am still a bit skittish because it will be such a big change with the white but I think we may go for it. It is the only room in the house with the remaining oak wood. The kitchen had oak cabinets and trim and hubby painted them for me December 08. What a change that was and I absolutley love them. (if anyone wants to see before and after pics..it is quite a change) My hubby has now said we either go for it using Alabaster or leave them how they are. We tried different virtual scenarios as I thought the paneling might look good a cream color as still lynksi suggested but it was just all too much with the trim the same color too or too busy with the trim Alabaster and the paneling a different color.

It's nice to have other people's eyes. Thanks again!

It will be fabulous. I helped my daughter do that very thing in her house. We used a cream color rather than white. The upper walls are a soft olive like green (I would tell you the color but it was Oops paint). It turned out great; transformed the room and she gets compliments all the time.

If you are going off-white on the lower walls and trim, I think you need to consider going to a richer color on the upper walls. Your furniture, rug and accessories are all very dark, and I think you will need some richness on the walls to balance that.

Would be good to bring in touches of light in the decorative pillows, perhaps some lighter things mixed in on the art. Put the two brass candlesticks together as a pair, change out to cream candles, and put them on the entertainment center. Leave the chunkier candlesticks on the mantel, but again sitting together. Add a nice vase, empty or with some flowers, maybe a plant in a warm wood planter.

What did you decide? We have this same issue.

Painting it white or some light color will make it stand out more. Do you want that? The other option is to paint the walls a darker color which compliments the oak, which will make it stand out less. Lots less work too, painting the walls. For it not to stand out at all, the wall and oak must be painted similar colors. Right now your blueish (at least on my monitor) color on the upper wall is maximum contrast for both to stand out. I was in the same boat, and decided to paint the walls, because it was easier than doing all the trim. I strongly suggest a medium tone, since light or dark makes more contrast. Or if you paint, a color close to the trim paint color. Google paint colors to go with oak to get some ideas if you're interested.

Here are a couple of my links:

http://www.iheartorganizing.com/2013/04/you-asked-what-wood-you-do.html?utm_source=feedly

http://www.true-design-house.com/blog/2016/3/14/bestpaint-with-honey-oak

all of my trim is oak, all of my doors are oak so could I paint the oak paneling same as the walls and leave the baseboards oak, trim oak color. I don't want to change all the oak... to expensive For now I'm only doing the hallway.