I would go for LARGE tiles of stone. 24x12 the smallest

Check this out - hmmm, apparently I don't know how to embed code: https://www.houzz.com/photos/angus-residence-eclectic-staircase-vancouver-phvw-vp~1595334-Residence-eclectic-staircase-vancouver

First, buy a large light plain rugto put under the couches. The floor is way too busy and dark and looks muddy with the walls. Then get a couple of colorful light pillows for the couches ,then add filmy white curtains to the sides of the windows, then lower you art over the console. You need more contrast and light.

Or maybe you go for a totally different look. Check out this painted timber frame b

http://sothebysrealty.ca/en/property/british-columbia/sunshine-coast-real-estate/pender-harbour/65001/

We all agree the floors need to go. But until, a large, light colored, with little or no pattern rug. If you have carpet in your home, match it, buy carpet and have the edges bound. That will tie the rooms together. When you can, change out all the railings to something a little more substantial, they look a little weak for that style home. Throws and pillows can add color and brighten up your furniture until you decide on new. Paint the kitchen cabinets and the french doors your favorite color, that's where you will be most of the time, so enjoy it. Are there any painted walls in your home? If not, do you really want to start painting? IF you really have to paint walls, start in a bathroom or other small space and only the bead-board please. Not the ceilings or that beautiful paneling and wood trim. MORE pictures please as you get moved in.

I would suggest perhaps floating cork plank for the flooring. I can't say enough good things about it. So easy to put in, and so many benefits. I would also suggest looking at Tiny Texas Houses' website. They work with all reclaimed wood, and it might give you some ideas of how to mix colors and materials should you decide to bring some color in.

After getting a better look at the floor in the 2nd set of pictures, I like it---but I think a light rug would help lighten it up and give you a break. The one thing you might consider painting are the spindle railing between kitchen and living area---and figure out a better place for the TV---seems to be blocking a window in the one picture. I think I would go for a dramatic but light colored picture on the wall besides the stairs to break up the wood space---with the wood frames---esp. if you get a wrapped canvas picture. Suggest Kirkland as they often have great deals on large scale art work.

I wouldn't touch the wood, except with stain. Let your furniture and art tell the story against a wooded background.

Use bright pastels like turquoise, pea green and lavender, or beige, white and taupe, or orange, pink and purple for a mod pop. Don't mess with the wood. Only stain it. Even lighten it to a bleach look, you can always re-stain, but no paint. Spindles are ok...but could be darken for a contrast. Or, left alone. Oh yes, and interesting rugs, paintings, and light fixtures. Please show the after pictures!

The room looks marvelous!!! I agree that a light colored rug, some lighter throw pillows would brighten up the room. Take your time on doing a floor change, go with something that really "talks" to you and enhances the room. Golly, I just looked again to see the art and photo placements, the planter, etc. and those rooms look so welcoming. Great job.

I personally love all if it! Furniture and all. Nice rug and you are set!

This is a room that had wood paneling, 80s style floor to ceiling & where we used the paneling to subdivide the dado section of wall that was painted, trimmed & finished. The upper portion or field was original plaster that was skim coated and painted.

I'd paint the knotty pine on the ceiling white. Maybe paint the stairs a dark gray or black but not until you've lived with the white ceiling a while. Keep the paneling as is. It's gorgeous.

So many ideas to think about. Like many others I think the floor and the railing on the stairs are a good start. The railing, as already mentioned, needs to be more substantial and permanent looking. A modern very simple iron railing without any curves or curly elements would be nice and grounded.

Never replace wood. Work with what you have. Craftsmanship behind your wood is far more valuable than tearing everything apart and replacing it with drywall. In the pictures you've provided The floor could use updating. It would also be less invasive of a project. I hesitate to recommend painting, not one of my favorites, however painting the wood would change the room dramatically. Technique of whitewashing where you cover the wood with a transparent white finish works well to lighten up rooms or ceilings. Look for pictures of cottages for examples.

Painted wood can be beautiful! Don't whitewash it. What, are we back in the mid 80's? I'd stay away from stark white on the ceiling. An off white with just a touch of brown will make the walls look even better. I'm partial to Benjamin Moore's "Swiss Coffee". Of course, I could be wrong! Good luck!

I would definitely NOT touch the wood until you live with it a bit. But would absolutely replace the floors...with maybe something cream colored? Carpet or tile? The wood is beautiful and because it's a light color as opposed to dark stain, it is neutral and not dark and depressing.

The wood is amazing and I agree with others' comments that you have some good quality finishings in this home! However, it really needs a lot of thoughtful changes. First off, I would get a very wonderful, fairly bright large area rug that you fall in love with and take your color cues from that.. It seems you really like traditional furniture; however, the overall feeling in this space is very outdated and dark...almost like living in a 200 year old hobbit house or cave, even though the space is large. I feel you need some new furniture- traditional, since that is obviously your preference, but updated traditional. The space needs some brightening up, bright throw pillows, throw blankets, there are lots of easy fixes that won't cost a lot.

What attracted you to this house? Did you love the wood or love the house (layout etc)? I've lived in two log homes and one lake home that had as much wood as yours does. I thought I could live in them but I soon tired off all the wood. I'd leave the ceiling, paint/dry wall + paint the walls and replace the floor and stair railing. I found that much wood depressing.

I would just add some contrasting colors/stains. like many have said on railing, paint spindles white or black so its not wood on wood. On the floors I would paint them, darker in rooms with a lot of light & darker where there is little. think it will make a big difference. Bring in your furniture before doing anything to get better idea on what colors or shades. good luck

The wood looks nice, I would change the floor to something less busy.

Yes, radharani108. It does look so nice. AND restful. In my mind, I can see how easily it would be to change the decor to reflect the seasons with accessories. And right now (4 degrees at noon), I want to walk into that calming room with all its' warm wood, a cozy throw, a good book, and the wood burner to snuggle in.

I agree with other posters that you should try a large light colored rug instead of messing with that gorgeous wood!

The key to this problem is 'Balance'. In this room, there is no room for the eye to rest. The home appears to have been designed with wood in mind and provides a detail that not many homeowners have. Balance the wood with sheet rock by selecting a couple wood-clad feature areas that you find attractive and paint or replace the rest with sheetrock in order to highlight and enhance the remaining wood.

Oh my, so much advice. I'll put one more vote in the camp of a new floor. Stone would be beautiful, but might not be practical. If you were to change one other thing, I would change the handrail and pickets. They are too traditional and not at all special, compared to the remainder of the house. You could use a modern combination of steel, cables and wood for the handrails. Your furniture needs more contrast with the medium wood tones. Use white-ish or bold colors. Be much bolder with you artwork choices.

Lots of different opinions. After looking at the pic's of the stairway for a long time. I agree- change the floor to a lighter off white or beigey colored flooring, The one suggestion I would make that no one else has made, is the corner that the corner behind the stairway is too dark. It needs brightening. I would paint the molding in that corner a lighter color depending what color floor you choose. Maybe a beige. I think the wood on the side of the stairway is very lovely, It has a softness & richness that would be a shame to paint. It's prettier than the wood on the ceilings. I moved into a house with an accent wall of wood that goes to a peak of a cathedral ceiling. My original thought was to paint it off white like the walls but after living here a while I've learned to love it. I do have some dramatic large bright abstract paintings above my fireplace that soften the impact of such a large area of wood. I really like bright rooms. That's one of the things that bothered me about all your wood but that's my taste & may not be yours. You have to live with it not me. I wish you well.

I like your wood. Floor, yes, go...... I have a vacation home that is wood and have just changed up some of the tones. It is a very calming place to relax. I must say I am a little tired of white on white as shown in most decor books I agree with putting your things in place and living with it.

Having lived in a house with a lot of wood, I would never choose it. Wood wall, floors, stairs, furniture, etc... It was depressing to me. And it does get dirty and is not easy to clean. Just my very unpopular opinion.

I find the walls to be fantastic. I'd leave these alone. The floors and ceilings need to be changed. Use tile for the floors and drywall the ceilings. That would be a start any ways. There are simply to many kinds of wood and they way they were put in.

I live in a forty year old cedar kit home.
Finally painted the walls 3 years ago, myself.
What a huge difference!
Paint.

The wooden walls and ceiling are beautiful and it would be a shame to place a coat of paint over them or replace them with gypsum board. The floor is the only thing I would consider changing though once you placed a carpet on it and furniture in the room it might be fine. I live in a house with wooden walls, floor and ceiling on a lake. No cracking of seams with the change in humidity and no need to repaint.

I would leave the ceilings, get rid of all the veridical stuff and the small stuff everywhere, maybe leave what goes up the stairs, and some of the trim if its nice. Take out the railing completely from down stairs, no reason to have it just cuts things up, replace the stair railing with iron, any color you like, as in natural silver even, you don't have to paint it black or copper might be nice. And the flores must go thats a given. Even if you decide to paint the block paneling I would still work at getting rid of all the small vertical stuff, it doesn't go and it will never look good, its always going to look like an after though and strange to many thing going on, If you got rid of that you may even be able to have wood floors of a wide plank type, I don't know if this house is a colder climate or not some don't like cold tile if it is, I live way south and tile is still cold, I have it Travertine everywhere, wishing I has 1/2 and 1/2 wood like my last house.

Think about faux painting the kitchen cabinets in a nice soft tone you love, they really stand out way to much being stark white, it would be more pleasing and warm. I know lots of on going projects, good luck and would love to see some results.

Or this look.
It is painted wood for a Muskoka or Cape Cod look. Need to prime first then paint. A lot of muscle needed unless you spray it on.

NO! Do NOT replace the wood. The greenest house is the one that is already built. ..and besides wood is beautiful,

Paint. You'll be happier, and your furniture wont look dull.

I think you'd be better off replacing the floor with something light and bright. I'd go with creamy white carpet, personally. And I'd get new furniture. Bring in your color THERE. A bright blue couch, and then vibrant green and bright white touches all over would be so pretty with all that wood. Paint your furniture white (or replace with new white pieces).

I'm not sure where your house is located, but that makes a difference. I have a house built between 1935-36. It is a "post and beam" design - meaning a lot is exposed. The wood is beautiful all these years later. I needed to put an extension on the house. I also wanted to fix some difficulties. This house is on the RI coastline. 70+ feet from the ocean, and the house rises another 38 feet. The interior is all beautiful wood - a bit dark due to the stain used on it 35 years ago. Floors are oak; could use refinishing but they were never stained. So in the addition, some changes were made - and not necessarily good decisions.

Needed insulation - done in new section, blown in. Although I wanted wood walls again in this section, "blue board" or gypsum board as it is also called was put in. Contractor painted it in colors I chose, but I considered this basic - waiting for him to put in the light wood with just stain on it in some sections, and in others darkened to an oak color. The wood covered walls never got put in. Even with insulation and good windows, the blue board is cold - on windy cold nights which are now the norm in RI (70mph, temps in low teens), it is very uncomfortable- cold. In the main house, we have no insulation since it would likely mean taking down all of the wood, replacing the "knob and tube" type, then insulate, then put wood back.

I say all of this because the rooms with all of the wood at least are more comfortable with the wood absorbing some of the warmth from the heating system. Plaster walls are cold. I would leave the walls wood. Maybe a change in trim color would help. If you remove the floor, which does seem very busy, tile is nice but a couple of cautions there. Use tile that has a slightly rough surface. I installed some really nice tile, shiny, and we had trouble with it on rainy days - coming into the house with wet shoes - slippery. With other tile with a slightly different rough surface, they were never a problem with slippage, and due to some color variations, they hardly look dirty despite being the main door.

A lot can be done with wood if you like it. Some people like the advantage of having plaster board since they can change the color. Wood as such does not need painting, and gives a warmer feel.

Good luck with the project - it looks like it has a lot of cozy and unique features.

I love all the wood! But it is a bit overwhelming since it covers almost every surface making it the same color. If budget is a problem then paint can do wonders. I like the idea of painting the inlays of the wood paneling a different accent color. Also painting the banister and rails an accent color would be nice as well as the beadboard on the base of the stairs. A lot of people don't like carpet and I'm not a fan, but I do like area rugs and runners. Perhaps a runner for the stairs in a bold pattern and an area rug for the foyer. Hang some art on the walls and presto. But be strategic with your painting, once it's on it's not fun to remove. I also agree with most of the other comments about eventually getting a different floor that's not wood. But I wouldn't paint the ceilings.

change the floors [ very light(wood) or very dark(slate) ] change hand rails to something more sturdy looking [white wood rail if light floor or black metal if dark floor] & dry wall the curve portion of stairway with white paint-----if u change your mind about the wall [ which u wont ] it should not be that hard to remove-------i had a home with too much wood & choose some walls to drywall with white paint years ago------i'm still personally happy with that decision

definitely replace the floor. Maybe give the rest of it a paint job.

I think you should replace flooring first and then have a paint for your home. And your home will have a great look..

I am so glad you are keeping the wood. It is absolutely stunning. STUNNING!!! What is "dark" to some, is "fabulous" and "warm" to others. I love that you posted the photos of your furniture in the space. The pictures on that wall really just make it. I looooooove your house!

I do agree with everyone about the floor. I have found that reds work very well with wood. (Not necessarily bright red, but more of a natural red). I'm not sure what kind of material you are thinking about for the floor but if tile, then that deep red clay tile always looks nice. Red rugs look great in wood rooms too.

If you aren't a fan of red tones, then I think either a dark or a light floor would look fine. If you have large sheets or blankets that are similar to the colors you are considering for your floors, you could lay them down on the floor (temporarily of course) just to get a feel for how the color impacts the space.

If you ended up choosing something that you didn't like, there are always area rugs! :)

Sensationally fabulous house!

Thanks for sharing the pics of it being YOUR HOME now with your furnishings. What a beautiful place....I hope you are happy....happier, maybe! I have to agree with the suggestions that say to try a large area rug before ripping anything off the floor. And maybe try an ottoman that is not a wooden coffee table to keep from adding that wood to the space, too.

I'm not sure what theme or style you're going for so it's a bit hard to nail down the right answers...

I have a few suggestions:

1) Color: introducing cooler tones (blues/greys/off white) will take the yellow/orange pine wood edge off and give it a more updated appearance

2) Your panelling is gorgeous, keep it and paint over it! You will still be able to view the dimension and texture from the panelling but that area won't look overwhelmed with all wood. It will look classic.

3) I would also paint your stair rail and the risers of your staircase to visually get rid of all that wood

4) I would paint the curved wall area the same color as the panelling

OR I would install the appropriate size of ledge stone that would be able to work with the gentle curve; click on the link below to view the stone

I would also suggest new flooring :)

If you're on a budget you could thoroughly sand and paint the floors, otherwise a lighter stone would look great. I agree with the majority of the posts on not installing gyproc! If you really dislike the wood (and I personally like it) I'd start painting it a little at a time until you reach a balance you like. But yes, start with the floors! That will cut down the busyness considerably! And if you do happen to paint the handrail a different color from the spindles it's a whole lot easier to cut in spindles to handrail than handrail to spindles! (although this doesn't sound like a DIY, so I suppose your painter would know that.)

Hi. beautiful home. I feel that there are two levels of craftsmanship in the woodwork. The panel/ moulding walls versus the tounge and groove pine on the curved wall. Paint or drywall that curve ( I vote drywall) then take stock. I agree that the downstairs railing should go. It's superfluous. How you proceed depends on how you use it and where it is. lakeside? more wood, inner city? more paint. lots of guests? wood hides dirt. face north? white paint. face south? more wood. The spindles should be lighter or heavier. Glass could modernise it or paint could minimise it. The floors will be a huge investment. If it is real wood it can be painted with floor paint. It's surprisingly durable and I like the wear marks in a country setting. good luck!