I really like it as is, but if I had to choose something to be painted, it would only be the fireplace. I think dining rooms are flexible for color sometimes. They don't have all the color that a living room would because there isn't a lot of fabric. Do you favor any particular color? Does this roomopen to another room? I think a cream or beige or muted green color might be nice. I think white may be too cold to go with the wood.

What about a colored stain? It would give you a fresh look and still show the wood grain. Warm grays are super hot right now; you could do several shades to add the definition you need to break up the space.

I apologize for the bad grammar here too! Posting via smartphone is not so smart! A new rectangular and more formal antique table replaces he round one here.

I am not totally opposed to painting the walls or staining a different shade, but am torn by the ever daunting dilemma of never being able to "un-paint" them and of being the one to make this change in a historic home that has had several owners before. At least that is how my his and and contractor guilted me into keeping them years ago.

We will definitely paint the brick in the fireplace. I am leaning toward gray. But I am very bad at this sort of thing and am frozen with indecision. A few friends have mentioned antique white and another says beige tan. Help!

Why not make a new thin "cover" to tack into place that you can paint to your heart's desire, but remove if you grow tired of it? I am sure someone could come up with something like that for you.

I Love the idea of staining gray!! Maybe lighter color on the walls and a darker shade on the trim and fireplace?

Do the other rooms have this pine? There is a lot of different wood colors going on, with the table, walls and floor. A formal table with rustic pine is hard to work with. I would be inclined to paint the paneling. Not sure it matters about the generations that came before you as it's your house now.

I too like the room as is, but I'd like to see it warmed up with red fabric and accessories. Some black would also look good...maybe in a new chandy.

There sure is a lot of timber happening there, but certainly understandable if it is an historic home. If you do paint the panelling then you have to look at the doors too, they have a very rustic style to them that I think would look odd painted. This is a major problem with historic homes, trying to give them a quick fix modern look often looks worse. Give all your timber a good oil. Use steel wool to rub it into the grain and it will come up really rich, you will be quite amazed at the result. It is quite quick to do and not a hard job at all. The steel wool will also help remove any built up grime that often can't be easily seen.

How would you feel about painting your ceiling? I'm thinking a nice seafoam/green colour. It will make the room look more cosy and intimate. I do agree with painting the brick in the fireplace though - are there paints that would withstand the heat? Unless you went for a charcoal colour, I think I would prefer a rich chocolate.

Also, would a more contemporary rug lift the room?

nliddon: Rather than lighter gray on the walls and darker gray on the fireplace I would do the reverse so that the walls become background and the fireplace becomes foreground. Additionally, the room will be more calm and restful with the darker color on the walls. Stain the crown the same as the fireplace and paint the ceiling a warm pale beige, like Benjamin Moore's Revere Pewter (or a slightly lighter shade if this feels too dark for you), to offset any coolness the gray might have in the undertones.

If it were my home (which it is not), I would not paint the walls, but I would paint the brick in the fireplace or cover the brick with some other material. I would find a very large painting to hang above fireplace that fits the space. That would cover some of the wood and break it up a bit. Also, where the secretary was, do you plan on putting anything else there in it's place? That will also break some of the wall up. If you put a buffet or a loveseat or something there, you could hang a large mirror above it. I would replace the chandy and paint the ceiling an interesting color as well. Can you show us a pic of your new table and chairs?

I know it's not a dining room image, but here's one from Houzz ( search knotty pine panelingideas )
that shows what just having some lighter colors does to the room, particularly with the fireplace

The cream colored fireplace photo looks good, and I agree about changing the fireplace color. I also think a cream colored table cloth would help. I agree that adding a large painting over the fireplace would be good, and I would consider adding some smaller ones on the adjacent wall too. The mirror is not quite large enough for that space over the fireplace, but a larger mirror, perhaps, circular might be nice. I am not wild about the grey stain idea. The wood already gives the room a lot of grey tone and I don't see any windows in the photos. I think some lightening/brightening up would help. I would even consider painting the doors the same cream color and possibly the crown molding and the baseboards as well. A few well chosen and more colorful accessories on the mantle could help a lot, and a small amount of red would be nice.

Get rid of the pine. It's too 90's

Paint all of it. Start with a nice warm wall color. Then add some interest to the mantle by adding molding pieces, then paint it an off white or light cream color. It will look like a whole new room. Crown molding should be the same color as the mantle, or white. Good luck.

The decor dates this. To make it look fresh and modern. Get rid of all the furniture and decor and get something updated and it will look like a new room!

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