I should say that we're flipping it to sell. I wish we had bought it to live in...it's adorable. Thanks for your opinion.

If you are flipping it, definitely do not paint. For old house purist, the untouched wood will give it value. Also, don't paint all the walls gray. Trying to update timeless to 2017, which will be dated in 10 years is not going to help increase the value. Fix it up with respect to its craftsman style.

Cool house! I agree, don't paint that wood! Freshen the walls with paint.

Please do not paint! If I were in the market for a Craftsman style home, which I love, I would not buy one if someone painted over that beautiful wood!

I would definitely not paint the wood, perhaps brighten it up by removing the shutters over the two windows

Wow! Such beautiful woodwork! I wouldn't paint it. Perhaps incorporate some period lighting and paint the walls. I would love to see what you decide to do!

Please don't paint!

Beautiful light fixture, too! Please don't paint woodwork!

Another vote for not painting.

After you take off the shutters, if there isn't stained glass there, find or commission matching pieces for those windows.

Also, what is the white in the cabinet doors next to the fireplace?

Beautiful woodwork, nice colours for walls

I would compromise. Take the shutters off. Paint the windows and window casing. Paint the wood below the staircase left side. Choose craftsman colors. Paint inside of fireplace dark.

Since you are going to sell this home, don't paint the woodwork. I was such a wood purist, but if you were going to live here then do what pleases your eye. Over the years I have refinished furniture and woodwork to its natural beauty. Now I am painting everything. Some day someone will be grumbling that why in the world was this beautiful wood painted! And so it goes...

If I were buying and walked in to discover all the wood painted, I'd walk right back out. Don't paint!

Please don't paint it!! Take those wood shutters off of windows and repaint a fresh color to complement the wood tones

Looking again, it looks like mahogany and it is getting harder and harder to get

Right now you have amazing woodwork that people seek out and shows off the craftsmanship of the house.

If you paint it, it might as well be cheap MDF junk that's in every McMansion in every suburb in the country with a coat of paint slapped on it.

Leave it as is and it will sell faster and for more money.

NO paint !!!

In Almost 100 years No One painted. It would be a major mistake for you to do it. Why would you even think about it? The wood is beautiful.

Why would you buy a craftsman house and paint the woodwork? This will devalue it. Try washing the woodwork. You may be pleasantly surprised by the results. In Michigan, home buyers pay a premium for craftsman homes with all its original and intact woodwork. Congratulations on your home purchase.

A side note, In Michigan if that woodwork were painted and someone wanted to strip it and restore it, the cost would be over $10,000 for just the first floor.

if you're buying a home to flip it why do you care if it's too dark? I hate when amateurs watch HGTV and think this makes them experts at home renovations.

You could go either way on this one. But, we just built a modern craftsman, so I get your drift. Personally, I'd paint!! Then do the walls a light color. It would look great keeping the wood too, just freshen it by painting the walls. SW Comfort Gray is a great color!

Don't touch the wood, paint walls and ceilings in same white colour, retile fireplace and surrounding tiles with a light colour stone or textured tiles. Furnish the house with light colour carpets and soft furnishings and plain blinds, the wood will be less busy if the rest of the house is all light and modern maybe a bit of mid century style.

No painting, it's great the way it is.

No! Remove the shutters and the white curtain behind the windows in the cabinets. Clean the bricks on the fireplace and paint the walls white. If you clean the wood use a wood cleaner, not water.

Another vote for do not paint.

do not paint the wood work. Clean the brick on the fireplace and paint the walls a soft warm color. Do NOT paint the walls gray. You need a paint color with some warmth - I would go with a very soft cream, nothing with too much yellow in it, but definitely a warm cream. White will be too stark with the stained woodwork and gray is too cool in hue and will not accent the wood at all. In this home, with the lighting and wood work stick with the traditional craftsman style.

Don't paint the wood. Paint the walls. Are you going to stage it to sell? Furniture, rug, and art will brighten the room.

I also agree the shutters need to go

Do not paint unless you want to reduce the amount of money you will get for the home. If it were not a craftsman style, the painting questions might be 50/50, but in this case the value is in leaving all the wood unpainted. My guess is that all the wood needs a good, safe cleaning. Do some research before you begin.

Paint those shiny ceilings with flat ceiling paint & the walls a white earthy warm color. Don't change the light fixtures but find glass bells to cover the bulbs.

Most people on here have seen my comments already know... DON"T PAINT!!! LOL. Seriously, your crazy if you did.

Yes! New paint...on the walls and ceilings, NOT on the woodwork

I like to use a light grayish green or grayish blue next to dark woodwork for a lighter version of the traditional colors or perhaps an oatmeal color. If you want a lighter, brighter more modern color, a light, clear aqua look stunning next to dark, reddish tinged woodwork.

Update the space with some additional lighting if you wish to make it brighter. Wall sconces are a great addition in traditional foyers and halls, living rooms and dining rooms and often easier to add than additional ceiling fixtures. For a vintage look, spray paint fixtures with a darker brown metallic paint. Hammered finishes don't require an expert's touch to get a nice looking finish. Whether you find vintage fixtures at a garage sale or cheap fixtures from a big box store, they look expensive and unusual with the right paint job.

For the love of God, DO NOT PAINT THE WOODWORK! Yes, I'm screaming with the caps! The shutters are probably not original and they can be removed. Do not replace any light fixtures, they may be original to the house...that equals more $$$ at closing!

Take off the shutters. I would paint the inside of the built in white where the glass doors are and leave the rest as is. Good luck!

I live in SOCAL the land of get rich flippers with HGTV training. Just the thought of painting that shows the lack of understanding you have in home renovation. Problem with all these flips is they don't show the after effects of these half AS'D repairs and how they effect the new homeowners. They take an average price house put some spit shine on it and fool the new uneducated buyer who loves gray everything. Then the in on it realtor sells them that yes painted countertops are fine just get a home warranty.

When I see that first time flipper show I want to throw something through the TV. LEARN A TRADE before you attempt to renovate a house think about the ew buyer not just your pocket.

Bought flipped house.... Bath vents running and sheet rocked over, outlets and hidden electrical boxes hidden in walls, dish washer faked as if hooked up to drain, carpet over scraped popcorn ceiling removal that was never cleaned up,etc, etc. You have no choice to buy these train wrecks because investors own 25-50 houses and control the market. If there was ever an investigation between the investors, banks and realtors people would be doing jail time.

Anybody look on Zillow for houses in San Diego or LA? Not one shows that a person actually lives in them. Every single house for sale is a staged flip. Give at try.

Thanks to everyone who advised us. This is NOT our first flip, however, it is our first house with historic character. In all honesty, a house down the street also a craftsman house is for sale and they painted the wood. From the pictures it looked nice. However, after seeing it today, it looks tacky and I am sure that this may be one of the many reasons it's been on the market for over 6 mos. I NOW agree with you all and my husband. I wish we had bought it to live in ourselves. I LOVE, LOVE, LOVE the character from the built ins to the wood trim to the doorknobs and stain glass windows. It's going to take a lot of money and hardwork, but by the end it'll be so worth it to preserve it's charm. Thanks again for helping us decide.

I wish I could afford a home like this. Aimee Belote if we were able to change your mind maybe you can change his and make it your home. it always amazes me the number of people that buy old homes and then go about stripping them of their character and making them like every other home out there. can you imagine paying for all that detail now? same thing as buying a brick home and then painting the brick. you can't go back without a major cost and time. if you don't like the wood buy a different home, if you don't like the brick buy a different home. there are a lot to choose from. in a vintage home its the character that demands a good price. a botched rehab isn't something easy to erase.