I definitely heart this, so lucky to have all those stools that go with it. Get your sofa down there first then pick paint color.

It should say re-cover it. My sister says we can change out the avocado for something else.

Changing the green stool tops and bar top out is not a DIY project. I would leave it for a professional. I am a big DIYer and also sew and I would not tackle it. It is a cool bar though, but I understand it is not your taste. My game room came with a green fireplace hearth and green covered pool table and the color green (except for money and plants) is one of my least favorite colors. I choose to embrace it instead of $$ I would paint the walls and install new floors, bring down your furniture and see how it looks from there. You just might like it.

Is the green leather or vinyl. Leather can be recolored. Not vinyl. These best part of this is the bar design. The bar is MCM whereas the walls are country/lake house. I would consider painting the pine paneling or going over the paneling with drywall. A Dark charcoal stain or wash could allow you to keep the upholstery color.

Very groovy. I'll have a Tom Collins, please!

If you find a heavy fabric you love, it's worth trying to recover the stools. A professional job is obviously more durable but I've done a few chairs myself and they've held up. I leave the original fabric on but apply a thin piece of batting in between the old and new.

Option 2: pop the tops off the stools and replace with wood, stain medium brown or go for that driftwood look. Somehow I find upholstered stools uncomfortable, like I have to fight from sliding off them but maybe that's just the beer...

Yes to painting the paneling! I'd do the walls in Simply White and maybe light grey for the bar.

The avocado though, tricky. Can it be removed and replaced with wood too? I can't quite tell from the picture what purpose it serves. Is it an elbow rest? A decorative trim? Worst case scenario, wrap it in a neutral light grey vinyl and paint the bar paneling the same colour and hopefully it will just blend in!

That's awesome.

Thanks for all the replies- I'll try to respond:
Yes, it's an elbow rest. It can't really be removed or converted, but I think it could be re-covered.

I like the charcoal color (how did you do that?) but it's in a dark corner of the basement, so I worry that will make it even darker than the paneling already does.

I love Tom Collinses, and will be making them as soon as the bar is open!

I thought it was knotty pine but inspector told me he thinks it's actually stained oak. That doesn't make sense to me either...

I wouldn't attempt to cover them myself but my sister is really a pro at this kind of stuff, so I'm confident she could do it.

It will look a lot different without all the kitsch on the walls. With the right wall art you might like the bar as is.

Take a pic after you remove the stuff on the walls? Is the bar top copper?

Oh, and keep the lights, and take the cannolis.

sugcheshtons, .?

You could check in your area for some one who does car upholstery and pick another vinyl color that would look better with your furniture....but honestly,if it's in good shape I would keep it. I think it's really cool.

Maybe you could paint the wood walls in the rest of the room but I wouldn't paint behind the bar....it would lose its whole "look" and that is not oak.

That’s knotty pine (inexpensive), not oak. Pick your wall colour, then decide which upholstery colour works best.

The paneling is pine, not oak. It can be professionally painted.
If the bar edging is screwed on, you can remove it in one or two sections and take it and the seats to an upholstery shop for recovering.

I like the suggestion to cover walls with drywall. Around here, it seems that recently knotty pine became desirable and hard to obtain. The look reminds me of Elvis Presley home, don't know why!

I think the reason the inspector said that is that it is SUPER thick and heavy.
The top of the bar is a really shiny wood.
The basement is having some waterproofing done and is really torn up but I will update with a pic with their stuff removed asap.
Terry, I like the way you think. I have older teenagers- I may wait until they are legal to present those messages.

I've tried to update the original post to say pine, but can't seem to edit it. If anyone knows how, let me know.

If it's knotty Pine don't paint it!

Paint it all, it's just pine and pleather. The pine you need to use shellac primer on- once that is done you will have a better idea of what direction you want to go. We had a tan vinyl bar at my office (business was conducted differently in the 70's I guess) We ended up painting it white as a temporary measure. Two years later it looks perfect, no one believes it just paint. I will have to find out what kind of paint was used.

Had that in a former basement, its knotty pine. Its old wide plank knotty pine.

You would be worlds ahead getting a white wash or having a professional tackle this. Pine is notorious for bleeding through and your paint job will thus turn colors as the sap bleeds into the paint.

It all depends on whether you like the vintage look, or not.

I would paint it, before I would drywall over it. Much cheaper.

Frankly, I think it's cool. Very Mad Men/suburbia. People used to entertain more at home back then. There weren't Olive Gardens and Applebees on every corner.....

I would probably store the stools and get some of these vintage ones instead....more comfortable

Yes to shellac primer and yes to light colored paint.

Ellsworth, did you ever figure out what paint you used?

Thanks for the ideas, folks. I think I am going to treat this space as separate from the rest of the room (it's at the far end of the room) so I don't have to worry so much about blending it into the rest of the room exactly. I'll keep the avocado for now and paint the pine, probably a darker accent color behind and under the bar, while the walls in the rest of the room will be much lighter. I'll try to remember to post a pic when I'm done!

With the new LED lighting it would not be difficult to run LED pots in that area and LED tape light under the bar to make it wow. That’s something you or an electrician can do - if you are handy. Get the lighting updated before you pick your colors. Nothing is worse than a dark basement even if it is Mad Man glam. I think you have a great space with lots of possibilities. I think the avocado green can go if you choose your colors wisely. Best of luck and keep us posted, before and after are the the best!

Came across this post.

I like that ^^^ thank you!

Re the paint it was an acrylic paint with an elastomeric additive. Still waiting on the brand ( my tenant handled it not me)