What look are you going for? Are you trying to move away from the Italian Villa/Tuscanny vibe? That might be a bit difficult if you leave the metalwork on the wine cellar door. Is it removable? There are a lot of colors you can pull from the slate for paint for the cabinets. It would be helpful to know what direction you want to take this area.

I would leave the cabinets as they are, and the stone around the cellar door would already be gone.

Is the current decor yours or the sellers? What does the rest of the room look like?

Here's a more current wrought iron door and light painted walls

6313 · More Info

To me, that wall color is the most dated part of the space. A fresh green paint or fresh cream would make a big difference. Replace the light fixture with a lantern.

The slate and the cherry cabinets are very classic but I can understand being tired of the red tone. A green paint would minimize the red look

I am not a fan of Tuscan style but I like the door and trim, it's well done and I wouldn't change it. Not right away.

If you paint and add a new light fixture and still don't like the space then I would consider other changes.

Those cabinets are beautiful and they seem to work really well with the stone. Wine cellar door is very pretty too. I would smooth and repaint the walls (remove the texture / splotchy look). If it were me I would probably want to remove the stone around the door.

Thanks for all the input. This was our weekend lake house that now has become our full time home. Last year, we did a major renovation of the upper level, with a new, lighter kitchen (more or less a farm house style), a more open design and soft colors on the walls (Cedar Key as the main neutral, with Kentucky Haze (a soft, blue green) in a few of the rooms. The lower level now seems kind of dark and dated. My goal is to get a fresher look in line with the new renovations. I like the idea of a lighter paint color, but there is no natural light in this area so I think it might need a more saturated color. Really like the lantern idea for replacing the ceiling fixture.

Sorry, hit send too soon. I understand the comment about the wine cellar door. Would it help to replace the stone with a simpler wood trim?

If you page through the bar photos on Houzz and add a dozen or so to a new ideabook, it'll be easier to see what you find attractive now, as opposed to when this bar area was last decorated. Changing the lighting and the paint would be easy. Changing out the wall clock and wine poster would give you another opportunity for a new look.

To me the fact that you asked in the door trim is "hokey," tells me that you think it is and it should be removed. I don't like it either. I love the cabinets and don't love the countertop and backsplash, so I would get rid of all of the stone.

I kind of dig the door trim, but there is no reason to not change it if you want to. I would replace the slate, paint the walls, and keep the cabinets. Says the woman with her own slate backsplash and cherry cabinets...