oh please please don't paint the woodwork! :)
you might consider restoring the ceiling and floors..and perhaps the tile on the fireplace..but that's personal taste. my house is a bit younger than yours, about 1908 and it does seem dark. someone put paneling in the living room which i want to take out and restore the walls someday when i win the lottery. i think the TV is in the wrong place maybe? so you have three large things to look at on one wall--fireplace, mirror and tv. If the mirror is original, leave it :) otherwise, i took mine down because i jsut don't like mirrors and replaced it with art. it looks like a room with a lot of potential--.love the leather!!

i meant to say in my post that the woodwork is stunning! i'm sure you can get good ideas on here. have you done any house research? that might help you decide too.

Someone obviously spent a great deal of time & effort removing the paint from the woodwork of that room prior to your purchase - it would be crazy to paint it again...
...but you have a sofa and loveseat in the exact same color leather as your dark wood paneling, a dark iron table in the center of the room as well as a pair of dark red velvet chairs: It's no wonder the room feels so dark!

I'd get rid of the whole lot and bring in a pair of slipcovered loveseats covered in white cotton duck, a huge seagrass rug, some end tables and ceramic or glass tablelamps. I'd float your sofas facing one another across the coffee table in the center of the room rather than having them pushed against the walls, and move your TV from the wall next to the fireplace to the wall opposite where your sofa is now.

Add some nice big paintings flanking the fireplace, hang some filmy white curtains that puddle on the floor at the window in the corner, some cozy cotton/linen floral pillows on the sofas - and put some 25W bulbs in the overhead lamp and 10W bulbs in the sconces so they're not so bright and oppressive.

Absolutely agree with bepsf. I would definitely not paint the wood but instead incorporate more lighting into the room through the use of floor and table lamps with mirrors or crystal details to help reflect light. I'd also do away with the big heavy-looking dark colored furniture by slipcovering them in a white or off-white. I'd also reconfigure the furniture placement so the TV is relocated to another wall (it's currently fighting with the beautiful fireplace for attention) and place the now slipcovered sofa in front of the loveseat. The red pieces and side table can be placed in front of the fireplace facing into the room creating its own little nook for snuggling/reading by the fire. Finally I'd trade in the coffee table for a more substantial piece with a glass top and the area rug for a slightly smaller one with more visual interest. Goodluck

If you don't want to paint out your wood - change the tile on the fireplace mantle to light bright, maybe mother of pearl tiles. Change out your furniture to lighter brighter creams, soft butter creams to life the room to the lighter side. Pick paint that brings in light - maybe a soft olive green to enhance the wood, or maybe a butter cream just barely there - depends on the scheme. Lots of ways to get it lighter and brighter than painting the wood -but it needs to be a game plan with all the items in the room to make it feel cohesive.

oh noes!!!! i have to disagree! :) Leather and woodwork are classic and they look wonderful. you want to enhance the feel of the room, and leather is perfect. if you change the lighting and a few other things like a different coffee table, and perhaps move the red chairs? your room will be glowing.

I agree with mousemaker. Leather and woodwork are great together! I think the suggestions for rearranging are good ones-love the red chairs with the leather. You could get some great throw pillows (vintage Chinese?British?) for the couches with hints of red and other bright colors to tie the color scheme. Perhaps the wood looks dark because it is very "contrasty" to the white or light walls and floor. How about a great Moroccan or Middle Eastern rug with reds and other bright colors for the middle of the room? You could pick one large piece of art for above the fireplace or on another wall to cozy-up the room. You have a wonderful space!

If it's within your budget at all, a box beam ceiling would look just right in this room.

I also have an old home with lots of woodwork.
Lighter walls will not really lighten the room, they will just make the woodwork fade to black. Midtones to deeper colors work better to pop the woodwork.

I agree that leather and woodwork work well together, but some lighter or more colorful pillows on the sofa would be nice.

Added lighting is crucial. Rather than lightening the room with color, think of the room as a mood and lightening different areas with table and floor lamps, and if necessary, sconces and ceiling lights.

Do Not Paint that beautiful woodwork!. What a sin that would be.

What a beautiful house. The woodwork in your room is wonderful and you simply cannot find anything of that quality these days. Changing up the room and adding lighting will help tremendously. I Can't wait to see pictures of what you decide to do.

Love the woodwork but understand needing to lighten the room...maybe the white walls are too much of a contrast? A soft sage green looks good with wood tones, and then using some of the other suggestions for changing your furniture and lighting would make a huge difference. It is a lovely room.

Love the wood but understand your problem. If this was my room I would get rid of the wooden wall panels on both sides of the fire place. But I would definitely leave and not paint the the rest. I think that if you would get rid of those panels your room would look bigger,brighter and more modern without ruining the "look". I also think those wall panels look more modern then the rest of the wood so that's another reason to get rid rid of them. Btw...big plants would look awesome in this room :) Good luck

I like the mother of pearl glass tile or a unique shaped iridescent tile;(I have a quatrefoil iridescent tile in my kitchen that appears light but has many colors of gold, oyster, grey and purple in it). You could even usein some white carrara marble for the fireplace instead. Then I would paint the walls a light pewter or grey color to pick up on the lighter colors of the tile/marble used on the fireplace. White upholstery and drapes will make it airy also. Use a large sisal run to cover the entire floor, then layer on another carpet, animal print run or a smaller rug with color and some lighter tones in it! I would not pain the woodwork either.

Please do not paint or remove the wood in your historic home!! People who live in historic homes have to look at what they have with different eyes than people who live in newer sheet rock boxes. We have to appreciate the old historic elements as works of art from artisans who are long gone, who had a craft that is nearly impossible to replicate today. We are stewards and must protect.
My dining room has a similar problem. Rich dark wood paneling on the lower half of all walls and on the ceiling. One wall is mirrored, leaving only 3 walls where the top portion can be painted, and two walls have large arched doorways that leave even less wall for paint, and no natural light source (window). I started with a light orange to compliment my blue/white china, but such little painted area, it looked more like an afterthought to contrast with the wood so much. So I decided to embrace the dark, painted the walls a lovely shade of low lustre black, and my dining table and chairs shiny silver. Now the wood walls and ceiling stand out and gleam beautifully, and the walls don't compete but accentuate the wood. I also replaced the brass chandelier with a cheaper one I had that I didn't mind painting black, and future project will be to make it drip with crystals to pick up and reflect any/all light, much as the silver furniture does.

Hello! You have gotten a lot of opinions on this post. I must admit, I do not think that the woodwork should be painted. I also agree with the fact that adding the white to your walls does not necessarily provide your lighting. I think adding ambiance lighting to the space would be a huge benefit. I also think that changing the tile on the fireplace was a great point. Someone also mentioned that sage greens are a great combination with dark wood work, Blue greys are also a fabulous accent to dark wood combinations. I also think that adding a rug would be a huge benefit, a sisal would be beautiful! Light in color is good, but texture is great too! I am not feeling the red chairs, but red chairs on a blue background could be beautiful. I agree with adding colorful pillows to the leather sofas. You could bring in some fun pillow patterns and if the rug was sisal, you would not be competing. I think the first thing that needs to happen is changing your wall color, then bring in your rug detail, then if you are still not feeling it, but you can tell that it is starting to fall into place, think about changing out the fireplace tile detail. Then see how your existing furniture feels with those two to three elements taken care of! You will probably be just fine with the furniture detail! Would love to see photos of your completed room! Have fun with it, it will come together!

Monique

OH NOOOOO...please do not paint the woodwork...it's simply gorgeous. In stead of taking the time to paint, have you thought about stripping it & possibly re-staining? The wood may be a bit lighter and it's become darker due to the aging process. Please whatever you do, please don't paint it. My heart aches when I see beautiful wood painted.

We have an 1870 house, I feel your pain. I would leave the wood since there is so few orginial homes left with the wood still intact. Are you in love with your leather sofas and red chairs? I would soften up the room by changing the furniture to lighter colors and changing the center table. I can't tell what the rug is, but I think by changing the furnishing's you can save the bones of the room. I would not do anything to the fireplace, but add some yellow to the decor to include it in the room.. good luck.

AGain, your getting a lot of opinions on your beautiful home. If you are finding it dark, then you need to take a look at what is in the room. By adding table and floor lamps simply won't cut it. Many factors are at work here, maybe hire a professional to come in and see the space - as a matter of fact, what direction are the windows facing - this will play a huge factor in what colours and tones should be in the room - we all get excited when we see a beautiful space, and I am sure all these comments were made with the best of intentions but the facts remain, it is better to get a professional in to see the space and have them give you their gut reactions there and then, than for us to be spouting off ideas through a photograph. Good luck!