oh oh. i'm afraid i love the honey oak. i think you could easily bring in color and see how much it changes the room before you commit to painting or restaining. it's wonderful that you have cabinets made by your father in law.
mine is gone too and i don't have very much, but it's precious.
maybe some colorful art for the walls? or paint the walls? and if the carpet gets replaced sometime that could be more colorful too. it depends on what you like.

Color! I would leave the corner units as is but paint the walls, wainscoting and ceiling trim out in a soft grey moss green (bm camouflage or florentine plaster). Painting it all out the same will make the room feel bigger and less choppy. Lately I've been loving the layered carpet look which is a great way to nail down a color palette. Pull a darker tone from the carpet and use it on the ceiling. I did this in a bedroom and it created a really intimate, cozy vibe. Leave the wood furniture as is. If you aren't keen on a new carpet, look for some colorful patterned drapery panels to soften the room and pull your palette from. Add some great (larger) pieces of art to fill in the blank spots beside your tall furniture. This is going to be a great room!

What is your preferred style? If it is country, go with otiuminteriors suggestion of painting various shades of cream, green, blue and yellow. If you prefer a more streamlined modern look, paint out your wainscotting and corner units white - high gloss white. You could even paint your dining chairs high gloss white and put a really bold big pattern on the seat cushions. If you want shabby chic - then use the photos below for inspiration - but whatever your decision, be confident and run with it. 90% of the success in any design is having a plan, and sticking with it. I'd go shabby chic with your room, painting out the wood to a beautiful antique white, gorgeous crystal chandelier, paint your chairs, table base and curio the same colour in an antique dove gray (like the one shown on the desk photo below), walls a soft, soft butter cream colour, picking up the yellow in your drapery treatment and/or your seat cushions- (depends upon your dishes set on your table) leave the table top honey oak. Good Luck, send photos

Change the wall color..your room is beautiful, it just needs some color

I feel your pain. This is a hard decision and, if you haven't already, will likely waver 45 more times on paint-or-not-to-paint :-) I am also suffering the same inability to choose and even have gone as far as purchasing my paints and stains... they are sitting in the closet.. on the ready..... until then, I may not be able to give you the direction you need, but I could offer some food for thought.
1) Anything can be undone. It just takes a) time b) elbow grease and c)money.
2) Consider the rest of your home. If you have honey oak paneling everywhere are you prepared to change it all?
3) I am not in the club that believes that all trim, doors, panelings and moldings, doors..etc have to be the same color. Maybe a little change is all that is needed, and just 1 element could/should be refreshed.
4) If you paint, talk to professionals whether oak could absorb the pigments of the paint (its a hard wood so it may not, but ask first). If it could, try a stain sealer so that if you want to go back your wood is still pristine.
5) Paint is versatile and can be changed quickly and easily.
6) Stain keeps the integrity of the wood but is difficult to change.
7) Are you sick of the color or are you sick of the heaviness of the wood and its effect?

Oh, yes, paint all that wood! That much of it is overwhelming! You have good options for using a variety of shades of whatever color you prefer. It's most cohesive to choose a neutral and vary the tones for different aspects. It's a busy room with a lot going on, design-wise.

Those odd wood ceiling panels could become something interesting if you painted them white and the ceiling a darker shade of whatever color you choose. Gray has great versatility and can be either cold, warm, pale or deep.

Once you paint the walls (and that corner cabinet -- there's only one, right?), the rest of that oak may not look like so much of it. However, unless you are wedded to the Early American style, I'd definitely paint those chairs or replace them with something more up-to-date, install an interesting chandelier, and change that free-standing hutch to something with sleek lines. (Or you could paint it some outrageous color like "flaming red" or "royal blue" depending on what colors you like. Look at some of HOUZZ's pics of painted furniture.)

Actually, I rather like the shutters, and they would be the devil to paint, but theywould look better if white, with flanking draperies to dress up the windows.

Good luck! It's a lot of work, but you're going to love it when it's done.

Leave the furniture as is. Paint the wainscoting and trim white. Paint the walls a light shade of blue. Add white cushions for the chairs. Add an area rug with a bit of the blue in it. Add white and navy blue accesories. Good luck!

I think you should leave the oak alone. It is really nicely done. Instead, paint the walls a neutral color or even a very bright white. Replace the light fixture with something simpler and up to date. The carpet should be replaced. I can't tell what flooring is in the foyer. If it is wood, you might have to go with the same wood so the spaces flow together. The real problem is to update the dishes and and other decorative items. You would be amazed how pretty a cabinet can look with simple solid color dishes. You could paint the backs of the cabinets with a pretty color to coordinate with new dishes. Think about an updated Shaker look, but with oak. Sometimes, I think we are too quick to change everything, when just a few changes are needed.

Thank you all so much for your suggestions. The floor in the entry is - you guessed it, honey oak. I have posted two more pictures that show the rest of the room. Our carpet is fairly new so I am thinking of an area rug under it would help anchor the room. I am not really a country or early American fan but bought this furniture 30 years ago and it fit our starter home perfectly. I don't mind a casual look but wouldn't be opposed to french country and replacing some of the pieces (hutch and buffet) and painting some of the pieces too. I welcome any and all suggestions. I like the idea of replacing the dishes - and I am a blue person so that might be a good launching place!

Maybe something in blues and yellows would look nice. I would change out the lighting. Look at Schoolhouse Electric. Maybe something like the Chesapeake would look nice. I am not a fan of rugs on carpet. My least favorite piece is the buffet. Maybe that could be replaced with a colorful buffet that is more like a table rather than a storage piece. Pale yellow walls, and just the right pictures would look nice. I would replace the valance and maybe the blinds with some nice drapes. I think painting the backs of the cabinets would update the look without ruining the original oak. I think the room has a nice balance and a bit of a country French look may be just the right approach.