What year was the house built? Are the wood panels thick or thin? Look under a light switch to see if they are thin panels or thick wood boards.

The house was built in 1973. The panels are thin.

Thanks for info. I'd take down the panels and paint the walls. Painting the dark trim would be an option. You could develop a new color palette for the whole house if you don't care for the "bright white walls with dark trim" look. https://www.houzz.com/magazine/pick-a-paint-help-how-to-create-a-whole-house-color-palette-stsetivw-vs~13038406

What do you think about the beams, built-in, and fireplace?

Thanks, Hallett &Co.! Do you think we should paint the walls and built-ins or just take them down and replace them with drywall?

I like the visual texture but I can't tell the quality from the photos, that is a decision you will have to make in situ. The built in especially looks questionable,

The quality of the wood paneling is not great. Regardless, my thoughts were to paint both of the walls and the built-ins to keep the texture. I was also hoping it would create a visual affect of higher ceilings. Though I'm not a designer and have no idea if that would actually work. As for ceilings, do we leave the beams and paint them or just remove them entirely?

If you can afford to remove the built ins and walls panels, I would. They are not particularly pleasing and I don't see why their texture would add anything to the room itself. The ceiling beams could be easily painted white if you do not want to remove them. I would not get too caught up in the Tudor look of the house since it has a bit of a faux Tudor vibe to me.

I live in a 1973 Tudor style house. There's nothing Tudor about our interior. When we renovated, we removed all the paneling. We didn't have beams or built-ins but if I were you I'd remove them too, and paint the dark trim. We also had a very similar stone fireplace which we replaced with a gas one, and new surround. We used the stones to build a low decorative retaining wall in our back yard.

Is the black trim painted or stained? The dark beams look like they have a walnut stain, but the black trim looks painted in the photos. I'd paint it all white. In a house that isn't historic, you don't have to live with anyone else's decorating decisions or mistakes. Dark beams overhead are purely a matter of personal preference. Some people find them dominant design features that are gloomy and looming, so they paint them white. They may be purely decorative- it might be worth it to hire a structural engineer for a consultation about removing them. They may be decorative rather than structural.

I'd remove the panelling. If you'd use the built-ins, keep them.

Dark trim/white walls is kind of tudor, and I like it, but you are the one living there. I would keep it so on the stair, but replace the handrails with wood.

The built ins seem very 70s to me and the wood color isn't congruent with the paneling/trim - look into replacing the doors/drawer fronts with a style compatible with the door seen in the other room. I wouldn't hesitate to paint the paneling and the built in if you like the look (I do, and did so to my pine paneling.)

I rarely like the look of fake beams. If you think that they help create a good "persona" to the house, leave them but perhaps paint white or a pale color; otherwise, remove them if you can.

Do you not like the stone fireplace? If not, it could be refaced with tile, or even sheetrock I think. Again decide based on what will fit the house overall.

Also, think about replacing the sliding door with French style doors - I am not sure if that is a 3 season room that it leads to, or an addition; so do you need an exterior type door there?

I'm not a pro, but I think that it would look really pretty if you painted the beams and paneling a slate blue.

@patrim, do you happen to have any before and after photos of your house?

So pretty! I would remove the paneling, extend the hardwood throughout the house. I would keep the entryway floor as is, it is gorgeous! I probably would remove those built-ins, but tough to say as I'm not sure how they relate to the adjoining rooms. But seems like there may be a better place for them?

@apple_pie_order, The trim is stained, not painted. I'm pretty positive the beams are decorative. I might make the decision about painting them white or removing them based the price difference. If we remove them would it make the ceiling feel higher or have less weight? What about the beams in the larger room? That ceiling is a bit higher so I feel like painting them might be better to keep some of the character.

@raee_gw zone 5b-6a Ohio, I like the idea of replacing the handrails for the stairs with wood. I've thought about the idea of painting the risers white. If we did that, what would you recommend for the color of the hand rails? I also see what you mean about the built-ins not being congruent with the wood paneling. I'm hesitant to remove them since we do, indeed, use them. I really like your idea of replacing the drawer and door fronts. I'm not sure what style you mean by the doors in the other rooms. Do you mean the ones with the rectangular shapes on them? Also, where can I find door and drawer fronts? I do think I like the texture of the paneling but I have no idea how it would look/feel if it were painted. Do you happen to have a picture of your painted pine? I like the stone on the fireplace so I think we'll keep those. Do you have any suggestions about a mantel? We would love to do french doors in to the three season porch. Would it matter that one of the doors wouldn't be able to open all the way? The door on the right would bump up against the wall if opened.

@Elaine Ricci, I'm interested in the idea of painting the paneling a slate blue.

I just googled painting wood paneling before and after. I saw these from House Beautiful and thought they looked really cool.

I like the idea of painting the panels and decorating with "boho edgy accents."

https://www.housebeautiful.com/design-inspiration/g2624/wood-paneling-makeovers/?slide=8

I also like this vibe.

https://www.housebeautiful.com/design-inspiration/g2624/wood-paneling-makeovers/?slide=14

Do you think we could pull something like this off?

https://www.housebeautiful.com/design-inspiration/g2624/wood-paneling-makeovers/?slide=6

@megs1030, question about the flooring. We would definitely like to extend the flooring into that wood paneling room but I'm having trouble deciding on the type of flooring. We could extend the existing flooring into the room but the cost would be quite high to find the exact match since what we have is quite unique. I'm open to paying the price for that but my only reservation is that we plan to remodel our kitchen sometime in the next 10 years. I'm guessing we'll replace the flooring with the remodel. With that said, do you think we should pay the higher price to match the current floors or do another type of flooring that we prefer?

The flooring I like now (not sure if it will be the same 10 years from now) is this unfinished oak herringbone look.

I would continue your beautiful wood floors into the other room.

I'm having a little trouble posting pictures. As requested, here is an "after" of my fireplace. I can't find a before picture as our reno was done in 1979, but it was very much like yours. We removed the raised hearth and went mantle-less.

My husband built this little retaining with the stones from the fireplace.

Oops, reno was done in 1997 not 1979.

Thank you for sharing the after pictures, Partim! The fireplace and the retaining area are beautiful!

RE the stairs: if you paint the risers white, then I think it would look nice to repeat that on the railing by having the handrail matching the wood stain, and the balusters painted white. All wood stained will look good too, because the wall below is white. You could go either white or stained with the newel post if the balusters are white (have the newell cap match the hand rail).

I can't really see the mantle well in the pics, but I would wait until you've changed the wall (either painted or removed the paneling) then see how it looks.

A question about the paneling - if it is that 1970s ersatz paneling, which is really thin sheets of veneered plywood with shallow grooves cut to mimic real paneling joints, painting won't help enough to be worth the effort. It will still look cheap. Take it down! If it is real wood paneling though, I would paint with satin paint to give it more of a woodwork finish - that is what I did and I love the look. I will try to get a close up picture in daylight tomorrow if you still need one. I like that shade of blue in the insp pic but think it is too dark for your room. A lighter blue or green could look nice - or paint the paneling a rich white, and put the color on the ceiling.

There are several well rated online makers of doors and drawer fronts - and you might have a cabinet maker locally who can do it too (I did).

Thanks @raee_gw zone 5b-6a Ohio! The paneling definitely seems like the cheap 1970's stuff. I was wondering whether the painting would work well with it or not so your comment really helps. I guess we'll be taking down the paneling and putting in drywall.

I also appreciate your advice on the stairway and railing. Its definitely something we can look in to doing.

I'm still not sure what we should do about the built-ins. We use them but the look isn't great. I wonder if it would be better to take them out completely or just put new drawer and door fronts. The other idea that came up for me was doing something the pictures below where the current built-ins are located. My only concern is that the location is between two doors and there might be a lot of foot traffic behind the chairs. Thoughts?