To me, knotty wood and neo-classic style doesn't quite go together. Paint out all the cabinetry, moulding, window/door trim, and paneling, but leave the parquet floors. Then get a new black fireplace screen to get rid of the brass.

Go for something like this:

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I love your room. For inspiration you should look at photos of how people in the UK or France deal with history-laden houses that have plenty mixed up layers of renovation and upgrades, and it can especially work well to bring a few starkly modern furnishings into the room If you are up for that.

for me the first thing to decide would be whether you want the room to function as your favorite living space, and there fore really want to focus on what you need for that, what you MUST have there, including for pets and family, or if this is where you entertain others In style

ill try to post some photos from Europe to show you simple it can be to have a room like this serve either purpose

personally, painting out the history is not what i would want to live with but is your space

It certainly does look like an English country estate’s library. This one isn’t in England but in the New York Hudson Valley. Very handsome, although the curtains can go.

The colors in the "traditional living room" in one of your ideabooks would be good in this room with the fancy pine panelling. Add some eclectic coffee tables and transitional lamps. The light rugs in your ideabooks will go well, too.

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You need to figure out how to make the pine work with the floors and style of the moldings/room or no amount of decorating can help. You might be able to stain the walls a very dark walnut color, which would work better with the floors and minimize the knotty look. If you don't want to go darker, I'd paint it all white. Even if you get some of the knots bleeding through, it's a better look than whitewashed pine for the room. If it was my space, I'd use a darker stain on the ceiling trim and whole fireplace wall, and then paint the other wood walls, like the area between the French doors, a solid white.

Hi Candice-

Your living room is lovely!

Wood with knots can be painted if it is sufficiently prepared. I have done it myself, back in my salad days.

Of course, I have not seen your walls.

It is possible you have consulted with sufficiently experienced painters.

On the other hand, there is absolutely nothing wrong with leaving your walls au naturel, however bare wood walls need to be taken care of periodically with careful dusting in every nook, cranny and crevice, and sometimes polishing or oiling. You do want to figure out if the wood has been finished in any way, and if so in what way.

https://www.nytimes.com/1984/03/11/nyregion/home-clinic-bringing-out-the-best-in-wood-paneling-the-right-steps.html";

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"WHEN wood panels are used on interior walls, they normally do not need painting or refinishing for many years and thus are often thought of as being almost maintenance-free. However, like any other interior surface, wood paneling does get dull and dirty-looking in time, so it will require periodic cleaning or polishing if you want to keep the panels reasonably fresh-looking and to retain much of the original beauty of the natural wood grain.

Generally speaking, the most important maintenance step is regular cleaning to remove surface dust and grime. If done frequently, this may call for no more than simply dusting with a lint-free cloth while turning and refolding the cloth frequently so a clean surface is continuously exposed. Rubbing with a dirty cloth will simply spread the dirt around. Sometimes it helps to dampen the cloth slightly with a very small amount of lemon oil, since this will help it to catch and hold the dust; or you can use one of the sprays designed for use on dust cloths.

When dusting is no longer enough to restore the original luster of the finish and tone of the wood, a more thorough cleaning will be required. Wood panels should never be scrubbed with water and detergent. Instead, use one of the various spray cleaners sold for use on wood panels, or one of the combination wax- cleaners made for the same purpose. The solvents in these products will soften and partly dissolve grime and dirt on the surface so you can wipe it off with another cloth, but here again make sure you turn and fold the cloth to expose a clean section as soon as it gets dirty on one face (or replace it with a fresh one).

If cleaning with a panel cleaner or polishing wax doesn't seem to help much (it's a good idea to test on a small section first, and to try more than one brand), chances are that you will have to use a solvent to give the surface a more thorough cleaning. For a solvent you can use mineral spirits (paint thinner) or one of the various nonflammable ''dry cleaning'' fluids sold in hardware and houseware stores for cleaning greasy surfaces and fabrics."

I do find the parquet floor to be a bit incongruous with the walls. I would paint the floor before painting the walls.

But you know, you really don't need to paint the floors either.

I don't know how long you have been on Houzz, but if you've been on Houzz long, you would know that I am an advocate of the original hand-made Oriental rug.

There is no decorating idiom that is not enhanced by it, whether traditional, contemporary or modern, casual or formal or in-between.

And yes, a gigantor Oriental is pricey, but most people will not purchase a gigantor for a huge room. A huge rug is exorbitantly expensive, and if not it is likely to have many area s of damage in that large rug. Most people will buy two rugs or even three to cover a very large room.

Remember you don't want the edge of the rug in a walkway, it is a tripping hazard and bad for the rug, too.

Whether you choose a hand-knotted Persian or a Caucasus or woven tribal/nomad is entirely up to you, your tastes and your pocketbook.

Don't plunk down one red cent until you educate yourself.

Read every book about Oriental carpets you can find.

The libraries are still closed, but many of them will let you reserve the book and pick it up at the door.

Many bookstores are open, and oh me, oh my, the joy of second-hand bookstores!

One of my favorite places to go for a date in my youth!!

There are also some websites you can learn from as well.

After you have read everything, then go to Oriental rug stores, and be super-respectful, and honest.

Go when the store is not busy, be nicely but not fancily dressed or bejewejed and look at the rugs and how they are labeled and the prices. It is fine if you bring your reference book.

If an employee comes over and asks if they can help you or what you are looking for,

Say, "I do plan to purchase, but not now, I need to educate myself about carpets first, and as I am just starting out, I have a long way to go. "

(And don't show a photo of your room, that is irrelevant to your education, and the store owner will assume you are a gazillionaire.)

Then ask intelligent questions that you really don't know the answer to.

i.e., here are two Kashans the same size, why is this one $3,000 more than that one?

Or here are two rugs the same size, with a big price disparity, why is that? And just listen to what the employee says.

Not every store has a knowledgable employee.

If you are offered a bottle of water, accept it. These stores may be owned by people of another culture, e.g. middle Eastern, Levantine, Mediteranean, etc and to refuse hospitality etc is a huge insult.

Don't go to one or two stores.

Go to every store in a 60 mile radius.

For real.

As to which type of rug to purchase in which colorways, well that depends on what is important to you and what you already own, but if you look around in most interior decor magazines and blogs even strongly colored Oriental rugs are considered as neutral backgrounds that go with everything.

if you are one that favors the pale pastels, well there are Persians that have those colors too, e.g. Nain.

And you can get excellent modern copies of an Aubusson, although that is not my style at all, I think it is more than a bit fussy looking for most homes these days.

Here are some photos that show more than one Oriental rug in one large room, and they look great.

Don't forget to use rug pads underneath your rugs!

Happy Hunting!

Looks like someone had walnut taste on a knotty pine budget. I think the bones of the room are great, but the white doors look out of place. If you are a great DIYer, prep the knots yourself, and then paint it all white like the doors. Painters are not going to be interested in tackling all the knots; they'll want you to do all the prep and then they'll come in a slap on the final primer coat and the color. If you'd want to tackle it yourself, here's a good link.

https://www.wikihow.com/Stop-Knots-from-Showing-Through-Paint

Another option might be to simply darken the walls to match better with the flooring. Personally, I like to see parquet floors stained or painted black. Makes for a striking look, especially if you do decide to paint the walls white.

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Yes it appears to need the Ralph Lauren English Country House treatment

Start with the rug. It will set the mood for the room

Thank you all so very much for taking the time to comment and offer ideas! I really appreciate it. You’ve all given me so many ideas to work with.