We had the same wood trim. We painted all the trim white and the walls a very very pale gray. The transformation is unbelievable. These aren’t the same areas of the house but you get the idea.

I love it! Thanks for sharing, what a difference!

I think keeping the wood trim would look really nice. You may have to change some of the stains though like the stairs and the doors might be too light. Something like this would be beautiful

Here is a better before / after. Obv we did other work too!

Ooh that’s a lot of wood. Paint crown molding and baseboards the same. Don’t go too grey on your walls as that will clash with the warm tones of your hardwood flooring.

i would leave all the wood, since it appears to be nice wood and in very good condition. Paint your walls alabaster if that is what you like. It will look nice. Personally, I prefer an actual color on walls. Just about any color goes with the wood trim.

Thank you everyone for your input! I really like the photos posted by Mel of the wood trim with the white walls. I did not think about staining and that’s an excellent suggestion that I will look into

Thank you Ikloes for your input about the grey. I was a little worried about it clashing with the wood and I think that’s definitely something to keep in mind.

And amander97 your home is lovely! Thanks for sharing more photos!

This is nice wood, looks high quality. Some woods are nothing special and thus easier to paint them; some are actually begging to be painted.

This is not the case..it might not be museum quality woodwork, but it is still pretty nice one, and to me it adds warmth and character to the house.

I wouldn't paint, not until I have a very good allover plan at least-and I would want to be in the house for that, and "feel" it better.

Even then, I would probably paint crown moulding only, -and not neccerarily white, that would depend on what is the big picture I'm going for.

Every room might need its own color, even if from afar could be described as some sort of "white" -in the big room with TV, you want to mind the stone color. In the powder room, you need to mind floor tile. They won't like anything too stark or "cool" next to them.

The wood is actually the easiest of them all. it will look good with many colors, from whites to saturated tones.

Some warm grays might work-depending on a room. However I wouldn't make it a color of living and entry.

New lights will update the house tremendously, so I'd give consideration to those before all.

I'd move on slowly, bringing in my furnishings, putting together color pallette that I love and that works with the house.

Wood loves vivid colors, so I'd personally have fun there:)

Imagine forest...what doesn't work in a forest, right?

Some woods can be capricious, mostly because they suggest a style..like mahogany, or ebony, or driftwood color.

Your wood is more embracing.

But one can do amazing things in tighter pallettes of whites and darks..don't forget tons of textures if goung for that one.

I know painting is so much easier when the house is empty-but one should be pretty sure then it goes with a big picture he has in mind. And I'd need time to have this picture ready in my head.

You can paint nice creamy white as a background for now, if current colors are in a way of you imagining the space, and working with it, and you consider whites anyway.

Congratulations-it's a very nice home, and I wish you smooth closing process, move in, and fun time making it yours.

Thank you aprilneverends for your very thoughtful input!! I agree with you, it is great quality wood and at this point I think we’ve decided against painting it
Thank you for bringing up lighting! That’s definitely on my list as well, but to your point I wanted to get a better feel for the house and decide on new light fixtures after moving in
My first thought to update the space was paint, because it’s fairly easy and can be done before moving in. At the same time though, you are right and I don’t want to rush into something if I don’t have a complete vision for the house. At this point I think we’re going to start by painting the walls white as you suggested and look into staining the wood before move in as Mel suggested
Then after moving in we can get a better feel for the house
Thanks again for your comment, this was very helpful and we are so excited to move in!!

Oh, of course, only light fixtures might take me several months to decide on them. (ok I'll be honest-would definitely take me several months at least))

No need to hurry tough..the reward will be well worth the waiting with all the planning and sourcing.

You do have a nice canvas here, exciting indeed!

What a lovely home! Don’t paint the wood - it’ll look characterless and generic, and very soon will be dated. Paint the walls a creamy white and consider a darker stain to the wood. Then replace the boob light and the fans with something more minimalistic and current.

Thank you A B! I’ve started looking into light fixtures too :) can’t wait to see how everything comes together!

Men always like wood. It's in the DNA I swear.

That house is too much wood and a compromise is IMO a poor solution.

The problem with the wood in your house is mostly not the wood. It's the contrast between the wood and walls. It makes it visually noisy and closes things in. Your baseboards fade into the floor, so they are fine. And the stairs are fine because they are a feature and should contrast. The crown is too contrast-y. It either needs to be an extension of the wall or an extension of the ceiling (or something only slightly contrasted to one or the other).

So think about whether a particular room would look good painted a deep colour with your stained trim or a light colour with painted trim. Not all the rooms have to be done the same. For example, I'd paint the panelled dining room a deep, moody colour that could stand up to the wood tones and look really rich. But in the rest of the rooms you've shown, I'd paint the crown a consistent light colour.

The main issue with painting wood is that it is a lot of work, and then it's an ongoing maintenance issue. Since you appear to have nice wood, consider carefully which parts really need that investment of time and effort.

Haha Beverly you’re right, it is in their DNA!

Thanks Jennifer, you’re totally right the issue is the contrast between the wood and the walls. I think at this point we’re leaning more towards deep colors with stained trim