what about the fan, the door, the flooring, the ceiling, the furniture? Painting only the knotty pine isn't going to do a whole lot, other than make the walls look white.

I'll also add that painting those is a lot of work. They all need to be primed w/a good oil base primer (or the knots bleed through) and then a few coats of really good paint.

That includes doing the baseboards. and all of the window trim? Are you up for all of this?

You'll still have the dated ceilings,, the fan from 1985 and the furniture. Actually, leave the panels as is since they work w/the current furnishings.

Frankly, it's not going to matter as far as the sale of the home goes.

If you want to change something, put in a decent light fixture (in both rooms. remove the ceiling fan) and put in LED bulbs. make the rooms as bright as possible. clean well, make the wood floors look oiled, and declutter everything.

That's all you need to do

Thanks, I guess I should have said that the furniture will be gone, the carpet removed and the wood floors refinished. The ceiling is made from plywood panels. The ceiling fan in the bedroom is new as of last year. And, oh, yeah, I'll be paying someone to paint it - I'm much, much too old.

The first room looks find as a den and gets lots of light. The second one is dark and heavy looking. Paint it and leave the other one as is.

The first picture is of the living room. The smaller room is a bedroom, but could be used as a den.

I say leave it. you might get someone that actually likes the pine paneling and won't want it painted. It's a pandoras box once you get started.

I suppose you could paint the one room w/the ceiling light. but do the baseboard and window trim as well.

. it's only a few rooms. There isn't anyone that's NOT going to buy your home because the pine paneling wasn't painted!!

But on the off chance someone says, "I'd buy this home if the paneling was painted, then insert a clause that says they will be painted by closing date". That's why you have a realtor. So they can bargain w/these issues should they come up.

But I bet it won't.

There is more natural light in the living room, and the wood is light in color. The light ceiling and floor also make the room look light. No paint needed.

The bedroom, however, would benefit from paint. At the very least paint the ceiling as below. It will brighten the room. BTW, love the wood floor.

A lot of what realtors say is helpful, but sometimes they want you to make their job easier. New owners may like the natural wood, and if they don't they can paint it.

Leave the walls as they are, even if someone prefers them painted, there are a myriad of ways to finish them and some require an unpainted base. Your home is lovely the way it is- clean it so it sparkles, and let as much natural lght in as possible (completely remove toppers, blinds- anything that blocks any light).

I really HATE it when sellers make permanent no going back "updates" for OTHER PEOPLE.

Once white washed/painted there is no going back. If you are selling IMHO it's not yours to change anymore. If your Realtor can imagine the room painted so can your buyers! #1DD is house hunting and her number one turn off is the crap work flippers are doing coming in and slopping white paint on every wood surface!

I'm going to go against what the others say and suggest painting it. SOOOOO many people can NOT use their imagination when looking at a house. They can't envision what it will look like painted. They will walk in, see the pine, and move on to the next house.

Seriously, this board has designers on it. They can "see" potential etc but the average home buyer can't.

Having said all that depending on where you are the housing market is HOT!! In my area (NH) houses aren't even on the market a day and they are getting $20,000 over asking so you may not need to paint for it to sell quickly.

Put it on the market and if you get no bites in the first week or two then think about painting.

When we purchased our home, the family room had the exact same paneling and it was marketed as " a unique and rare vintage paneled room". So they cleverly made it a feature. I had every intention of painting it. 10 years later and I'm so glad I didn't. I love it now.

If I were a potential buyer and didn't like the knotty pine look, I wouldn't want it painted, I'd want it removed and the walls drywalled. So, leave it and let the buyer change if desired.

Have you signed with this realtor? Their job is to represent your best interest.

Renovations that make homes sell faster and at a higher price most often cost the seller more than they gain at the time of sale. This meets the realtor's best interest, but not necessarily the seller's best interest.

Sometimes it is necessary to make your home exceptionally desirable or price your home lower to compete with other homes on the market. In most markets today homes are selling with multiple offers in a couple of days.

So the real questions are:

1. Will you risk the market cooling off before you list your home for sale?

2. Will the renovations you plan raise the price by more than what you spend on the renovation.

If you are in the typical market I would advise you to spend as little as possible on renovations, doing only those improvements that would make buyers think you had not maintained your home. Everything should be neat and clean and nothing should be broken. That's it.

Anything more than that will most likely cost you more than you will gain and puts you at risk of missing the market.

As I watch flippers and other sellers here do “updates” to older homes, I cringe knowing they did it as cheaply and quickly as possible for resale. I’m not saying you‘re in that group, just saying as a buyer I’d rather tackle projects like this myself — knowing I’d be doing it exactly how I wanted, not for resale.

I love paneling like this and would probably never paint it. But I’d want to be the one making that choice. :)

Love this warm look with charm and character:

With the very popular MCM look:

Anyway, with being able to so easily search online for ideas and inspiration, I don’t think the majority of lookers will feel baffled about what to do with the paneling ... whether leaving it or painting it.

Since you will be removing the furniture and carpet, then refinishing the wood floors, I think leaving the panelling alone would be fine. The 1961 light fixtures are perfect with the 1961 panelling. Put in bright new LED bulbs throughout the house. Having the whole house professionally cleaned after refinishing the floors will get a polished gleam in the bathrooms and kitchen. The cleaners can also clean the light fixtures which will get dusty from the refinishing.

@Jilly You wrote - As I watch flippers and other sellers here do “updates” to older homes, I cringe knowing they did it as cheaply and quickly as possible for resale.

VERY TRUE. As a former flipper I caution against buying property that has been recently "updated" unless you have the; electrical, plumbing, and HVAC system professionally checked. Don't fall for Lipstick on a Pig! I despise that type of flipper.

Find a new realtor; one who believes you can put your home on the market, as is.

Wash the windows (personal), remove anything a buyer might see as clutter, a present it clean as a whistle.

A buyer does not want any quick fixes. What buyer wants is a good home inspection; an appraisal of value so bank/lender will agree to grant buyer a mortgage on the property.

HGTV would do everyone a favor if it addressed lenders. After the real estate fiasco in the ’80’s, when so many banks folded because of loans given on inflated home values, lenders today have learned the lesson. No paint, no countertop, no LVT will influence a loan.

So many great comments by Jennifer Hogan, chiflipper, apple pie order, Jinx, and Judy G, among others. Fix the infrastructure first--hvac, electrical, plumbing, roofiing, structural issues--and buyers will be so happy that they don't have to do those projects. They can concentrate on the fun stuff!

do not paint that paneling! midcentury homes have been hot for many years now, and some of the potential buyers will love to see details in original condition. let them decide if they want to paint over it or not. I don't think of it as outdated, it's retro.

fix what actually needs to be fixed, including anything that appears peely, stained, etc. if you have any painted walls that look old or discolored, do paint those. stage it well.

you might want to test any linoleum flooring and ceiling tiles for asbestos. it's better to take care of that now rather than being dragged through it later.

Get everything into good repair. Good roof, clean and repair gutters, prune and trim trees and b bushes. Remove all trash. Make the house smell good by a thorough cleaning. Wash, declutter, clean, clean the carpets, wash again and declutter some more. Invite a friend over and ask them how the house smells? Place flowers in pots by the doors.

You may want to paint the front door and freshen it up. But, I wouldn't paint any of the rooms. Leave that for the new owner. They will want to renovate to their own tastes.

Especially since the walls are not in good condition, most buyers would not like your wood panelling. That does not mean that you should paint them.

You need a realtor that will work hard to sell what you have, not ask you to do a lot of stuff to get ready that may not even make a difference. We recently sold my parents' home with 25 year old wallpaper in kitchen, master bath and hallways. The market is hot and it sold quickly for a good price.

I cleaned it until it sparkled. We de-cluttered extensively, for example we removed all our wall art. Every. single. piece. Each bedroom had one bed, one dresser and one night table. Nothing else. The office had one desk and one chair. Outdated draperies were removed and the windows left bare.

The realtor staged it, at no extra cost to us, by bringing in one nice big abstract picture for each room, and adding minimal vases and pillows to co-ordinate. They draped the beds with big flowy white sheets (no bedspread), and added 2 accent pillows + a small throw to match the art. The outdated sofa and love seat were covered by white stretch slipcovers, and understated but pretty pillows and afghans. The white sheets and slipcovers looked fabulous in the listing photos. In person the rooms looked a bit bare but enormous.

Have you already signed up with this realtor? If not, interview a few others.

I bought a 1964 home with a lot of paneling. My first inclination was to paint it. I’M SO GLAD I DIDN’T. I redid the floors and added furniture I love. It‘s still a work in progress, but I’m so happy with this space. I bet you’ll find buyers who love your home, too.

I’ve bought three homes, and each time I’ve been thrilled to find a place that I could change myself — I absolutely hate the thought of paying for somebody else’s updates that may not be to my taste.

I do agree that it might be easier to sell if it looks really appealing to a wide range of people. Maybe consider investing the money you would spend on painting on a really great home stager, instead. It would have to be someone with vision who respects your home’s character and understands today’s market.

For fun, here are pictures of my paneled lounge from the real estate listing, and how it looks now — not done, but moving in a good direction!