yes paint it all

What is your goal? Do you want to lighten it up? I would start by changing your color palette to lighter neutrals before attempting to paint the cherry wood. Also, maybe changing out the frames (to something lighter) in the kitchen would help. Personally, I wouldn’t paint it.

ETA: The dining room and living room might benefit from a little refresh. That in itself may be enough of a change for you without painting the wood.

We need pics with the drapes open, lights on. Right now it appears very cozy and moody for Christmas..but what's it look like for summer??

2pups question is a good one. Why would you want to? If the purpose is to lighten the look you have many better opportunities than painting expensive and very beautiful cherry. It would be cheaper and easier to switch to a beautiful white corian counter in the kitchen and add some good lighting.

In the family room, the biggest problem seems to be curtains/shutters over the windows, poor lighting, lots of "stuff," and a dark floor. I would get rid of a lot of stuff, use lighter furniture, improved lighting, and as a last resort, put in a lighter color floor.

I would not paint any of it because the wood is not the problem in these areas, in my opinion.

Good luck! Your house is very beautiful.

I have taken pictures with some of you suggestions. Today is a very dark, rainy day. if the sun were shining, it would be brighter. i use red and green year- round due to my husband wanting a golf den, even though he has a huge man cave downstairs. The colors come from his golf rug. i am considering pulling in the off- white from the rug. There is also a sunroom off of the den which brings in light on a sunny day.

We Thank you for your suggestions.

The kitchen has cherry paneling and cabinets. i do not plan on painting either of these rooms.

These are the rooms I am considering painting. As you can see i love antiques.

Thank you for all the additional photos. Your home is lovely and a very formal style. Since the wood is in excellent condition I’d leave it unpainted.

If you are looking to brighten the rooms, switch out the den drapes to cream linen, add some lighter throw pillows and remove some of the items. I love that rug with the insects! It’s so fun and different from what we often see here.

There is a creamy color in the background of your husband’s golf themed rug. Use that for your main accent color in the room, rather than burgundy and hunter green. Change out your dark draperies, (do you even need them?) for ivory linen. Band them with dark green or burgundy, if you feel the need to do so. You need to inject light into the room. Consider removing the shutters from the windows, and change out some of the heavier, darker accessories with lighter ones. An emphatic NO to painting that beautiful paneling.

What is your goal? LIghtening the rooms? The panelling is beautiful - I would not paint it.

Have you considered adding a skylight or solatube if your goal is lightening up the rooms? You could also check outside to see if any tree branches have started to overgrow the windows. Prune them back to get more light inside.

I have taken your comments and applied it to my family room. what do you think? i am in the process of looking for a new golf rug with more of the beige color to lighten up the floor. Thank you for your suggestions.

NO, do not paint the cherry wood

No, do not paint the paneling. If you don't like it, have it removed. I didn't vote because I was confused about the options. I though this would be a yes or no poll.

Looking better. Get white/cream covers for the dining area chairs. Remove the red throw and pillows.

My first reaction was: find a way to lighten up the floor. I didn't see the golf rug at first. If you have to keep the gulf rug where it is, I would look for a large ivory or sand colored flat weave area rug to put under it.

What is your goal?

Beautiful home. Would not paint the paneling. You could lighten room via the flooring any place you have a rug by getting a lighter one. You could add color with throw pillows and/or window treatments. You could add some sun catchers to sunlit windows. A colorful cast iron trivet or two hanging on the kitchen wall can add color there.

I agree with Beverly. You have a LOT going on in every room - lots of furniture and lots of accessories. Consider taking out 1/3 of both in each room and seeing what you think. White/light/cream furnishings will look better with the cherry wood.

My two cents......

Lovely home. The lighter drapes already make the place look lighter. The rooms looked so heavy with darker drapes. The red also makes it look heavy, a little goes a long way.

You may want to consider downsizing your accessories. There are too many little accessories and faux plants and flowers. Keep only pieces that have the most meaning.

Consider changing out your lightbulbs for brighter ones.

Continue to remove the red, it is a good accent, used in small doses. Right now all the red is sucking the life out of your room. I don't think you need paint, you neeed light accessories. Go with a good strong cream to counter the dark woods.

Remove any accessory you don't absolutely love, you will then be able to enjoy the ones you do love.

I truly love the white suggested by Beverly, however, with two 6 and 1/2 year old granddaughters, it is not very practical.

The family room was decorated in the golf motif to honor my husband who is an avid golfer. The colors were pulled from the various Augusta paintings and the rug. As far as the red chairs, i absolutely love them and feel they go well. i do like and appreciate the comments of declutering and using the cream color. i have purchased a new golf rug in cream to lighten up the floor. i am anxiously waiting on it to arrive. Thanks again for the positive suggestions.

Do not sell the munchkins short! I'm sure they know how to appreciate granny's furnishings. Washable slipcovers can be your solution for many items.

Love that you are accommodating your grand daughters. You might give them a challenge to “find” the golfers in the room! (I understand. I am married to a golf professional. There is golf related art, memorabilia, books, etc. all over our house.). The rug will help lighten the room and can be changed out, seasonally, if you want to use it in the warmer months.

I'd also switch out the red hanging plates for an ivoery color. Also remove the red top hats from your two sofa table lamps. Using red against your wood walls mutes the object. Your rooms are very nice, you can really make them shine with a little change.

I think the paneling is absolutely beautiful- especially the wainscotting. I agree with others that it's the decor that needs a facelift, not the walls. Also, the kitchen would be massively improved with lighter color countertops and stainless appliances. (I'm not for changing appliances just because of the color, but phase stainless in when the old ones are ready to go. it's ok to mix black and stainless if it doesn't all happen at once.)

Here are pictures of some changes i have made. i am still waiting on the light golf rug to come in . i have also purchased ivory couch and chair covers to try.

I have also changed the curtains in my living room and dining room. What do you think?

Looking great! Formal but a little less fussy.

I have twin 7 year olds and twin 8 year olds. They are total maniacs but they are doing fine with our light gray couch. I am sure that if your grands can be respectful of your decor, antiques, and all the other things they can get their hands on, they won't cause too much trouble with a light color slipcover.

the blue looks lovely!

Is the new golf rug at least an 8 by 10? I'm surprised the rug police haven't said anything about the rugs being large enough for the furniture to actually sit on it and not just be a trip hazard in the middle of the room. A larger size will also infuse more lightness into your room.

The changes are helping but it looks like I would be fighting the pillows and throws if I want to sit down. Do you actually use this room? Pretty but doesn't look very inviting, maybe it just looks very staged because you were taking pictures?

A few more changes to the family room.

You have lots of lovely things. Your home reminds me of an antique store that I staged seasonally. The point of staging was to make sure that everything we had for sale was styled and shown in a somewhat realistic setting that one might find in an antique-filled home. It often became heavy and cluttered feeling because we were wearing all our jewelry at once (so we could sell it.) I think the biggest favor you could do yourself would be to lighten the heavy handed decorating you've done. For example, we set the tables in the shop because we were selling the chine, crystal and silver. You are not. Unload the table and put a simple center piece there. It should be low enough so that guests could see each other over it if you were entertaining. Several of your pictures have iron scroll work above or around them and iron plate holders went out of fashion quite some time ago. I don't care for the grommet top drapes in the formal living and dining rooms. That style is fine in the more casual golf room, but it adds too much of an industrial feel to those two areas. Dried and artificial arrangements are another past trend. Why not limit yourself to one favorite one for each room? Maybe you'll find the courage to do away with anything other than a special real bouquet from hubby twice a month! He can surely manage that since you've devoted an entire room to his passion! Remind him that you're his other passion!

More changes to my family room. i am also considering getting rid of the leather couch and chair. should i get ivory?