I most certainly would not paint that wood. Its beautiful, and in excellent condition. Your hallway looks light and airy already. White will not make it anymore so. The wood fits the style of your house much more than white would too.

I would not paint it. But there are a few things in the space that you might want to remove. The first is the small picture with pokey knobs sticking out, the small chest and the art piece on the window ledge. It you remove these items you'll have a less cluttered and more airy space.

Thanks… actually now there is no more furniture.

How about the door leading to the inside of the house (right by the staircase)? I am thinking of removing it to make it more open? What do u think?

Would you be open to switching out the glass block to a different glass (either clear or one large pane of privacy glass)? The space feels "constrained" not because of the wood tone (which is one of the best things about it!) but the presence of lots of small lines breaking up each surface. I'd focus on alternatives to the glass block, followed by the flooring (replacing with larger tiles/less grout lines or even polished concrete), if possible. By streamlining both of those, the visual noise will be reduced.

Is that your front door? You could also let more light into the space by selecting a door and side-lite with more glass (if privacy isn't a concern).

There is a lot happening there- tile floors- glass block- painted wood ceiling- diagonal wood walls -Victorian front door. WAY too much for me. I would need some of these surfaces to be simplified but hard to know which without seeing the rest of the spaces.