I change out the white sink and appliances to black, buy new wood barstools, and leave everything else the orginal wood.

I am not a cabin-in-the-woods cozy person so I would leave the floor and maybe the highest level of the ceiling. Knotty cabs either painted or changed, maybe keep the countertop if funds prefer to do so.

I cannot live in a house with that much wood. I would paint the walls and either paint the cabinets or replace. The floor is beautiful and I like wood slanted ceilings.

Our lake house looked like this but didn't have wood floors. I painted the walls a pale blue and kept the wood cabinets. It made a world of difference. Eventually we raised the ceiling and got rid of the wood.

@czarinalex, what material were the floors in your lake house?

I don't mind the wood cabinets & white appliances/sink, it's those chairs I'd change - and add more color.

That said, on closer inspection the range looks odd - part black, part white...?

" I am not a cabin-in-the-woods cozy person "

+1

Leave the floor, paint the rest white. Far too much wood for me, it looks dated.

I would: Paint everything except floor and maybe the trim and counters. Paint cabinets white, and walls maybe a light sage green. Hmm … maybe paint the island a darker sage green.

If you have to change everything that much , it is the wrong house for you. Look for a different house, because you will NEVER like this one.

I would probably start by painting the walls (I like warm whites) and island (not sure - maybe same as walls) and see what I thought.

I would probably replace the floor with terrazzo look LVT, in something that read white. Many terrazzos read white but have other colored "chips" --this one is pretty monochromatic. Actually I would probably do a terrazzo look with bigger more colorful chips, but the all white is nice. I don't think that paneling is going to paint all that well.

@palimpsest, if you went with a light floor, would you paint the ceiling?

This is an interesting question, Fun. I keep studying it, but just can’t say without seeing it in person. I love a natural wood look, but even this would be a bit much for me …. unless I was really going for a cabin in the woods feel (vacation home).

I don’t love the flooring, regardless of any other changes made.

I know I’d paint, I’m just not sure what and where! It would depend on a lot of factors.

ETA: I saw a beautiful English cottage in Homes & Gardens a while back with lots of natural wood and some rooms painted with sage, some with a soft cream. It was so gracious and beautiful.

I'd paint the walls, uppers and the soffit cream. Paint the island an accent color (like navy) and then re-evaluate.
I asked ChatGPT to mock it up but it went a little rogue and then I ran out of image requests. (I wanted the strip above the cabinets painted as well.)

I would take to the woodlands of Sweden

Full disclosure: I like warm white kitchens.

I like the floor. It looks like real wood. The island top left as wood would be okay. I do not like the cabinets one bit. If paint was my only option, I'd paint them white. The ceiling's okay but looks like it needs some love. I could live with it as wood. The walls need to be painted.

I like lisaam's photo.

I find the soffit oppressive. Wonder if the electrical can be remedied.

The chairs are easily removed/replaced.

if you went with a light floor, would you paint the ceiling?

I don't know. I would start with the floor because that is the wood that is the odd man out; it's light, it's a different species and it's a smooth, more "formal" floor when all the other wood is rustic.

Many of these types of wood clad interiors were built when people would put wall to wall carpet or ordinary vinyl tile or sheet down and not consider either of those sorts of floors "cheap, dirty, or a compromise" of some sort. Many of these sorts of houses were built when vinyl or carpet was considered a high-end option. So you were not encased in all wood. Now that every surface is wood, the tendency is to want to turn one of the wood surfaces into painted wood. (Or even cover one of them with drywall) because wood floor are now the default.

It has been difficult to find a vinyl flooring that does Not look like wood, unless you looked in the commercial market. And vinyl floor that did not look like wood fell out of favor and actually became cheaper looking because it was considered a budget option. But now more plainer or more colorful options are reappearing like the terrazzo-look. (Because as things go at the higher end of the market people are moving a bit away from all wood, all the time to the point of doing wall to wall carpet again.)

One concern I have about painting the ceiling is that it is not going to paint well, the other is that you will be creating a sandwich of white brown white, which will compress the space a bit.

You don't have to read the lower part if you don't care about why I am stuck on painting the ceiling. It may be irrelevant because it's Fun's ceiling.

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I am facing this because I have a top floor with a very dark planked ceiling with very prominent rafter ties. (Dark like almost fumed oak dark). The room had carpet when we moved in that we recently removed. We were told that there was a fair amount of floor damage because the roof was leaky and the glass wall/door at one end was leaky. So we were either going to recarpet, or replace the floor (and since these options were very expensive --because I only like wool carpet, or commercial grade carpet--those two ideas got dropped)

So then we were going to paint both the floor and the short side walls white. But when we took up the carpet the damage was only close to the glass wall and the rest of the floor was fine. And now I don't want to paint it. Although I don't know that I want a brown/white/brown sandwich.

And the one thing I will Not do is paint the ceiling. There are four house like ours, one covered the ceiling with white bead board so the roof could be insulated from the inside, and one drywalled the ceiling. And I think they both ruined the room, they removed all the character from the room and the one house especially might as well be the upstairs of a Cape Cod development house.

So even though I do not love my dark oppressive ceiling, it's what the architect intended (because the houses were designed by a locally prominent architect), and I've seen what happens when it's changed, and it makes things very generic.

Sarah Richardson has an entire series on what to paint/not paint in a pine box of a ski chalet. White washing keeps the feel/look of wood but brightens the space. UGG the AI pics shown are horrid! No to the white floor and the white on the walls TONE IT DOWN! I do think moving in, adding color and elements not wood will distract from feeling encased in pine. Get some upholstery on the stools, pendants across the island.. People are using 'cabin' not in a way those of us will true cabins can relate to. This is an upscale vacation home, not a cabin in the woods. Where is this home located? Wood, all wood all the time interiors are common in some states.

LOL

We have a cabin, so I have learned to embrace it a bit, if that's the type of house it's supposed to be. I would paint the cabinets first, and maybe the soffit would then blend in with the ceiling:) They would then be more of a focal point.

It seems to get a decent amount of light so I don't think it's too dark. The ceiling looks like a decent height so it being dark wood doesn't bother me too much either.

If you are using rugs at all, I'd put those down, get some upholstered barstools, take out the can lights and add in pendants, and then re-evaluate. My next paint would be the wall.

IT kind of depends if you're living there every day or it's a nature getaway. I'd try to work with the wood and the nature if it works in the setting.

For some reason the floor actually bothers me the most in this picture. It's too shiny and makes the other wood look worse. It might be different in person. It looks like a pretty floor, just not for this.

You have 3 different wood colors/species (vaulted ceiling, kitchen cabinets/ceiling and floor). In your predominantly wood room, that is at least 1 too many since the 3 wood colors don’t work as well together as they could imo.

So consider the suggestions made and provide some feedback on what you prefer changing - change the floor or paint the walls or paint the ceilings or some combo.

I was going to suggest this almost exactly, except I wanted new cabinets. This is very au courant but I can't help it I am a lemming that way.

I would keep the wood ceiling (not the soffit part), and maybe the floors. Floors are a bit light for my taste but might be able to make it work if they are real wood and not laminate.

I would paint the walls white if forced to keep them.

Everything else must go. I don't think I could stand the cabinets even if painted.

Add me to the 'not a cabin the woods' type of person.

I am not a fan of the floor and I think it is fake. I would replace with real wood. I like everything else, except the white appliances, barstools, and the cabinet hardware. I like the cabinets, walls, and ceiling.

I adore dark knotty pine.

Out of curiosity, I asked ChatGPT how it would add warmth texture, and color to the space. This is what it suggested.

I guess I like wood more than I thought - because that looks decent to me:) I would do all the cabinets a warm white or a lighter sage green instead of the dark green though, and some color on the barstools.

I think Chatgpt really leaned into what was there, and imho made it even *more* dated, if that maters.

Hmm...I actually like what Chatgpt did with Jojo's prompts.

My favorite houses in Sea Ranch are the ones that keep as much wood as possible. There is some white but very little.

I like the ChatGPT rendering but it made the walls and both ceilings the same wood species/stain and a darker, more complementary floor color. I like palimpset’s photo with the same wood species/stain on all surfaces.

Your house is different as I am seeing 3 different wood species/stains on the kitchen walls/ceiling, floor and vaulted ceiling. You need a really good contractor to sand, stain and clearcoat all the wood to get them all the same color if that’s the direction you go in.

How much of this wood is oxidized or bleached/dried out compared to other areas. The ceiling looks very dried out.

If this were my home I think I would have chosen it because I really like wood finishes and like knotty pine. (Not my vibe - I like wood, but have all teak, MCM furnishings).

So, since the version of me that bought this home loves the wood, I would keep the walls, cabinets and ceiling. The floors seem a bit too new. too perfect, next to the more rustic knotty pine, so I would either replace with slate or possibly a different wood that is more rustic, or if money were a concern, I would use a large area rug to cover the large expanse of light flooring.

I would also want to harmonize with nature and would want to lighten the kitchen a bit, so I would replace all of the counters with a light quartz with some green. (Yes - I prefer quartz to granite or marble - personal preference) and I would possibly use the same material or a tile that coordinates well with the counter as a backsplash. The backsplash would extend to the bottom of the upper cabinets.

The chairs are too white and if this is next to a dining table I would eliminate the chairs. Not needed next to a table.

How exciting, Fun! I hope the next inspection goes well. :)

Congrats, hope it goes through (if you want it to). What fun!

I would say though, the real answer is in the actual wood tones in the actual house. My reservation is really the mismatch between the walls and ceiling, if it comes to what I would keep.

@palimpsest, I agree and as I said, the picture is very representative of the tones in the actual house. The worst offender from the standpoint of authenticity is the floor, as you quickly identified, and will be changed.

I similarly thought it would be fun to see what AI would do with this. I let it know I wanted to keep some of the wood but not all of it and wanted to update countertops and appliances. I think I really like this balance with the painted cabinets but keeping the rest of the wood. To be honest while I like wood cabinets generally, I don't really like the wood cabinets in the original image.

The floor looked to be faux wood - having a faux wood floor in a cabin like that seems silly.

Is this a vacation home vs. full time residence? My lake house has much more stained wood than my primary residence does. It feels cozy/comfy - and looks like a lake house (modern rustic? Not sure what the design style is!) While the bathrooms/kitchen have been updated, it still looks/feels like it belongs in nature.

I think slate tile would be a nice change for your flooring -

Slate from Brazil or Vermont is very different than slate from China (and other places). My slate floors from Brazil were sealed with a non-color enhancing matte finish. The slate is very durable + easy to maintain + non-slippery (even prior to being sealed). I had an older dog who vomited on them twice (before they were sealed) - I didn't discover it until several hours later (the next morning). I simply removed the more solid part + cleaned the rest off with a wet paper towel (with a tiny bit of Dawn dish soap) - there is no residual "mark" where the vomit was.

@pricklypearcactus, I have been playing around with AI for the space, too. What a great tool it is for this type of thing!

@dani_m08, I'm sure your slate is beautiful. This house is a beach house that will be a part time residence now and might be a full time residence later. I'm not sure how slate and salt air get along. I'll have to do some research.

I thought it might be fun to try to replace the floor with black slate and keep the dark theme.

But then I saw you mentioned that it's a beach house, so maybe something more beach vibe would be fun with limestone floors.

Both of those last two pctures are great! I cant decide which I like best…..dark and cozy or light and airy.

I adore old knotty pine, though sparingly in a beach house. The pale blue- green paint with the wood posted by Pricklypear are my fav. *Also dislike fake( looking) floor. Love Dani’s slate…in a perfect world, not knowing the price. To Pal, et al, commenting on the ceilings condition: the photo fun posted is not ”her”house.

Fun, I’m excited for you!

PS re floor: Bring cost conscious , If you did away with all the dark wood, I can see keeping it. Add colorful rag rugs fir a Scandi feel .

dani. is thst your lake house? Oh my! Gorgeous!!!