Take the wood off the wall but leave the fire place. Those planks may be used somewhere else.

There are two layers of planks ... taking the all the wood down would mean completely replacing the wall. :( Possible, but costly.

I would paint out the walls including the trap doors. I see that you have grey tones in the adjoining room. Maybe a deeper shade of grey and the fireplace painted white. The mantel would like great stained darker. The existing wall stain is a bit much, but it looks like quality work.
When we moved to our home the basement had a hideous paneling. We painted it and accented one section with an electric fireplace. It is pleasant to look at until we are ready to make changes. Pictures attached of our basement. Would love to see pictures when you complete the project.

Thank you everyone! I ended up whitewashing the wall and painting trim and brick white. Also a quick coat of spray paint changed the fireplace doors dramatically!

Can you post a pic kmarlscal?

I have a similar issue with lots of wood. You did a good job making the wood less "present"!

Did you sand first? Also, how many coats of whitewashing? We just bought a new-used house that has tons of wood and river rock. Trying to decide whether to embrace it/demo it, etc. Whitewashing is one of our "inexpensive" options for a temporary fix!

I lived with mine for about a year and couldn't take it anymore! :) I did a thorough cleaning first (diluted simple green) and then a light sand. Though in all honesty, the sanding was really quick - I got bored with it pretty early on! About 1/3 of the wall was sanded really well, and I can't tell the difference between that part and the rest. It took about two coats, and I definitely got better and found my own technique the more I did it. I found a foam brush and an old tshirt to wipe up the drips worked best. My mixture was 1/2 paint and 1/2 water, but added more paint the second coat and that did the trick - it looked pink after my first coat and I freaked out a bit! I've attached some other pics. (I ended up redoing the beams on the ceiling and painting the living room as a result! )

Here's some pics .... still cleaning up last bits!

Very dramatic change! Great job!