We have structural wood beams in our vaulted living room and master bedroom. I will never paint them. Nor will I paint my brick fireplace! :)

The previous owner had to be talked out of painting the quarter sawn oak paneling.

This is an odd question. It assumes that everyone should start off by changing a lot. Why? Only change what really isn't working for you.

Jeannie, I'm a tad bit confused. Do you mean "unwilling" or "can't get the courage"? Unwilling indicates, to me anyway, that the "something" is important to the owner but can be viewed as unusual or ineffective to others. Not having the courage seems to point to a fear that needs to be overcome. One is an active choice while the other is an emotional reaction. Is it possible to elaborate more fully so that I, for one, can get a clearer picture of the question?

@rngp, The comment above of you actually has the perfect description of what I meant. :)

Hi rngp,
Jeannie is a Houzz employee, and as many of them do, she is merely posting an open question to generate a conversation, and see what Houzzers feel about a particular subject!
I see this all the time, and it's just a fun way to share our experiences and preferences with fellow Houzzers.
In my house, I'd change everything, there is nothing that I so love or would hate to change, and the only thing holding me back is time and money (which I would think most of us can relate to!)
If I had a heritage home, or a precious antique, fabulous original art, then that would likely change my answer, but for me, I'd change it ALL!

*smile* Yes, I know she is. I was just trying to figure out the subject. But no worries. I'm sure lively discussion will ensue.

Well said, Wow Great Place. Jeannie isn't asking you to search your soul or take inventory of your life. Just, what do you love the way it is and wouldn't change!!

Hmmm. Don't know so much. There are many things I refuse to change. There is nothing I don't have the courage to replace. There are several things I don't have the cash to replace.

Nothing is sacred in this place, or at least wasn't before I had to start by replacing rotted joists and go up from there.

After having about 70% of the work done (kitchen is the main thing left; I left it for last as it was going to be the most in labor and materials plus appliances...) you can't have my RMH. It has been so worth every bit of the breaking to the ground, digging the foundations and welding rebar and making it a pad that comes up through the crawlspace and floor to install it. Plus a load of concrete delivered and poured when they arrived (literally it's so far away that when the truck arrives it has to dump now, if you are not ready and standing by they have to and will dump it on the ground!)

I have no national historic register candidate here; so, as far as the residence, it doesn't matter much what I do to the place.

I refuse to pull down any load bearing walls. Don't want to be the only one carrying the load around here.

I totally understand rngp and her confusion over the verbiage used. Huge difference.

dc, imagine if that paneling had been painted. What a loss of how lovely it looks and makes the room feel.

There is one thing in my home that I would not change and hopefully will never have to change, but, never say never! My kitchen cabinets. Sure they are older and we have painted them ourselves but our daughter decoupaged the flat panels, using the tearing technique with scrapbook paper, and we all love the look. It is certainly not for everyone but it never gets old to me.

Here are a couple of pics.

Gorgeous doors! I wouldn't change them either!

I purchased the house I posted above so that it would not be changed. I was unwilling to see a historic building turned into cookie cutter condos. It truly upset me when another house down the street was gutted to make way for 9 condos. I have protected this landmark and will ensure that future owners are stewards of history.

Unwantedadvice, she said the panelling felt heavy and didn't make her happy. I wanted to know why she bought the house in the first place :)

Good for you dc! :)

I'd love to have the cash to change everything! Have a few antique pieces my grandfather made in the early 1900's which wouldn't part with. But as for remodeling & other major changes would love to have happen.

Like dclostboy, I live in an old house with a lot of unpainted, original woodwork. We also have art tiles, original iron casement windows and old ironwork. I wouldn't change any of it. I also won't change my classic, center hall floor plan.

I have a 40's ranch with what I considered beautiful woodwork, molding,interior doors and fireplace. Ok maybe not beautiful to everyone but original. I recently had the house interior painted and had to face the "to paint or not to paint" question re: wood. Having looked at so many Houszz articles and urged by a design friend...I bit the bullet and had the fireplace, moldings, trim and doors stripped, sealed and painted white. IT IS GORGEOUS. The painted wood was a great choice for me and appears more elegant. The ceilings and molding melt together. Remodeling with paint, what a concept!

I would never change the Victorian tiled floor in the hall; we actually paid extra to get a restoration tiler to replace some missing tiles, as well as have it professionally cleaned.
We also had the living room stained glass windows repaired and reset in a new wood frame (the old one had wood worms). I love old features - and just can't understand people who would replace them....

Well, Jeannie, carrying around fixed ideas can be a burden. Every once in a while, it is important to step back and re-think. As Wallace Stevens once said, "to discover, not to impose." I am willing to re-think everything in my house.

I am puzzled by the choice of the first photo with this article. It shows a newly installed Rookwood tile fireplace by Wren and Willow of Seattle, featured in Becky Harris's fine article, "Design Worth Discovering: Rookwood Pottery Tile." Why would this be an example of something "you refuse to change…maybe it's the material surrounding the fireplace, or the wood paneling on the walls"? It's not an original feature that someone is trying to tolerate. This is not very complimentary to the design firm that created this incredibly beautiful fireplace.

Sorry to sound so indignant. I love (and am probably a bit nutty about) Arts and Crafts pottery, tile, and design. Wren and Willow is actually located in Tacoma; this fireplace was created for a Seattle home. Please check out Becky Harris's article, and click through to see the whole room with the fireplace. It's lovely.

Well, we just ripped up the carpet in our family room and dining room and laid down oak floor like the rest of the upstairs. So, the floors were all stripped and ready for staining in one continuous color. What to select? Dark floors are too difficult to maintain. I like glossy but was clearly warned away from it by my floor guy because of the difficulty maintaining and the high probability of scratches from our german shepherd. So, a satin sheen by default. But the stain?? I like middle tones but my husband and son weighed in and they insisted on golden oak. Same color we stripped off. They don't care that it's 80s or 90s. They like the warmth and the lightness. i thought about going behind their backs but they live here too. sigh*

We have some very old floral w/birds wallpaper in the dining room with a pink ceiling! While I would love to mask off and repaint this ceiling, and I will...I am not inclined to get rid of the old wallpaper (even though its a bit torn in a couple places. The flowers are surprisingly similar to the ones carved into our mahogany Duncan Phyfe dining room set and also appear in a china pattern we picked "unintentionally matching".

dc, just think of all the old historic homes with wonderful woodwork and moldings that were turned into tiny rooms and chopped up into poorly partitioned condos. And I am sure some were lovingly transformed as well. So glad you were able to save this beautiful room.

As far as Rookwood goes, yes, it is a great company as well as Motawi Tileworks out of Michigan for fantastic Art and Crafts tile examples. I also love this look and am enthralled by some of the designs and the array of colors that they come in. If I had anything like that, it would never be changed.

I didn’t have the courage / money to update an old fireplace, I didn’t want to paint the bricks white, and I ended up liking it just the way it is. Because we were not planning to use it, I painted the inside with chalk paint (it was already really dark) and we write some silly phrases on it. The picture shows a monster made by my son with the phrase “Eden was here”, we can only assume the monster ate him ;-)
Now if I could find the time to take care of the chair on the left of the fireplace...

@unwantedadvice, was able to save the entire house...the entire first floor is a mix of hardwoods...as is library on the third floor.

I will never paint my 115 year old dining room furniture. My peers (early 30's) are quickly painting their antique wood furniture with milk and chalk paint in fad colors. The previous owner bought it at an Amish action in a coat of black paint and restored it. The glass in the china cabinet is original and bottom of the seats are stamped my the maker. This set, sadly, is for sale.

*correction* 130 years old (1885 ish)

This is a Rookwood fireplace. The tree of life is a hand carved work of Art. Check out the newsletters on Houzz for this week to see an article on Rookwood.

It's not that I'm attached to it but I'm so glad I did it. I can't imagine a "normal" colored fridge
anymore. Why stop with black, white, or stainless. I love my gold refrigerator

Probably anything I've done or added to our home in our 15 years of renovation. It's all been carefully considered to be timeless. And only chosen and executed for love. Otherwise why bother?

I will paint my brick fireplace and im not sure about the Kitchen cabinets just because its very dark in the kitchen

Funny, my first thought was "what a great question!"

I immediately felt like yes, there is something, but what? Then I realized it's just that I'm scared to death to change the knotty pine in my lodge-like living room. So less "unwilling" and more "paralyzed."

Did I do OK, answering the question in whatever way I wanted to interpret it? I really need an A in this class.

Carole Dumoulin (is that a fancy way to say "miller?" cool name) - wow, your cabinets are beautiful. Have you considered maybe leaving the big expanse around the fridge as-is, and painting the others white?

Carole, the wooden cabs are gorgeous...I'd lighten up the counter and splash before painting the wood.

I'm open to most things. I'll paint my old dark brown secretary one day. I'll rip out 1970's panelling. I'll paint my cabinets. I don't want my house to look like my parent's house. I want it to look like MY house.

You won't catch me painting the brick in my house. The rest is up for grabs though.