I think it would be lovely painted. I also agree it needs special treatment. Years ago we had paneling painted in a prior home, though not knotty pine. Like ikloes, we also used Swiss Coffee…on the entire room. It did take some extra time/work for the painters to prep the paneling, but the end result was so nice! The room just came to life.

This is one example of the entire living room of a lake house painted white. In this case it’s SW Extra White. However, softer whites can look great depending on your lighting.