To come up with a strong statement "I hate the woodwork" then I would do what you would want. Sure someday if you sell there will be some that will think I wish they never painted this woodwork but others will see it blends the kit and brightens the room I seriously doubt anyone that likes the house wouldn't buy it because one room has the woodwork painted. Good luck.

worldmom- I love the photos! Your house is beautiful, your remodel is really fantastic, it sounds like you are doing a really great job finding that 1910 original.

I'd again say, when it comes right down to it, this is your house, and you need to do what makes you happy. If you really think just painting your dining room white would do that, then you should do it.

However, I think it is really beautiful the way it is. I don't mind the dark stain at all, I think, in fact, that it rings historically true. The dining room was a formal space that during that time would be very dark. Painting woods dark to make them look like more expensive woods was very common- our pocket doors are painted a dark walnut brown, and this is original (the edges are painted white- kind of frustrating). So, although it was done in the 70's, it's not historically inaccurate. For me, painting that amazing mirror would be painful, I don't know that I could do it. However, I'm having the cabinets and shelves in my kitchen stained almost black (a deep mahogany), so I clearly love dark wood.

Did you have a clear color in mind for the dining room while you were thinking of painting the woodwork white? I think having it a green would be really nice, I actually think several of the colors you have next to the mirror would be really lovely. I would say that you could use the exact green you are planning for the hutch in the dining room, I think that woodwork would look great with just about anything. You can also try SW Shagreen, in our old house, we used it in my boys' room and I really loved it. It's a few shades darker than celery green, so I think in the right family that you are looking for.

To deal with the darkness, I think the ideas of working with lighting as suggested in your previous post is the best idea. You can paint the woodwork, walls, and all the furniture white and because it is on the north side of the house, without more lighting it would still be dark. Another idea could be lightening it feeling-wise by putting up your children's framed artwork. Sometimes countering a somber feel is best accomplished by dealing directly with the somber-ness.

For the columns, I would make them oak. I think having the one side white and the other side oak would look strange, and your island is oak, so it would be fine.

Good luck with your choices, I think regardless of your choice your home is amazing and will look even more so when you are done.

Out of curiosity, where did you find the original blueprints for your house? I think our home is pretty much the same, but it would be so neat to see the original blueprints. Thanks for showing the pictures!

I would think a green color would look very nice with the woodwork in the room. Add some light colored window treatment and I think your room would look quite nice. There doesn't seem to be a whole lot of woodwork in the room so I'm not sure painting it would make such a dramatic difference. I would however paint the crown your ceiling color. Also you can put up a picture rail which would be in keeping of your house and paint the wall above a lighter color than the lower part of your walls.

My dining room has mostly northern light and I'm going with a SW bamboo shoot (medium yellowish green) on the walls. The kitchen will have SW white raisin (light goldish yellow). And light cream on the ceiling and above the picture rail. Have you considered pocket doors or french doors from the kitchen to the dining room? That way you have a way to close off the dining room if you would like. If you keep with the columns stained all around is the way to go. Doors I think you can get away with one side stained the other painted, but not columns.

You might want to pose the paint color or how to lighten up the dining room in general question to the home decorating forum. There are some very talented folks there who know alot about color.

Here is a link to a discussion on color. Part way down they talk about colors in north exposure rooms.

Here is a link that might be useful: color discussion

autumngal - I'm really leaning toward a green or yellow for the dining room, but if I painted the woodwork white, I think I would go with a french gray because it would look gorgeous with my very veiny carrara island top. I think you saw our new powder room, and those walls are the most amazing shade of blue-grey. I *love* that color, and I'm not usually a blue person1

You asked about our blueprints, and we are very fortunate that they have been passed from owner to owner. I have a huge portfolio of giant blueprints of every detail of our house, and it's been so helpful as we've embarked on this project. I think I mentioned that our new hutch is coming straight from those plans. All of the dimensions are listed, and even the profiles of all the trim pieces are shown. Even the design of our new pantry shelves is coming from the plans. :o) We also have 4 smaller framed blueprints which normally reside in the entry of our home. People are always fascinated with them and they're a great conversation piece. The best part is that we are still in touch with the families who lived here from the early 50s on, so we have some nice photos because of that (as well as one from 1914, which we got from our town's historic society).

mom2lilenj - I just wanted to clarify that I didn't mean I would stain one side of the columns and paint the other. I agree that that would be a strange thing to do, indeed! :o) I just thought maybe I could get away with having the trim of the opening on the kitchen side be white. I do think it will look OK being oak since I will have the oak island.

I do love SW white raisin and even have a quart sample of it lying around here somewhere as we're considering it for our hallways and stairwell. Two of the swatches on the DR wall are BM Hawthorne Yellow and Castleton Mist (green), and they are from the Historic Colors collection. I like them both and they both look fairly good with the wood.

Thanks for the tip about asking the home dec people. I'm also doing a consultation with a designer, so hopefully I can get this all sorted out before the cabinets start going in! I really want to have the painting done beforehand...

Ok honest opinion? Paint on the wood wouldn't stop me from buying (I think it's lovely) but honestly....the fact that you're taking out the wall between the kitchen and dining room....that would be a deal breaker for me. Half of the charm of old homes is their formality. Dark dining rooms, intimate and closed off spaces....that's a big deal.

I guess if that was in the original house plans I'd not be so upset about it, but if it's just part of a new design...I think it doesn't matter what color you paint the woodwork. What matters is what is happening to the space.

Honest opinion from me, also. Removing a wall between the kitchen and dining room would be a complete deal killer for me. To me, this says 'contemporary house,' and it's noisy, to boot. I like being able to hide the mess in the kitchen, and to have peace in either room, no matter what's going on elsewhere.

I have a swinging door (I've wanted one since I was a kid!) between my dining room and kitchen - when not "in use" it's hooked to the wainscoting in the dining room. Maybe you could do something like that.

It looks like your wood is quartersawn oak (guessing), honestly, if you are going to paint it, you may want to find out if it is valuable first.