My husband does not want to paint the ceiling which was my first thought. Need a floor color to tone down the wood and then will look for a color palette for the house. The living room is the only room with the wood ceiling.

Keep in mind the listing photo may have been manipulated to make colours more saturated. As well, that blue wall is making all the orange scream out of the wood. The armoir is just helping the orange-ness along with all its might.

If you opt to have the ceiling painted make absolutely sure that whoever does the work properly fills and preps the knots. Staining it darker might be an alternative.

On a less-grand scale you could aim for this colour scheme to make the orange toned wood seem deliberate and modern. Paint the beams and trim charcoal, use a multi-tone floor with shades ranging from the wood of the ceiling to the brown-grey of the beams and trim, and add warm cognac leather furniture and a red rug. Crisp white walls and a bit of grey cool things down a little.

I'll look for some other pics of different design styles, too.

What style is the furniture that's coming?

The furniture that is coming is what would be called traditional. Fabric couches with mahogany end tables and coffee table. However we will be buying new furniture when we get to WA state. The move to Germany from Texas was not kind to our furniture. I really like the look of photo you sent Lindsey. I was thinking of that color...

Everdez has good suggestion with the lighter wood also. When we arrive next month, I am going to hire a design specialist. Is anyone familiar with the Olympia WA area?

my husband does not to paint the ceiling maybe i can talk to him about painting the beams.

I'm fine with the ceiling stain, but yes, the blue wall should change. Maybe something earthy but lighter? Once you do that, the flooring choice should come better into place?

Ok, husband who purchased the house in question. Just back from Olympia to Germany so lots of photos attached. This house has great bones and basically has not been updated since the 70's. Huge challenge for my wife, who has to come up with a color palette and floor color. Any help is appreciated.

Welcome Mark! Awesome to have you here, too! (I don't think the house you chose is ugly lol)

What do you guys think of something like this, if you want to stay more transitional/traditional?

No matter which way you go design-wise, if it is at all possible financially please please consider hardwood floors instead of lvp. Hardwood is going to work so much better with the ceiling and be a good investment in your house's value.

I would do a lighter blond wood color floor. If you are going to keep the walls white I would paint them the exact color as the beams. The slightly off white wall makes the beams look too stark and harsh.

Already less orangey looking in the new photos.

Dark beams in pic above look so cool!

The house looks great and Washington state is beautiful. First step: ditch the blue and purple walls.

Blue is the complementary color to orange - that means it's directly opposite to orange on the color wheel. Any blue in the room will intensify the orangeness.

Beautiful house.

Wow, is what I am saying. That to me is the opposite of ugly! The views, the vaulted ceiling, the wonderful windows!!!! AND, you get to pick out all new floors and paint??? My dears, you have come to the right place! That looks like a gorgeous house, going to only get better with wonderful new floors and paint. I too, love light, natural looking wood floors. And as long as you're getting new floors, think about doing large baseboards and window trim in white paint. I can't wait to see the outcome.

Kmg, I live in Olympia! If you haven't seen that home and the setting in real life, then please don't judge it yet...it's going to be a nice surprise, I suspect. Is that a view of the saltwater? Yummy!

Don't paint the beams dark!! You have all that light trim, it will not look like it does in the one photo above. it won't because your wood ceiling is a different color, that house also has dark trim, not just dark beams...the furniture matches their ceiling, etc.

It's really a lovely house and if you get rid of the colored walls, it's going to be spectacular. I, too, would suggest saving up for hardwood and forgo the vinyl floor. I think they call it luxury to trick folks into thinking it is fancier than vinyl, but it's definitely NOT wood and with that wood ceiling, I'd wait until I could afford real wood floors.

Look at Scandinavian design. Lovely house!

Wow! Beautiful home! It just needs some paint (that’s an easy one) , and I liked the suggestions by everdebz. Or, Oak floors in a natural matte finish. Real wood floors would be beautiful in that home. Maybe have the carpets cleaned and wait until you can do the hardwood? Either way, Kudos to Mark...that view is wonderful!

Also search for NW contemporary homes for inspiration. It's very that!

Olychick, do you know of any interior designers in Olympia?

Also Olychick, are you familiar with Carylon Beach?

Yes, it's very close to where I live. I don't have any experience with interior designers in Oly, but there are some here, of course. There is a beautiful little decor and gift store called Drees in downtown Olympia. When you arrive, I would check with her and see who she might recommend.

I think the flooring should not be wood look at all but maybe something like a slate look Manninton also does some really nice vinyl tiles that could work look up Adura from them. I have used different Adura in a few jobs now and my clients love them

Patricia, do you have a link?

That home is amazingly beautiful, and no offense to the wife, but if she thinks it is ugly, she should NOT be the one left trying to decorate it! If you don't see the beauty in that house, then the person decorating is going to be trying to put a square peg in a round hole metaphorically speaking. Paint the whole house a beautiful off white creamy color. I wouldn't do any color in any rooms. You have so many beautiful windows and design features in the house, that you don't want the colors competing with them. Let the windows decorate the house. Don't do vinyl plank floors - do real wood, please! This is a home where the architectural features are so striking that you shouldn't' have a lot of color/junk/fussy furniture competing.

The pictures your husband posted look lovely! I know carpet isn't overly desireable, but is there something wrong with The current floor? I think luxury vinyl in living areas works in warm climates, but in cooler climates it can leave the floor feeling cold in the winter months.

I LOVE your house! Agree, lose the blue. Husband did good:)

Is there a reason why you have to make changes right away? Moving from overseas is stressful enough without adding remote decorating decisions to the mix.

I'd paint over the accent walls with the color from the other walls and then live with it for a while before I made other changes. Honestly, the house looks very livable as is. And believe me, I am picky.

Sorry for thinking you might be a robot! What threw me off was that I do not think your house is ugly at all, and I like it even more after seeing more photos. I see now that you chose a user name that is easy for your to remember.

I think the wood in your ceiling is nice also, but if you do not like it, but I think that putting a wood or wood-colored floor with it would be too much. I would want to keep the ceiling as it is - or at most white-wash the wood to make it lighter, if you really need to change it.

I've been to Olympia a few times and think it is a beautiful place, but it does have a lot of cloudy days. It rained most of the time I was there. Having large windows like you do helps a lot, as you do not have to worry about too much sun most of the year, and you will get plenty of light even on cloudy days. I also think that the light colored carpet helps, but I also realize that it is very difficult to keep clean. I think that in your climate carpet is a good choice, but I would want some sort of a random pattern - maybe something like this, or this. A light colored floor will reflect a lot of light back into the rooms from your windows, and I like this effect. Putting in a darker floor will make the rooms seem heavier and a bit more somber. As it is now, the rooms seem very cheerful, and I would want to keep that.

gorgeous house

i'd change very little in it-paint, lights..then can live happily ever after

i can see the dilemma with the flooring though. i like how it' light..it being a carpet, kinda guarantees though you're being unhappy with it in 3 years..unless completely no shoe policy, and maybe even then. i also dislike no shoe policy but that's me.

if you don't mind me asking-what is the flooring in the entry, kitchen, and bathroom? I can't see it well

(white painted wood might be cool but probably even harder to keep clean than the carpet

unless it's, again, vinyl, like aforementioned Adura(looked it up...thank you Patricia!) but then it again would bug me a bit..that I go to trouble to change carpet for vinyl, where I am, honestly, not sure how much I win except for the cleaning thing

now. one can go for a real deal. real wool carpet. that would cost like wood or more but might be worth it..being real wool...and yes can be just a tad patterned like Lars suggested)

bedrooms are easier of course, if you want to treat the flooring there a tad differently..

PS Olychick I understood your nickname just due to this thread)) In my mind it was associated with "Olga"..in Russian, girls tend to add "chik" sometimes to the end of their girlfriends' names, when they want to express tenderness towards a friend. I understood it's not that of course but it's interesting how mind works its own patterns.

Sorry for the OT

as I've said wonderful house..wonderful thread too!

Carpet is not really an option with a dog and a husband who loves anything but carpet.... keep the flooring ideas comin everyone!! I am just thrown by the orange hue of the wood ceiling and need a way to tone it down, not to enhance it. My husband does not want to paint it. The weather in WA will be similar to where we are living now so overcast will not bother me. I think there are enough windows to let enough natural light in even on the gloomiest of days.

Thank you again everyone, i am starting to get some ideas but keep 'em coming in!!

There are some wonderful renderings above of how your room might look after you LOOSE THE BABY BLUE wall. LOL. Seriously, the blue is really, really wrong for this room.

I like the ceiling and the beams too (if the beams were dark, that would be even better). I'd put in white oak site-finished hardwood floors. Unstained, they would be very light-colored. Pricey, but worth it.

Slate in a Versailles pattern. Dark earthy multi color to gray with some rusty tones in it that echo the wood above but doesnt scream orange. A great yellow based green wall color, and some strong natural toned leather presence, a bit of additional white, and that is all you need.

Looks good from here

Not sure why I'm asking - have you considered in-floor heating?

Gorgeous house, and you've received some wonderful advice. All I can add is my standard "warm colors go with warm colors, cool colors go with cool colors." Mixing warm colors and cool colors in the same room sometimes will make you feel a little queasy. Accentuate that gorgeous inviting warmth.

Beautiful home! I might search houzz for “mid century vaulted ceilings” for ideas. It kind of has a mid century vibe to it, but I think really it could fall into just about any genre depending how you design it. Congrats! It really is a special house!

Um. Gorgeous home.

so gorgeous can't stop thinking about

which led me to think: lighter or darker floor choice, how it would look?

(no, first I thought: limestone. then: no.. natural finish wood. then, decided to gather all sorts of pics..relevance is questionable sometimes, I agree in advance..was interested to see how spaces look with light walls, darker ceilings, different floor choices

did find my limestone, in the end..the sensibility is different though..the colors are good

truth is all these interiors work. you need also to find the vibe you're after..your house is not silent in that matter, that's a house with a strong character. yet it wants to cooperate with you too. I can hear it waiting..:)

it is important to understand what is current flooring in the kitchen, entry, bathroom..if it stays your choices, whatever they are, have to work with them

again congrats..it's one great house!

The new photos make it clear the blue is doing that room no favors at all. I’d paint it all a nice light neutral for now (like the warm white suggested) and if you must change the floor, skip wood pattern and go with the slate or similar designs - a wood-look product is going to come out the looser if put so close to that much real wood. (If you can stretch to real wood then that’s different, although it can still be tricky to get them to play nicely. Wood above and below can become overwhelming.)

Then get your stuff there and live in it - depending how the light is and so on, it might look and feel quite different in person when you’re living there than in a photo or even at first glance when you walk in. Give it some time to talk to you about colors and styles.

Aprilneversends...wow, those are great pics of the different options to choose from. Kmg0205, I hope share what you decide to do. I don’t think u can go wrong with any decision. :-)

Sophie, the tile in your second picture has a lot of colors we have used in our last two houses. Thanks

I love the idea of a heated slate floor in your space but I'd be careful about doing a slate floor with a lot of variation. It's a very strong design element and could easily dictate and or overpower everything else that you do in the room.

For instance, there are many great things going on in this room but the floor is the star and I am not sure it should be.

yes d_gw I agree..even though has potential of course if one picks the route Sophie suggests; it will dictate certain direction, no doubt. More rustic, more grounded. probably boils down to how much one loves slate. (say my DH is a big fan while I'm less of a fan, in general) I for example liked the first pic Sophie posted the most due to lots of light colors in it. Never saw such cool combo before. But. Then I though along your lines: that's a strong statement. Big surface. Should it be there, should it not? I don't know. I found for example amazing "teak" limestone, whites plus oranges.. but then I thought, again, too strong of a statement. Especially if one doesn't like orange or is not fan of a limestone. I love orange, and I do love limestone. But in the end I decided it probably not what the OP would pick so I didn't post it.

thank you lizzierobin!

and kmg and Mark, thank you for sharing your dilemma with us..will be very cool to see which direction you'll decide to take..if you'll feel like sharing in the future))

In a cold, rainy climate slate seems like the least welcoming flooring. For now I would paint the walls (and also think of painting the kitchen cabinets), leave the carpeting for now, and put some beautiful area rugs on top in the most heavily used areas. When you decide on flooring the area rugs can all stay. Make sure that they are all quite large for the greatest impact.