That is nice paneling, not the sheet stuff from HD. There is nothing wrong with it and I agree -- it would look lovely if you change the flooring. My thought was to go lighter -- just make sure you have contrast. And you might paint the ceiling a color (is the texture swirled? My dad called that elephant tracks when we were kids, probably just to watch us wonder how they got up there. LOL).

I might also paint the brick or replace it, but I would see how it looks with new flooring.

Those white walls are photos of drywall with trim. I really don't think any of them are painted wood paneling.

It really depends what look you are going for. I know a lot of people think this is a sin, but it would look fabulous in white. It looks like the ceiling may be the 8ft standard so it would help give the illusion of height, where the current color gives a visual cutoff point.

Paint it. We hired professionals to paint our wood paneling white and I'm obsessed. There is something so beautiful about paneling and it just pops when it's painted, especially when painted white.

I have not read comments, so excuse me if I'm repeating info.

I would suggest that you do not paint that paneling. It has intrinsic value.

You can cover it with a temporary covering that will not alter it.

One option, in that category, would be to have some upholstered panels made, and have them installed very carefully, so as not to damage the paneling.

There are other options, as well. You could hang floor to ceiling drapes across entire wall - i.e. both sides of fireplace - hang the drapes from a ceiling track. Or - you could hang a mirror over the fireplace or position mirror on mantle, and do large art pieces on both sides to break up the look of the wood. There are also removable wall papers. You could also use some tall screens on either side of fire place.

There are a number of things you can do to cover the wall without permanently altering it. But I suggest that you just make sure that anything you use will not damage the paneling. So if you were going to use a temporary wallpaper, for example, I would just make sure that it would be absolutely removable and absolutely of good quality.

I had the same swirls on my 8 ft ceilings. I had them skimmed out (or the ceiling replaced) and painted them BM In Your Eyes Blue which is a faint blue. The ceilings no longer seem low. And yes the lacquer process is expensive, but there are several ways to achieve a similar look without the expense if you google it. The most beautiful of all are lacquered ceilings which have a sheen to them that is stunning. The Ritz hotel in Paris had lacquered ceilings in the upper end suites.

I would change the flooring and furniture and consider lighting, curtains and art b before messing with the paneling. Everything is the same color. It's all a bit camouflaged right now.

I would paint it, probably the mantel too.

I would paint it as well. My office is paneled and the previous owners painted it. I would never have thought of doing that but when I bought the house I just loved it. Not sure if it were still stained wood paneling I would have purchased the home. Ignore the mess, trying to organize paperwork for taxes.

I tried to refinish my solid wood paneling, but it was "dead" according to my cabinet maker. It was too dried out to bring it back to life. Mine is painted a semi-gloss, not the full lacquer, in a creamy white. I had my floors refinished and used dark walnut stain.

Before (realtor staging photo -- they must have put spotlights on it, because even with the overhead lights, it was too dark. Too orange--it bled through in the test places where we tried to refinish it).

After:

There's nothing wrong with the ceiling except that it's the same tan as everything else. It's certainly not raw plaster!

I'd start with darkening the floor as you were thinking, and painting the (non-wood) walls and ceiling anything but tan. Then evaluate how it looks and if more paint needs to be applied.

Fori - I don't know if you've had those swirly ceilings. In person, they have a strong pattern and the swirls cause shadows that make them look dingy no matter how freshly painted.

The ceiling is the first thing I would tackle. Do the ceiling, non paneled walls and the flooring and decorate. If you still hate the paneling then paint.

I would change the ceiling (& make sure you like the lighting),the fireplace brick (would prefer tile) and floors first. Probably would leave the wood. Not because I think it sacreligeous to paint it, I just happen to like the tone in the room. One note of caution,lacquering is not accomplished easily. Not a job accomplished in an afternoon with a few spray cans.

Fori, I strongly suspect it is a raw plaster ceiling because plaster is not suppose to be painted. If you want colored walls you put tint in the plaster. A friend of mine had their walls plastered & then painted and I asked him why? The plasterer starting laughing because I explained plaster is the finish coat. He then cringed and said “you mean I could have saved $10,000 by having the plaster tinted?” and I said YES. When I saw the photo of the OP’s ceiling, it looks like a raw, never painted plaster ceiling which is what I would expect. It is a matter of taste as to whether you like the swirls on the ceiling. It actually takes some skill to do it correctly. But several coats of paint will diminish the swirls or one can skim coat them. Here is a photo of my swirled ceiling only 7 coats of primer paint later. The OP’s ceiling is not tan, it is the natural color of the plaster and a reflection of the carpet color. My ceiling is actually blue but photo is taken at night. In the day the swirls are a bit more noticeable.

I was actually trained to plaster by a master plasterer, curved trowels and all. I also restore antique plaster over wood picture frames. So I have worked with large trowels down to dentist tools with plaster. The most difficult restoration involved an historic home that had horse hair plaster that had separated from the lathe. The historical society wanted it preserved and that meant not removing the old plaster from the lathe. If anyone is interested I will be happy to open a post on how it is done. If the OP has any questions, she should have the ceiling inspected by someone that works with plaster. Nowadays plaster is skimmed over blue board and not put up in layers against lathe - but I have done both. Hope this helps the OP. (And this is one of three ceilings left with the broom swirls in the house - the rest were smooth finished in plaster).

Once you paint, you ruin it FOREVER..no one else can fix it. Please go slow. First add other colors with different flooring, wall paint, furniture. Once all that is done the wood will be a small factor in the color.

I'm 99% sure those ceiling are dry wall/sheet rock with a textured swirl finish. No plaster. The OP said in another thread that the house was built in the 80s. Those ceilings are a regional thing.

If it were a vintage or antique house, I would hesitate to make alterations that are difficult to reverse. In a 80s house, it comes down to personal preference imo, so if you like the look of painted paneling, go for it. It will brighten the dark space and give you an updated look.

one of the things I didn’t like about my last house, which was an antique, was that I felt compelled to consider the age and history of the house before making any changes that would have increased our comfort and enjoyment of the home, and opted not to make many of them. I don’t have that problem in my newer home, and it’s quite freeing.

The house I grew up in was plaster and the last two houses I've lived in were plaster on masonry and they were painted, even originally in 1830s.Some were papered.

But the house I grew up in had one sand finished room (no swirls) and I think that was tinted rather than painted. It was eventually papered.

As I said before, modern plaster walls are completed utilizing blue board and a plaster skim coat. How do you think they get swirls in a ceiling if its drywall? You don’t - you must have a skim coat of plaster applied and you don’t apply plaster to drywall because it will fall off. In my area, they still do special board (often referred to as blue board) with a skim coat of plaster over the entire board. In upper end houses they do not use drywall, they plaster over blue board. My house was built in in 1978 and the walls and ceiling are PLASTER. I even have picture molding so I don’t hammer into the “plaster walls.” When I had to remodel my entire house due to a plumbing issue in 2017 they came back in and put up blue board and skimmed it with plaster. Prior to the invention of plaster board, plaster was applied over lathe. I realize plastering is not a preferred method in all parts of the country and not in all houses, but i live in the Midwest and I have never lived in a house that didn’t have plaster walls & ceiling. Next if you wallpaper on plaster, you must size the walls first. Some wallpapers require canvas before application of the paper on plaster walls. So d-gw - I am sorry but I think you are misinformed. The swirls are created by using a broom with sand in the plaster finish although I have also seen the finish without sand. There is no way to create the swirls with drywall mud unless you wanted a ceiling that looks like a cross between a Vincent Van Gogh painting and a kindergartener’s finger painting mess.

As soon as you slap paint on it, it will look like painter wallboard with trim tacked on. painting will cheapen it.

I'd deal with the floor--new carpet with some color other than tan and I'd take out that trip hazard of a hearth. It's just pointless--too low to sit on, too high ignore. Get the bricks out and replace them with slate or tile that is perfectly flush with the floor. That gives you more floor space and is safer.

FROM BOB VILLA: Drywall panels are covered with paper that will take paint directly, once they've been taped and the joints and fasteners have been covered with compound. Blueboard's more absorbent paper layer is designed to bond with a veneer plaster coating before it's painted. The difference is in the paper covering: blueboard’s characteristic blue face comes from the special paper on the board’s surface, which is treated to bond well to a skim coat of specially formulated plaster. When finishing blue board drywall, instead of applying several coats of joint compound to the seams between boards, a quick tape-and-plaster treatment to the joints is applied, and then the entire wall surface is covered with one or two thin (1/8 inch thick) coats of plaster. A skim coat of plaster can be applied to regular drywall or an existing traditional plaster surface, but first the wall must be painted with a specially formulated orange-colored primer.

Veneer Plaster Advantages
Blueboard drywall and veneer plaster offer two advantages over ordinary drywall — quality and convenience. Veneer plaster is much harder than a regular drywall surface, making it less likely to get unsightly dents and scratches. The top surface of plaster veneer is continuous over the whole wall, so joints almost never show at all—and certainly never leap out at the eye the way drywall joints commonly do. Veneer plaster’s continuous surface is also a better base for paint. On a drywall surface, paint can dry differently on the paper surface than on the joint compound base at drywall seams. Even the most skillfully made drywall joints may show up in certain lights. Veneer plaster is much less likely to display any sort of visible shading difference.

Painting veneer plaster is not required. Some people are happy with the plaster’s own natural off-white color, and consider the plaster’s smooth surface sufficient. It’s also possible to colorize the plaster coat itself, either by adding a high-quality paint to the plaster at the mixing stage, or by using proprietary coloring systems.

I love the ceiling texture. Paint non beige, ?white or since no color in room, paint ceiling a pale some kind of color? Keep the wood paneling. Cover the brick around fireplace with tile or slate. Paint the wall with less detailed paneling behind the lamp or even out and put in a wallpaper. I love the carpet too, but too much beige. Darker floor, pergo, hardwood or painted concrete, then area rung with some color. Can also do neutral large cheap area rug with smaller more expensive rug on top. Pergo no good with dog toenail clacking. HAVE FUN

You might consider painting the fireguard black so that at least that part is a different color. If you don't wish to rip out the carpeting and replace it with wood flooring (assuming you don't have wood flooring underneath) you might consider a large, colorful Oriental rug in the seating area and then buy pillows in some of the colors of the rug. Light blue, red and yellow would all look good on your furniture and make that whole area look less beige. I would also replace your lamp with one that has a ceramic base in turquoise or another pretty color to offset the all-beige look. Drapes would also help in that respect, although I would just keep them simple, perhaps solid cream linen-like fabric. Put a stack of books on the coffee table to give it some interest, and perhaps an ornamental box or vase. This is a very large room with very little in it to catch the eye. That can be fixed with the above suggestions.

I think the paneling is lovely and if you paint it, it's very hard to undo. I'd even stain the hardwood before I'd paint the paneling. So I'd do that last if at all. Rather, change the wall & ceiling colors, the furnishings and accessories colors so all the beige becomes more of a neutral backdrop for the rest of the room which you can make stand out by using more saturated colors. I'd also get rid of the brass surround on the fireplace as that does look dated.

This is just for an idea of how it might work. Your color preferences may be different.

Bellburgmaggie - we will have to agree to disagree. Of course there are different types of techniques for doing ceilings. For modern mass produced houses, like the OP's, the ceilings are usually covered with sheet rock and the swirl is made from extra mud/joint compound not plaster. It is a cheaper process and the installer does not have to be as careful about the taping and the seams because the imperfections are covered by the extra mud.

This chart does a good job of explaining the differences between plaster and joint compound. Plaster versus joint compound

I would leave the brick on fireplace as is and paint the brass part of fireplace doors black. If you are doing dark hardwoods, I would consider gel stain on fireplace surround only. If you add luxurious light colored drapery panels and rug, it all may be enough contrast for you to really love and embrace the wood paneling.

Thanks everyone. You all had some really great ideas. I think I am leaning towards keeping the wood paneling and wood trim around the room. I like the idea of painting the fireplace doors too. I hadn't thought of that. I think I will refinish the hardwood floors with a darker stain and then change out the carpet insert. There is no flooring underneath which is a bummer but maybe a different carpet color would make a big difference. Any suggestions on paint colors for the wall that would like nice with the wood? It's hard to tell in the pictures but it's a pretty light color wood. Almost blond. I was thinking a green/gray or blue/gray color for the walls? I liked Garden Vista by Behr (N430-3) or Nature's Reflection (N430-2) Am I on the right track with shades? Thanks.

I think the nature's reflection is too minty and doesn't have enough depth to stand up against the paneling. The garden vista is better but it will be look dark in the room.

Don't make the mistake of picking a too colorful wall color to counteract the paneling. Once you get rid of the wallpaper, add a colorful area rug, curtains, furniture, etc you'll be getting rid of most the blah parts of the room.

Definitely get a few sheets of poster board and sample your colors around the room and different times of the day.

I think something with a green undertone would look good. Hopefully others will chime in with specific color names. Maybe SW sea salt?

I'd leave the walls and trim just the way they are. What about painting the wood floors? There's not a lot of it and personally, I love the look of a painted floor.

If you're going to restain the hardwood floor anyway, it'd be a perfect time to fill in the carpet insert if you want and they can stain it all to match.

The blue lacquered finish in the second to last photo is most likely a spray finish on MDF or paper covered hardboard. Or it's mostly poplar. And it may even be conversion varnish rather than lacquer.

I did a spray finish in medium gloss on birch and poplar and the grain was raised on all the birch. Between that and a couple fingerprints I ended up deciding to paper over the pivot doors and I am replacing the birch door even though it's brand new with a paper covered hardboard door that will be sprayed in a cabinet shop with conversion varnish, and all the woodwork in the next room to be completed will be MDF or Hardboard or poplar sprayed offsite with conversion varnish.

The wood in the original room would come up very grainy in a high gloss finish.

I know this woodwork is now not going to be painted but I wanted to put out my experience for others considering it.

Plus the lacquer finish in that blue room is probably a 5 figure job.

I'm not suggesting that any of these are the right colors or pattern, but a visual of what I was thinking. You could have a border around the carpet of painted wood with a stenciled design. I think that would look so cool.

I actually have a sample of SW Sea Salt already so I will try it. Any thoughts on painting the brick around the fireplace? Would that update the space a little if we left the wood paneling? I was thinking antique white brick and then paint the fireplace cover black. Any thoughts? I really struggle with visualizing color combos,etc. so I'm open to any and all suggestions.

I would look through pictures of rooms to get inspiration. Share some of them here and you'll get some good suggestions.

I'm not a good visualizer so I always think of decorating like a puzzle. Start with the big important pieces first (wall color) or things that you love and have to have (patterned rug). Then choose the rest of the pieces to finish the puzzle (fireplace finish).

Others are good at developing mood boards and picking everything out at once. It all depends on your personality and confidence level.

If you ever want to build a fire in that fireplace NO to painting the brick. It will chip, peel and turn black. Think about what paint looks like next to an open flame and heat. It blisters, peels and turns black. Whoever came up with that idea, does not understand that fire and paint don’t mix unless you use a special heat paint. If you want to update the brick, install marble over the brick.

Would whitewashing the brick present the same problems as paint? My fireplace is painted but then I never use it because of the pollution that wood-burning fireplaces cause. I can't see any wood flooring but if you do have it be careful about staining it a dark color. It shows every bit of dust and is a huge bother to keep it looking good.

You can dye the brick but painting is a disaster on fireplaces - should not be done - ever and its not to code.

Please copy and paste the International Residential Code prohibiting the painting of brick on the face of a fireplace. I would be interested in seeing that one.

Interesting thread (funny too), Is the wood mantle fireplace surround the same color as the wall paneling? It looks different but it may be the picture. I'd stain the flooring dark and get a print carpet to inset (vibrant color with light background). I'd paint the ceiling very light maybe with a color if subtle. I don't know the paint color you mentioned but I wouldn't use too much of a grey tone paint, I think it may not compliment your wood.

In Illinois as in most jurisdictions, code prohibits combustibles being used which will be in contact with high heat. https://www.rawlinspaints.com/heat-resistant-paints Most paints, especially latex are combustible. Most people go out and buy latex paint and use it on a fireplace which is WRONG. Then if you have old brick that was painted before 1978, you have the risk of lead paint, which when heated, will expose your family to lead fumes, which can cause brain damage.

I didn't read all the responses. I like wood but I would paint all that paneling, trim, the fp and mantel all cream. I don't care for the tone of the wood in general and I think it clashes with the brick. (And the floor though I know wood flooring is supposed to be neutral.) I would leave the brick alone. Nice room!