Dumb question.... Are you getting NEW cabs, or refinishing existing? Post this over in the Home-Decorating forum...LOTS of good decorator's there! Faron

Thanks for the advice. I am glad to know I'm not crazy for wanting to push ahead with the oak. I think I am going ahead with the wood windows and doors, but trim the windows in white. The doors already have white trim, so they should probably match. I figure if I choose this route, it will match until I can replace all of the trim in a room at once. I don't understand why everyone is so obsessed with putting in white windows and doors. They might be timeless, but they are a huge pain to maintain given all the dirt they'd show. And in a historic home, wood really feels like the best choice. Plus if I hate it, I can always paint my wood windows and doors white.

Do you know a fantastically skilled finish carpenter? Or someone who can recommend one? If so, have him/her come in and take a look at your room and see what is involved in removing the scalloped edging from the book case and crown molding and if it can be done without damaging the bookcases and crown molding and what the cost would be, etc, and then you can decide about that. You can have a wood refinisher restore the wood back to its natural beauty if it has dried out and or alligatored, etc. Or you can have it painted. The sage green color Flo Mangan suggested is lovely. Just think about if you want to be married to that green color, because although you love the fabric on the little sofa now, you grow tired of it, or it will wear out and when you replace it, you may want to go for a totally different look, but you will be stuck with green woodwork. If you want to introduce a piece of furniture, say an armoire that is very functional for you but the quality of the wood is not that great, you can paint or stain that one. If the rest of your home is in greens, and if you have been a green gal your whole life, why then go for the green con gusto. If not, please think carefully about doing all the woodwork green. I like a wood floor with a beautiful handmade rug. I am partial to Orientals, and the prices on Persians are very good right now. You could get the paler colored Nain or Isfahan, but a brighter colored rug would look well too as it would stand up to the deep green and the deep coral in the sofa. An allover pattern is a good idea as a central medallion might get lost depending on the positioning of your furniture. An Aubusson (yes, they are still being made) or Aubusson look-alike would look great as well, but this hand-made authentic Aubusson requires a serious $ committment to green. Curtains to the floor would be a good idea. If you are willing to make a long-term commitment to green, then you can pick 1. Medium sized print with a botanical print such as a green leaf such as a fern on ivory, or 2. Green and ivory vertical stripe 3. All ivory with a wonderful embroidered ribbon trim along the inner edge, and the trim should incorporate the colors of green and ivory and one other color from your sofa, you decide. I like something that looks and feels and drapes like silk. I know you thought about about an upholstered desk chair, but you need to really think about the ergonomic aspects of a desk chair. It doesn't matter how beautiful the desk chair is if your back or hips hurt after sitting in it after a while. I strongly suggest going to every office supply place in town, and buy the most comfortable chair you can find, but sit in it at a desk in the store for a while. Even if you despise the fabric. You can always get it recovered in whatever fabric you like, or a supple leather. I suggest having a throw pillow made for your sofa is you think you would use one, and if you like to put your feet up, I would have an ottoman made, with the cushion in a floral print in the colors of the corals and green of your sofa, and a ruffle skirt in a medium green stripe to match the stripe of the curtain, or if you don't do a stripe in the curtain, pick one of the greens of the sofa. (I say sage, you say olive, but you know which shade I'm talking about.) And on the throw pillow and the ottoman you will use contrast pattern welting. And you can think about really going for broke with lavish fringe or tassels, etc. Take a look at the Scalamandre web site under trims. There are no prices listed on the Scalamandre website because if you have to ask their prices, you don't need to shop with them. Seriously though, their products are only available through a designer but you can see what you like there and get the best facsimile that you can afford elsewhere. Pink and green go very well together but a bit Palm Beach Lily Pulitzer. Coral pink and sage green go very well together and are tres chic. So if you really want the room to read feminine, you can paint the walls the coral pink that is in the sofa. But choose the pink carefully, because you don't want the room to look like a nursery. And the choose the green carefully too, because, well, split pea soup. A side table to hold a drink, a book, and a small plate would be useful. If you can corral a somewhat larger table from somewhere else in the house, or buy one from a garage sale that would be useful. You might want to bring up a tray from the kitchen and eat lunch in there or someday have someone in there for tea and to discuss a project and you can keep a tea set if you like on top of the table. So think about a small dresser for storage, or a small table, or a set of TV tables (is that what they are called?) This will be a really fun project, and keep us posted!

It looks like you have beautiful wood doors, door trim and beams. Don't know what you have around the windows (not pictured). Looks like the stairs could use a bit of TLC. If I were you I would not be in a hurry to paint or refinish the wood. First year in the home should be figuring out what works, doesn't work, how the home functions and where to sink your money. Prime your walls - live with them for a bit and decide if you really want white walls. I know all the pictures on the internet today are white rooms, but they also have studio lighting. Not all homes look good with all white walls. White needs lots of light to really shine. Often a light neutral color looks better than white if you don't have giant windows, skylights or other great lighting. My last home had between 6 and 16 linear feet of windows in each room - natural daylight galore and I had white walls. My current home has more normal sized windows in most rooms and I am painting the walls that were white to something more appropriate for the amount of light. The white just isn't pretty with out sufficient light. With the walls all primed you can look at flooring and paint and make a better decision on what works best in your new home.