Post some photos, we would love to see your cottage!

Lots of cream, white, light fixtures, large art (groupings.)

Also see here: https://www.gardenweb.com/gardenweb/query/cabin-wood-in-home-decorating

We need pictures of the space and I am not a lover of knotty pine everywhere so I would fight for painting at least some of it.

Yes,to lots of creams and whites but often you also need an equally strong accent appearing to push back. Note in Beth's top pick (the orangiest one,btw) that the black (but see-thru ...perfect!) chair and dark wood coffee table have enough presence to hold your eye and the bold,dark stripe rug does,too. Every other pic posted also uses some strong color and/or strong graphic print to do the same. All light and faded can charm,but it never diminishes the pine.

Someone tell me when a husband ever agrees to painting wood. First, they are usually asked to do the work and second, they know they will always get criticized for their work. Who would agree to that situation?

Here are some examples of white washing knotty pine. Unless you really know what you're doing, it might be better to leave this to a professional. I could never live in a yellowy orange wood house.

Is everything in great condition? Does the wood need repairing/replacing anywhere? What's your location?

For a woodsy cottage where it's all in great shape, no, I wouldn't paint.

But for an urban or beachy location, especially if there are missing areas or major repairs needed, yes, I would have it painted if that's what you want to do. I wouldn't do that with all woods, but some of that 50s knotty pine was nasty from the get-go.

It can make a big difference. Here's a 50s FL beach cottage that was all done in dark wood paneling, but it was in bad shape so rather than hassle with trying to match what was there, they just painted.

Before:

After:

What if you paint the walls, but leave the ceiling as a compromise?

I'm green with envy; I'd kill for a knotty pine cottage. Think On Golden Pond.....:) (You might be too young for that one...) Frankly, I'd be more likely to get rid of the carpet (at least in a few main rooms) and expose what I'm sure are wood floors and get some interesting area rugs. Do you like anything vintage in character? Because you could have a ball incorporating some of that. You can't beat the pine for cozy, warm. Although I love cream painted paneling and have done my share of it I haven't gone over old knotty pine...not sure I would...or could! Here's a fun one....https://thistlebleu.com/2012/07/26/embrace-your-knotty-pine/

Oh, one thing to be aware of that one hardly hears about when painting wood: bleed through of the knots. It's not a great look with whitish paint when that happens and it can be a toughie to stop. We painted pine paneling years ago in a sunroom and even though I took measures to prevent the bleeding, it still happened. Six yrs later, a month before putting the house on the market, I went over the knots again: 2 coats of stain killing primer and another one of shellac (often recommended for this) It now had at least 4 coats of primer, a coat of shellac and 4 coats of latex paint....annnnd it bled through within 1-2 yrs. We became friendly with the new owners so I had a chance to see it....very discouraging. I'm sure there are variables that impact the bleeding: age of wood, the finish etc but it was frustrating and I'm not quite sure what the answer is. I'd researched extensively and all the suggested methods failed.

Husbands need to stay in their lane, most are not people I would take decorating advice from. You are going to need to paint some of it, somewhere, or it's just going to be too overwhelming. Then I would decorate with whites/creams and espresso/dark metal.

Our home is an old log cabin surrounded by woods. Love my original knotty pine walls. They're true to the cabin's character and look great with the giant stone fireplace. The wainscoting is horizontal and above is vertical. I had to live with it a while before I realized I didn't want to ruin the cabin's integrity.

I have a home in Maine and all the surfaces, floors, ceilings, wall. It was cozy but after ten years we decided to brighten it up. They used Kilz white primer and then I chose five different shades of white for different areas. It came out gorgeous and we never regretted it. Go for it.

How long ago did you paint it? Tough sell since my husband was a rep for a major paint company for 40 years. He swears bleed through of knots is inevitable. Can you send pics?

Pretty much all the houses in my neighborhood have knotty pine somewhere. Most did eventually paint over successfully, but if it's real knotty pine you need to know what you are doing or there will be bleed through. in our master, there's knotty pine but the original owners did a dark matter strain (no shiny orangey) and I've grown to love it. I've also grown to like the typical knotty pine in the living room, but only bc the light is great in there and we have hung big paintings on the wood walls 😉. seriously, we may end up keeping it when we remodel, but we aren't 100% sure. knotty pine cabinets in kitchen will eventually go when we remodel. don't like those and never will. so my point is that as you relax and live in your space, you might be surprised at how your perspective changes. I am.

dark matte stain, not dark matter 🤦‍♀️

Thanks!

there was a house priced in the 800k range not far from me (more upscale than my neighborhood) and it even had knotty pine rooms!!! it mostly looked good. they really made it look Scandinavian and cabin-y. also, lots of large art on walls. even a cuckoo clock. I think it really helps to break things up and small art collections can look busy w the knots.

Katie: I painted over knotty pine in my sunroom 3 years ago, and have had no bleed through. I didn’t even do anything special... no primer, just two coats of SW paint.

Sarah just painted a ski chalet and she is celebrating the cracks and knots...you retain the wood beam feature and brighten the room at the same time.