Given the wood on the adjacent porch,I would paint everything but the beams in the first room. Since it is all going to need primer (and some wood filler),I'd decide then about an accent wall of built-ins. Maybe just having that wall in a different sheen but the same colour would create enough contrast for you...maybe not. Personally,I would not repeat the exact same colourway you plan to use in the kitchen in the living room. The same white shade,sure, but not the navy. Have the ceiling match the walls. And I'd remove those upper cabs over the peninsula in the kitchen. Wonderful space and the changes you envision sound great. A lot of work but huge payoff.

Thanks for your feedback. This has been very helpful.

Do you plan to keep or replace the carpet in the room. If you are replacing it, consider the flooring choice before you pick your paint. Painting the kitchen cabinets may not be as simple as painting the paneling. Do a search here on GW to see some of the problems.

I think if you paint the paneling, the wood on the porch will be a nice contrast and not too dark.

Eventually we plan to replace the carpet with hardwood flooring. I still think we would want to choose a white with a warm undertone but I'm not an expert.

We are planning on hiring a painter for the room with the wood panels. We were planning on painting the cabinets ourselves for a cheap upgrade until we can afford a larger scale remodel.

Good to know we can keep the porch its original wood color.

One way to test your paints is http://samplize.com/    A recurring complaint lately seems to be that the small samples are less accurate than they should be. Makes sense because even computerized mixing in such minute quantities can be problematic. These guys solve that problem and will give you $5 off your first order.

Thanks for the color suggestions. I'll check out samplize as well. I'm curious where you mean by painting the back of the stairs. Do you mean the wall behind the stairs or the wall under the stairs?

Also, what do others think about painting the mantle, trim, built-in's, and moulding around the doors and windows? Keep them the original wood color or paint them white? I do believe we'll be leaving the beams their original color.

Glad we won't be needing to paint the porch. :)

Wow, what a gorgeous home with great detailing!

Gosh, I love white but I would leave those walls and paint everything else (built-ins and beams) white. I love how your dark walls tie in with the staircase just outside the room. However, if you are dead set on painting the walls white I would definitely paint the built-ins white as well since their style seems to really date the room.

For the adjacent porch I would paint the walls white, leaving the ceiling wood. I would look into removing the current stain, which reads too orange and go with a clear finish/something closer to the woods natural look.

Here are some white suggestions from my favorite interior designer Amber Interiors, although these are not Sherwin Williams...

Has a previous owner applied an additional coat of darkening stain/polyurethane mixture to the panelling and trim? It looks quite a bit darker and shinier than the built-in. Same question for kitchen cabinets?

If you paint the living room panelling, the dominant features will be the high contrast stripes of the dark beams and, to a much lesser extent, the quiet tones of the stone fireplace. Which do you want to be the star of the room?

i'd divide and conquer... paint (or remove) the way too dark paneling, leave the porch and kitchen alone. for now. i like some wood but that color is just soul sucking to me.

Thank you all for your responses. I wish we could see what our room would look like in the various paint scenarios suggested. Does anyone know if there are any easy apps we could use to get a better visual understanding of how the room would look when painting different aspects of it?

Thank you Betsy! I really do love the aesthetic of Studio McGee. I've been using their work as inspirational images. I also appreciate your suggestions for the stairs and the beams. Now my question is what should we do about the color in the rest of our house? Can we keep it the same and fine a white that will go with it or do we have to paint everything else as well?

I would paint the walls and the beams or sandblast the beams to lighten them. Plain white is a good color for the room.

I think this warm white below is too warm and golden

White walls and white beams

What color is the rest of the house? Would it be possible to remove the texture from the walls in entryway or what are your thoughts on that?

Most of the rest of the house is a creamy white. I would absolutely love to remove the texture on the walls. I'm just not sure how to go about doing it. Is it something we could do ourselves or would we have to hire someone? Once its off, I would assume we would have to then paint it as well?