Clear shellac may do the trick. Shellac is often used to seal in smoke odors and pet urine stink. (Is it possible that what you're smelling is cigarette or cigar smoke? The age of the house may make it likely and that really reeks!) As always, test first in an inconspicuous spot as the finish on the paneling may be shellac and a new coat could disturb the color by re-liquifying the shellac, which is often tinted. (You could tint new shellac, too, but it sounds as if you like it the way it is now? It does darken with age.) You can test to see if it is shellac by using water which will mark shellac. Denatured alcohol will dissolve shellac. Mineral spirits would dissolve varnish - but not shellac - and wax - so you might test with that as well. But if you decide to go ahead, you might try buying shellac flakes and mixing it up for the job. There are varying levels of sheen in shellac as well. Old shellac sitting pre-mixed with alcohol (its solvent and carrier) in a can can go bad so fresh is always better and stuff in hardware stores and big box stores may have been sitting around as it is not a really popular finish in these days of poly-everything. Be sure to ventilate the room while applying as it will give you a cracking headache (and probably kill off some brain cells) to be closed up while working on it. Once its dry it doesn't give off odors as the alcohol evaporates completely. Shellac is a bear to apply during periods of high humidity, so wait for late fall, when it's dryer and you can still open windows (leave screens in to inhibt bugs getting caught in the still-drying shellac.) HTH, L.

I think I'd get wood fatigue also and might try a white-wash technique in some rooms. Perhaps a bedroom or even just on a ceiling. The link Chris11895 posted shows Sarah's bunkie at her cottage. This is Sarah's answer to the treatment they did on the pine walls: Sarah Richardson says, "In order to get the effect we achieved with the whitewashing we simply rolled semi-transparent oil-based stain tinted in a variety of shades (see the source guides) and then brushed the joints to ensure an even application. Be sure to test an area first and perfect your technique before rolling away! We did not wipe off the stain as recommended because I wanted greater coverage, but the effect was achieved with a single coat. Note: You cannot apply a whitewash stain over panelling which has a urethane coating - it won't penetrate (the only solution here is to paint it in a solid stain)." IMO if the walls have a urethane coating you could do another urethane coat with the addition of some paint. Test it on a scrap of wood or in an inconspicuous place like inside a closet to see if the proportions of paint and urethane gives you the finish you want. You should still see the wood grain but the overall effect will be lighter if white paint is used, and a faint tint of color if a colored paint is used. Always use the same type of paint and stir carefully and frequently as it settles. If you don't want to paint the walls you might use window treatments outside the edge of the windows so they cover part of the walls. Using lots of art or hangings on the walls will give more interest and cover more wood. Use either lots of neutrals or lots of color in WT and furniture, whichever your preference. I would probably use lots of colored/patterned area rugs such as Oriental or southwestern styles. Or seagrass if you go for a neutral look. Alternatively you could just embrace the wood look and use wood furniture in different tones and lots of dark fabrics in WT and upholstery. Cozy cabin style.

I'd suggest you delay the decision as long as possible and check-out the door samples and take them home after the major surfaces are complete - lights, flooring, etc... For our kitchen, I originally fell in love with a warm cream mixed with light taupe moldings. In the actual room, chips and larger painted samples looked fine until the actual surfaces, new windows and lighting were installed. The warm cream turned flesh-toned and the light taupe picked up really unattractive darkness with green overtones. I am currently recycling the leftovers of that paint in my office where THE EXACT PAINT appears as pale cream with a little warmth. While its good to know I'm not crazy, even an experienced painter can't quite figure it out.

In my previous house we had pine wainscoting throughout the house. We were going for more of an eclectic cottage/farmhouse look, but we were super happy with the following colors (and the house sold in 10 days). Behr Beaverwood Brown SW Independent Gold (more green than gold) SW Jersey Cream SW Teal Stencil SW Sassy Green Ralph Lauren Malaga Red