My grandfather was a carpenter. He was born in the 1880s. I don't know if that had anything to do with his taste or if it was the fact that he was a carpenter, but he did like nice wood finishes. He was of the school of thought that baseboards, door frames, and crown molding should be walnut or mahogany. When I was a little bitty girl, he made me a dresser, using a small washstand as a guide. My dresser had two wide drawers and a mirror. Papa made it out of scraps. The body of the dresser was an old Philco mahogany TV cabinet, the drawer fronts were really nice Walnut, the side pieces were some kind of veneer that eventually bubbled and buckled, and the supports for the mirror were probably fir. I got so excited when I saw it that I threw a fit and I *had* to take it home right away. The mirror frame was not yet finished, it was raw wood. The drawer fronts and side pieces were finished walnut, and the top was mahogany. Papa made my father promise to finish it. When I was 16 years old, it still was in its original condition...except for the small Beatles sticker in the corner of the mirror. I painted the dresser white. My mother shook her head and said, 'I'm glad Papa it's not here to see you painting that bewwwtiful wood." I still have that dresser. It is still white.

Ta Se,,,what kind of wood is it? (your picture is so small, I can't even see the beam. do a larger format picture) sandblasting, stripping or sanding, is all a lot of work. sandblasting would make the most mess. (that sand will be in every nook and cranny, even if you do hang plastic). stripping it will take out the majority of the color. You could try SoyGel since it's almost all natural, does not smell and wipes up with water. (the other strippers need a chemical wash to clean off the stripper). Or, just take an orbital sander or large format sander up there to the beam and see if you can get it down to natural wood. if you use a 60-80 grit, it should get you down to bare wood pretty fast. I would not hire your painter to do that. call in a wood refinishing company and let them do it. If you put stain over that, it's going to be darker. think of that wood like your hair. if you have light brown hair, putting on a lighter color like a blond isn't going to take. wood is the same way. you can't 'lighten' wood w/ a lighter stain. if you sand or strip, you may get it back to this shade if you go for a darker gel stain, you could get this look (and painting the rest white). and your ceiling is prob what this all white one looked like at one time. this one too. this was a mcm home in Hollywood. someone painted the all wood ceiling I would call out a wood refinisher and see what he could do for your ceiling.

Holly- fair point!! Although I am nowhere near the level of expertise of Mr. Farmer but yes I understand there are ways to work outside of the rules if there is a plan. I tend to be a bit crazy about defining & following rules in decorating and I know that’s not wise. Bad habit for sure! CDR- it will eventually becomes a nursery when (technically if, I guess) we are matched for an infant adoption. I can get some photos later this evening : ) I have a personal distrust of gliders & rockers. I kind of hate them because I’m convinced they are unsafe for little fingers & [cat] tails. Also I’m positive I could get just as much use out of a stationary chair. It’s become an admittedly random & seemingly silly hill I’ve chosen to die on. Even the awareness of how neurotic I’m being isn’t enough to make me change my mind lol. It’s not worth the stress for me. Sadly, nothing fits under that window. Nothing fits almost anywhere. It’s the dumbest room layout ever. Does a pack n play double as a crib? I know I bought one off a registry once but I don’t actually know what it is lol. See how low the ceilings slope on each side? Annoying! There is also a huge closet across from that window blocking almost the whole length of the only other full sized wall. Cape cods- it’s a love/hate relationship

You've got some nice wood pieces. Did your father make most all of them? Regarding the paint color. I always feel paint color should be decided once everything is selected. I'm guessing that the Builder has a couple of paint selections that were chosen to go with the finishes that are being offered so if I were you at this point I would make notes as you are doing but wait to see what you select for the other finishes and then see if the Builder's paint colors will work for you. If none of them do, at that point you can determine if you are going to "up-grade" (he may not even offer the opportunity for you to stray from the color choices) or just paint the walls a non-descriptive color and have them painted later with your own painter. When is your meeting at the Design Center?