Please don’t paint it. It’s gorgeous. As others have said, new lighting and front door can go a long way to modernize it. I’d also consider simplifying some of the white trim and columns.

I would just like to add my voice and say that you should paint it. It's the one thing that looks out of place. At the first photo, I also thought it was beautiful would and a shame that it isn't working with the rest, but on further pictures, it actually has a more blotchy and fake look to me. The brown of it doesn't even go with the tone of your rug. Seems more like you'd have to change everything else to make it work. There have also been posted some beautiful examples where it's painted.

Painting is an option for you but I fear you have been selecting furnishings that really do not complement how upscale your home is. Had you selected furnishings that had wood finishes in a dark tone there would have been a connection between your home and the furnishings.

All these items below are from Barbara Barry for either Baker or Henredon. They are starting to show up in resale shops and consignment stores along with Craigslist and can be purchased for a fraction of what they sold for. Before I painted I would get the furnishings right. Even if you paint the paneling white, your existing furnishings are just not all right for the home.

Just for the record, i think that most of Beth H’s examples look too white too.

I also agree that the house needs different furniture either way. and lighting.

All this is helpful everyone! We just moved into this house a few months ago so I am trying to get direction- and new furniture too! I have been split right down the middle on painting the all the wood. I’m a bit overwhelmed. Love the formal feel of the house but we have a very practical lifestyle with kids ( ages 10 to 16) in the house. When we moved in we nicknamed it “The Cheesecake Factory House” because of all the busy designs going on. We also plan to gut the kitchen after the new year.

Beth H here is a pic of entry and other angles. from further back.

Keep the wood. Replace the columns.

Another vote for painting it all. My answer would be different if this house was an old original Victorian or Craftsman, which it isn't.

I vote to paint it all! Yes to the same white in different sheens - ceiling to floor. (And eliminate any columns that you can, plus a new front door with sidelights.) It will give you one cohesive starting point!

Find a cabinet/trim painter that will prep properly, mask off and spray everything with a high quality cabinet paint (i.e., Centurion, Renner, Milesi, etc.)

But I would wait and work the changes in with the remodel/redesign of your kitchen.

All of these painted trim examples have beautiful hardwood floors. You’ve got something like Crema Marfil with diamonds. My point is you should consider whether you want to change out that flooring for wood. To me, the wood is necessary to balance out the large white walls.

I would paint this because it's random mix and match between stained wood and painted wood and things that probably aren't wood but some kind of composite or fiberglass.

The first detail I noticed was the area around the front door. The entire area is kind of visually chaotic but the entry elevation which tends to dictate some sort of strict symmetry but is off enough to have the door surround slightly amputated on the left is enough to make me want to paint this:

There is asymmetry all over this picture and in some instances it it can be kind of charming, But this isn't one of those instances. The "couple inches askew" to the left looks like building error rather than something intentional.

That said paint does not always mean white paint.

Good catch Pal. When you start looking you see so many of the elements are asymmetrical.

I would remove all that "wedding cake" crown molding and the columns (but column removal leads into whole other floor project). Streamline the design of the house a bit.

Fix the columns first. And then paint it all.

The existing white looks out of place with the dark wood. What if you paint the trim a dark color? I also agree the front foor should be replaced.

Go ahead and paint it, IMO. Beth showed some great examples of painted millwork. I'd also consider changing out your entry door for something less ornate. That oval window in the door doesn't really work with the rest of the house. If you want a door with glass panes in it, get one with two or three panes across the top.

So columns seem to be a problem…so how do I fix them? Remove altogether or replace?

Depends if the columns are decorative or load bearing. You might have to get someone in to take a look to make that determination. If they are decorative, I might just remove them. If not, replace them with squared off posts instead. You've got an Arts & Crafts style header over the front door. Go with a similar style for the posts. Like this:

Mercer Island Waterfront Estate · More Info

agree w/Sabrina on the columns. The greek corinthian colums just have to go!

Next, an updated front door.

If you paint all the wood, you can get a more modern/traditional style front door

this is an outdoor shot of the door, but look at what a diff it makes over the current one.

All white w/the wood door, a new light, new spindles, would be very pretty.

these are the squared off columns mentioned:

If you can remove some of the larger ones right in the walkway, I'd do that. you'll need a structural professional to determine if they are load bearing.

merely redoing these colums and painting all hte wood would be a huge improvement.

The next thing I'd tackle is the staircase. Maybe replace the iron ballusters and the carpet runner.

You could always paint some of the wood, lighten the railing, or just change out the runner and spindles.

It all depends on the overall look you want to see.

I really love this look, except I'd do a bit of color.

either paint the front door, get a wood door, or paint the adjoinging walls a nice color

maybe do something a bit more dramatic w/your dining room.

Normally I would say paint first and then see how the columns look. But these columns are really bastardized design-wise. They are not really any sort of real style, they are pastiche Roman Doric, which was already a kind of inferior copy of the Greek order.

If you think it's weird and irrelevant to think this way, well, it's not. If they were properly proportioned Doric columns they would not look so weird. They are too skinny and the top of the capital ends up much smaller than the bit that's acting as the architrave, which is all that moulding at the top is acting as. The column is supposed to be wider than the architrave. That moulding isn't supposed to be all overhanging.

They are supposed to relate like this:

Plus you have a column set on the floor and one set on the step supporting the same horizontal element and they end up two different sizes.

If they had paid attention to what the proportions were supposed to be, which requires knowing some history, which of course bores the hell out of most people, maybe yours would look at least good enough to keep.

thanks palimp,,,,doric it is

This is roughly what they would look like if you could flatten off the round part of the base and apply flat but tapered sides over the top of the existing.

The project I worked on that had these columns, one (the supporting one) had a steel column underneath and decorative column slid over it like a sleeve.

Don't paint. That wood is magnificent, was quite expensive, and look luxurious. Painting it will make it look like a gazillion other houses, where it was done with MDF. If you must paint it, make sure you use a paint that can be removed.

was quite expensive, and look luxurious.

This wood looks like it's a veneered plywood stained some type of cherry shade. (and even that stain job wasn't done all that great)

what you think is expensive and lux, it isn't. If it was done in 1920, yes, it would have been solid cherry or mahogany.

In 1997? it just isn't. There is no shame in painting over it.

The house looks like a suburban Neo-Eclectic, leaning neo-classical so I would really use a very traditional door, solid with sidelites.

Pal- love the pic. Helps a lot to see it!

Live this!

I can't get over how short and squatty the brown door looks in palimpsest's image where your wood paneling is painted white. If you paint your paneling white, then I'd consider having the door be white on the inside. Golly that was a really shocking image. I don't care if you paint over "cheap" paneling though. If it was real and in good shape, then I'd feel bad about it.

Can you try improving the lighting first? Otherwise you could end up with a dirty dingy look after painting and still be unhappy. In other words, maybe the paneling is not what is causing the darkness. I was surprised at the difference new lights made in my kitchen. The technology has improved a lot. So have the designs! I read this was a result of a technology Archetectual Digest called multi-point lighting. Though the reference was vague. I really don't care; I just love the results and can't wait until it is time to start replacing the lights in my own home. So getting new light fixtures will help with the "dark" issue and the "update" issue at the same time. The older light fixture styles date the house to a pre-now era.

All the information on columns is valuable and important. If you are worried about the fluting on the columns making them look dated, don't. I've been reading for around a year that both fluting and reeding are a thing now. However, if you don't like them, go ahead and replace them if you want. Just don't replace them with something skimpy. Nothing looks worse.

I can't get over how short and squatty the brown door looks in palimpsest's image

This is because proportion is rarely considered in residential design/architecture anymore. In my opinion this started going awry in the 1980s with the rise of the McMansion.

Elements of the house started being a checklist of desires and these would be added regardless of the outcome.

And then the high ceiling fetish kicked in, 8 is "pressing down on my head", nine is "too low for a main floor," "you need at least" 10, 12, 14 foot ceilings . This is all fine, but the extra feet just get stacked on with little attention paid to the size of the rooms, the windows and doors and so forth.

Look in the building a home forum sometime

" I have 19 foot ceilings and my kitchen cabinets look so tiny, what can I do?" Well you can't have 5 foot high counters that just doesn't work.

" I just had the builder raise the ceilings on the first floor when we started building and now we don't have room for the stairs" No kiddin'?

Check out this article for how they dealt with the columns when the whole house was updated

https://www.houzz.com/magazine/houzz-tour-redesign-makes-a-big-house-more-comfortable-stsetivw-vs~157505787

From this

HT Haus Kirsten · More Info

to this

Living Room and Entry · More Info

Palimsest...you are too funny. :-) Tell us what you really think. I guess those folks would be horrified at my 7.5' ceilings in some places. I'm such a toad...

I have lived in 7.5, 8, 9, 10, 12, and 14.

Most of these have been fine because the ceilings were in proportion to the rooms and the windows.

The 14 was too high because the room had been lofted at one end, and the the divided ceiling heights of the lofted area, about 6'7" each were not pleasant either, especially the one that was the kitchen. The original rooms with the 14 ceilings would have been okay, especially if you had the entire double parlor, totaling about 50 x 17 or so. But they had been subdivided.

The article RTHawk suggested is excellent. I've seen it before and loved it. The main thing I noticed in the best of the renovations was improved proportions. Notably, the columns size, the vanity size, etc. The kitchen however seemed off somehow, not so much in proportion but something else I can't figure out. Maybe it was the sheer size of it. It seemed too big for one person to work in without feeling like they'd run a marathon all day and too undivided for a staff to use without ending up throwing knives at each other. Maybe it was proportion after all, as it didn't suit human proportion.

All in all a great article, RTHawk!

Right now your house projects a 'Ralph Lauren style. Stained wainscotting is very rare and IMO should not be discarded easily. Yes, this group has shown you scores of images of white wainscotting and it's fairly common. Do you want something more unique?

To get that all painted up correctly, as in sanded, primed, and painted, with no steps skipped, is easily going to be a 40k job from a painting professional. Many days on scaffolding, and lots of home protection from dust and overspray. Anyone promising less is not going to do the full job process that needs to happen.

It's a beautiful house that looks to be in pristine condition. I wouldn't touch anything (maybe remove the upstairs carpeting), just work on the interior decorating.

@Paula Cummings I know this must feel very daunting, but how fun to be able to make this pretty home, yours. I agree with the various opinions about housing during the dot com bubble and the choppy feel of various styles squished into one space. It's like a woman wearing all her jewelry at once, even the costume stuff, her skinny jeans and her lulu lemon sundress, and having 1980s claw bangs to boot with an hombre dye job. One thing at a time, please. The columns vs the iron rails, the wood paneling vs the doric columns...the reed and rosettes vs. the tile floor...

But you did not ask us about that. You asked about paneling...

I like the idea of painting it, but I am team-please-not-so much white. (You might not have space in between trim for color without peppering it with small artwork.) All the sample photos provided with other colors look so much better than straight white. And let me tell you, I have this sort of thing in my (much smaller) foyer and up the staircase painted polar bear white, and with kids and pets, it IS a bear to keep clean. ANY other color would be easier.

With that said, I sort of like the paneling. Your paneling has a plywood foundation, which is why the stain is blotchy. If you want to keep it and tone down red, look into Old Masters GEL stains to given them a fresh coat with a deeper color, and bring down the red color. They can go directly over what you have after cleaning.

The real problem, however, is there's just too much, whether you keep it stained or paint it. Consider keeping it above first floor, with the only first floor part remaining that piece that is connected to wall going up stairs. Refigure the trim above door so that is matched, when you paint below. ANd get rid of the fake stuff to right of door. Like someone else said, that imbalance screams mistake.

But I also might replace door with a custom french door and window set, filling where the door and the window above it are now.

But if you do nothing else, get rid of the trim above door, and fake raised stuff beside it (and the iron spindles. AND PLEASE come back and show us what you finally do. Obviously, we are invested, LOL.

Sorry, absolutely NO to this!! "If you want to keep it and tone down red, look into Old Masters GEL stains to given them a fresh coat with a deeper color, and bring down the red color. "

It will create a muddled mess!

I'm not sure if the 40K estimate for proper prep and painting is correct - depends on your location. It will also depend on many rooms the project ends up extending into.

But do it once and do it right!

Yes, white can be difficult, but that's why it's so important to get a quality painter who uses top of the line finishes.

What part of the country are you located in?

I am just north of Houston. Getting back from holiday travel…eager to make some decisions. Feeling some direction and a little better vision for this space. Will post the outcome in the coming months as we move forward! This has been a very helpful thread.

@Paula Cummings, if you're by Houston, you may want to see if Flo Mangan would help you.

(IIRC, she's in the Houston area). You will often see her name in the list of "Top Commentators".

She's so helpful and has wonderful design ideas - one of the best on this site!

Ah, Texas!

@Paula Cummings Regarding Gel Stain, @Mary Elizabeth is not wrong about gel stain possibly ending up a mess. Poorly prepped and applied, gel stain can look as bad as any awful paint job, It has a long cure time, and can feel tacky for weeks. It can be plastered on too thickly by a heavy hand. But well done, gel stains can transform already stained wood. Below is color Java on top of old golden oak cabinets...not a "muddled mess" at all.

Update:
We painted the dark wood window frames in the living room and purchased a sideboard for under the tv- which will be wall mounted and cords hidden. I definitely plan to paint at least part of the entry box paneling but have to wait for a new front door. Two bathrooms are mid project and must be finished before we begin changing the front door. Next is choosing a new overhead living room light fixture, maybe standing lamps or sconces and coffee table/ ottoman. I am currently finding inspiration from Jean Stoffer Design.

Beautiful so far!

Paula, that looks so nice and bright.

I found a similar fireplace to yours

they did a contrasting trim color, but look at the accessories and how nice it sets off the rest of the room

Looks beautiful! I just finished watching "The Established Home" on HBOMax and yes, I like Jean Stoffer Design too.

Can't help myself with styling the room. Unless you need a lot of seating, I would move the leather chair and one of the patterned chairs to a different room, and put the remaining patterned chair to where the leather chair is now. I would add an end table on either end of the sofa, move the lamp on the TV cabinet to one of the end tables .

Before we paint the box paneling in entry and stairs we need to replace the front door. I want a black front door so considering iron doors. Any opinions on iron vs. painted wood? I know it will cost a little more. First pic is our current front door. Second is what I’m leaning toward.

Beth- where can I find the marble top coffee table in the picture you posted above? It might be perfect in my living room.

paula, sorry, it was just in that pic. have you tried searching brass pedestal oval marble coffee table?

west elm

home depot

kathy kuo home

Cute side table too. Wayfair-kelly clarkson collection

About to paint entry and stairs! 🎉
And, ordered new front doors today…
Doing 8 ft double doors - black ( see example) 12 weeks before they are ready.