Can you show us some pictures?

No, just refinish the wood.

Whitewashing is not an appropriate treatment for that age millwork.

It's important to mention that the wood is unfinished. The color that you see is of the natural pine.

I think posting a photo with the lighter rugs and light would help. The current photo has dark rugs, and no extra lights. Large light artwork would help. Table lamps or installing wall sconces. I think the room can be appreciated with being cozy. The wood is beautiful.

Also there is a lot of heavy furniture. Maybe have a light, wih pattern or texture seat on one side.

The wood might not have a finish but it has soiled and oxidized over time.

You either place light objects in the room to lighten the appearance

Soda Blast the wood with walnut shells or some other type of low abrasive to get to the new surface of the old wood.

Here's a before and after the blasting of the wood.

Oh my goodness, that woodwork is gorgeous! I wouldn't bleach or whitewash it. As Bev stated, change what's in the space. It looks very formal and dark right now. You say the wood is pine, you could furnish it with light pine pieces and seagrass rugs. You could also get a more casual chandelier to replace the heavy crystal one. And yes, light framed and matted prints or photos would lighten it up.

The photo of the sandblasted room is beautiful, but I wonder how disruptive and expensive that could be?

that is pretty.

I agree about lighting, bring in light color rugs, get rid of the heavy, dark furniture and bring in lighter options. Light framed artwork. take away the heavy, ornate gilded frames and dark prints.

replace the door w/something lighter, and w/glass to bring in some natural light

But it is a lot of wood.

If you did want to paint it , you could do just the walls, OR, get some cheap pine shiplap that you prime and paint, preserving the natural wood beneath it

this way you can have both

You could also hang up drywall over the old wood. again, preserving what's beneath it.

there's no reason to live like it's still 1875! or whatever year it was built.

All of the suggestions everyone is giving are fabulous! I'm going to look for a few large seagrass rugs (the hallway is 10 feet across. Huge.), look into replacing the door to something with beveled glass, bring in lighter pieces and definitely consider sandblasting or sanding of some type.

"Should we consider white-washing or bleaching this beautiful wood?"

Absolutely not. It's made it 153 years, let's hope it make 153 more.

I'd love to see the rest of the house!

Another carved room. Again, these are the furnishings of the previous owner.

yeah, that's a little too dark and dreary for my tastes. but if you like it, have at it!

you could get the floors refinished.

and, people may gasp, but you could paint the wood and still have the beautiful detail (which would prob show up a bit better). Coat the wood w/a shellac first if you do paint. it will seal in the tanins and make it easier to strip if someone wants the wood back 100 years from now.

I've been looking for ways to refinish/finish that actually lightens dark unfinished wood. I haven’t found any products that aren't bleach-based.

it's like hair. you really can't lighten it w/o bleach.

but, pine is naturally lighter. you could try a complete sanding job to take it back to raw wood. 153 years of smoke, dirt and oxidation has darkened it quite a bit.

take an inconspicuous spot and try sanding off othe finish w/a 60-100 grit orbital. see what's underneath the grime.

That's why I said you could refinish the floor. the walls/ceiling however? huge undertaking

Absolutely. I considered the cost and time that both of these rooms would demand, but I believe they would be so beautiful afterwards. I'll run a patch test in a hidden spot and see how the wood takes to a light sanding. Hopefully this will present a nice before and after. If not, I'll have to embrace the aged darkdark wood ood and work around it.

Both photos show just one hanging light fixture. A single light source gives you dark corners and unpleasant harsh shadows. Add multiple fixtures/lamps that will wash the walls and dark corners with light. Plug in wall sconces require no new wiring. Choose lamp shades that are white and translucent, and with lamp shade shapes that throw light both up and down. The rooms you've shown us have lamps that look a little small for the size and scale of the room. And you need many more. Overhead fan fixtures are notorious for providing poor lighting since no light reflects off the ceiling.

In rooms with windows, draperies should leave all the window glass uncovered during the day. Move bulky furniture away from windows so light can enter the room. And as you've already been advised, choose lighter coloured furniture, rugs and art work.

You may find that this is enough and you don't need to touch the walls, which are lovely.

The wood is likely covered with aged shellac and if you redo that, it'll be lighter without harming anything except maybe your brain cells. That will be a good time to figure out how to get those windows open.

Try cleaning a concealed spot with denatured alcohol and brass wool and see what happens.

Hang large artwork on the walls with direct picture lights on each piece. This will lighten up the wall space without changing the character of the wood walls themselves. If the artwork itself is light in color this will help too.

Finish the wood with a reflective gloss that will bounce light around. The current wood just absorbs all of the light instead of reflecting it.

Use reflective surfaces. Will you use the fireplace? If not, remove the dark iron screen. If so, perhaps you can use a brass screen that reflects the light. I'd get reflective metal light fixtures to help bounce the light around too. Stragetically placed mirrors can help if they reflect light from light fixtures and other light objects in the room.

Minimalism will help in this space. Crowded and dark makes the space feel darker and heavier. Keep the furniture lower, no tall cabinets.

I don't know if you can tolerate the care of a white upholstery or a shag rug throw rug, but they'd look gorgeous in contrast to the dark walls in the parlor.

What part of the country do you live in? I'm so curious about the history of this home. It is stunning. I hope you are able to embrace these rooms as they are and live with some decorative revamps for a while before taking any drastic wood altering measures.

In these pics notice the tables, picture frames, andirons, table lamps are brass and reflect light. The large urns on the mantle are silver and reflect light. The large canvass above the fireplace creates a huge swatch of cream wall color. Even the leather furniture reflects light.

This is crazy dark for pine. If it's truly unfinished I am not seeing why a light sanding wouldn't bring you back to it's youth. The grime and age will fly away in the dust. Not sure at that point if leaving it with no poly is the best course of action.

I think try a light sanding in a spot not obvious. I do not like pine but in that house I think what you really need is much more lighting and even though LEDs are not of course from that era we are used to a lot more light I would try LEDs 4000K in the entry chandelier and just see what you think. You could go 3500K but anything lower will just magnify the yellow from the wood. If the sanding makes it lighter then be very careful to make sue if you put a finish on it it does not yellow .

Well. the first thing you ask of yourself is one; Are you a moth to a flame? Do a test. It depends what you're after, and what you're willing to endure to get it. Because there is pine.....and there is pine: )

As to darkness, warmth etc ? The answer to that is always d.e.c.o.r.a.t.i.o.n. Whether you emphasize/embrace the deep and moody, or put enough lightening contrast in with furnishings. In and of itself, "dark" is not a curse word: )

This? Very different, but neither is dreary

You're after this?Who wouldn't be?

This below? Maybe not .

No matter what, it's a combination of a lot of lighting sources. Does that mean blasting it with 4000k, reputed to mime daylight? Wash out in uniformity, every element in the space? I have never found daylight to be cast with cold blue. Even on the snowiest , coldest, brilliantly lit winter day. Never on the sunniest clear July mid day, yet more golden.

Test, test your pain threshold for darkness, elevated with decor.. And there's always PAINT. : )

Ps...... ever get dressed to 90 % - and there you stand at the mirror. Missing some bling. You add the necklace, the earrings...and POP! That's the same as above. You must add the lightness, color, and the gleam. Multiple ways.

Well said, Jan.

I have a zillion questions: You say this was a farmhouse, however, the amount of decoration and detail is really typical (at least in the US) of a home that is more expensive than what was built on a farm in the 1870s. The walls and ceilings look like inexpensive cuts of timber - they are not fancy paneling. Yet the door frames ceiling ornamentation and gingerbread-like ornamentation looks more detailed than what you find in a farmhouse and perhaps was added on less than 153 years ago? I bring this up wondering if someone went a bit bonkers with woodwork add-ons in here and whether or not you like them. I'm all about preservation. I'm just wondering how much and what parts of this you want to preserve.

What do the other rooms in the house look like? Are they paneled with the same wood but painted over or were the constructed with another wall type?

What are the shuttered doors in the parlor that are behind the table on the right wall? Are they a doorway, do the go to a covered window? They look newer to me than the rest of the room. I wonder if there is some other light source from behind them? Also, what is the opening to the right of the fireplace with the flag? Is there a window back there, a hallway?

I'd also call in 3 different wood refinishing contractors for quotes. Even if you end up not having the $ to hire someone to do the job, you may find that at least one of them will give you a very good education as to what you are dealing with and what is possible.

Before undertaking any major decision, cleaning the wood may help.

Consider the overall direction decor wise, make some changes and then re-access. .

A door with glass would be a huge advantage.

Multiple lighting fixtures

Light runner (to get length, could have carpeting cut and bound).

Large mirror/console table with a lamp

Lighter furniture and art

Dark works with the right elements.

I would strongly recommend you do NOT try sanding anything. It might sound like an idea on flat stuff, but you have a lot of carving. Detail sanding on carving isn't a great idea unless you are experienced with how to handle 150 year old wood carving. I also would not whitewash or paint it.

I might give it all a good wiping down. It looks like the wood is well dusted and all, but even walls can accumulate debris over time. Not bleaching, but a gentle clean. All that woodwork is really lovely, I can understand why you like it. Adding in better lighting and lighter furnishings can go a long way to making it cozy and yours.

You might have a good plan based on the different rooms having different wall treatment/colors already. That would make me way more able to “ embrace the dark and cozy” in some rooms, albeit with many of the suggestions above, for lighting, gleam, light upholstery, art, decorative items, rugs and even floors, which are much more easily refinished ( assuming yours are) , if I could also indulge my desire to spend some time in rooms with lighter decor, white or cream or colorful wall paint and other colors to go with.

I'd tread lightly--plan and think before you do anything. The house is so unique you don't want to do anything you will regret. I love that you said you are "stewards" of the house. Also you can have light rooms and dark rooms in the same house. I love light and have light rooms with painted woodwork including a sun room, but I also have a family room with lots of darker paneling that I love as well. Both can co-exist in the same house. What a great journey you have begun!

Should we consider white-washing or bleaching this beautiful wood?

Sure if you want to remuddle the house so you ruin that gorgeous old wood.

I'll run a patch test in a hidden spot and see how the wood takes to a light sanding

That will ruin the patina.

Hey Everyone! This is my first time presenting a question to a social platform and requesting assistance. I am SO VERY appreciative for all of the wisdom, experience and advice that is on this forum. I'm taking copious notes as there seems to be a shared consensus on what might work best. We definitely wish to "sit" in the house a bit and allow some of the more permanent changes to land gradually and soberly. We see ourselves as stewards of the house and wish for it to remain in great shape for future generations. If the house survived the permanent decor trends of the 60's-80's unscathed, then we can do no less. We still want the house to be identifidentifiable as a farmhouse from 1870.

Thank you! You are being very smart about it

As someone who has been working with wood for 50+ years, I can confirm that the cautions here are well-warranted. Trying to do some chemical bleaching or sanding has a high probability of ending up with a blotchy, uneven, or unnatural-looking result...and with you regretting you started the project. Painting would, in my opinion, be a desecration and might highlight natural flaws in the wood that aren't obvious with the wood in its current, natural state. If it were me, I'd embrace it and use lighting and decor options to change the look.