That is for sure a lot of wood . If you touch that railing it will need to come out and be done to code which it is for sure not now. I am not a big wood lover so I would be priming and painting at least some of those walls . Is the furniture yours or from the listing? Sometimes a good cleaning of wood walls makes a huge difference maybe start there. That wallpaper to me is allwrong but I wonder it is is covering another wood wall. That ceiling IMO is a big issue so maybe start there. Lighting is a must and lots of it if keeping the wood walls in waht you would like .The stair well is real statement. If this is anew to you space as much of a apin as it is to change after move in I think this needs to be carefully changed if you bought the house to keep some of the original parts . Maybe a bit more info here as to your style that you want . Post all answers here in comments DO NOT start another post on this question.

Are these your furnishings or listings photos? I’d just style everything differently. Nice long runner, hang gigantic framed art. It will reduce the amount of wood showing, put visual focus elsewhere. I think the hallway and stair rails are actually beautiful. I would not paint or stain.

What is your style and aesthetic like?

I’d be 100 times more concerned with the drop ceiling.

I would 100% keep every bit of that wood paneling.

I think that ceiling is directly applied, not dropped. This sort of tile was popular in some areas. Even some Frank Lloyd Wright's later houses had tile ceilings like this.

This is not my furniture. If I could style it better and keep the wood walls I’d be fine with that but I felt like the wood walls and the flooring didn’t quite go together? There is a lot of windows/natural light but no ceiling lights. Other than one above where a dining table is currently at. My aesthetic in my current house is more of black/neutrals/ wood tone accents but I’m getting bored of that and I liked the character this house had. The blue wall is paintable wall paper. I just don’t know how to style it all to make it more cohesive. Here’s another angle showing the different ceilings… yes there’s some rock going on back there too! but figured that’s another project all together 😆

What does the outside look like, style wise? Trying to get a feel for the architectural style of the house. Built in the 70s, right? What general geographic area?

I would definitely look at installing some recessed lights.

For the hallway, some light and bright colorful furniture, runner and art could give the space some life.

Actually I believe it was built in the 30’s, but remodeled in the 70’s, of course now it has some updates over the last few years. I don’t have a picture of the outside but it’s very boxy.

Hello. You have a beautiful home. Yes, it's from another era, but that doesn't stop it from being unique. You can be fashionable and you can be stylish. Your house has style. If you want to add fashion to it, then I think you have two ways to go and one way to go. The expensive way, as you can see, is to do everything. In my opinion, the first affordable way is to change the furniture and accessories. Do not use wooden furniture in a wooden house, let it be painted. For example, in the hallway you have a wooden table, so instead of it you can put a painted shelf from Ikea. https://www.ikea.com/us/en/p/kallax-shelving-unit-with-underframe-white-white-s49442676/. The second way is to introduce an accent color. For example, the staircase fence should be gray, anthracite. It should be introduced minimally, point by point, so that and work was not much and not to repaint the whole house. It can be just a frame on some wall, one vertical strip. Regards!

Just commenting on the hallway and staircase. The hall could use a fabulous style appropriate runner, thick to counter the "hardness" of the walls and floors. A wall hung console and large, maybe black and white framed photo, above. But only if you can attach it without damaging the wood. Also, maybe three vintage lights down the hall. The staircase is awesome and if original, I would keep it, if not, lots of options. Do you have kids? Because even I would not be able to stop myself from climbing those rungs.

I would add lighting and change the square tile ceiling. It feels so busy and there is already so much texture going on.

Yes I have kids! Almost 2 year old and a 3 month old so already trying to figure out how to put a baby gate without damaging it…. I do like the uniqueness of this house so if I could mostly keep it the same that’d be less work for me, I just don’t have the eye for design to make it work! Thank a for all the advice so for, it is really helpful!

Some temporary solutions ... you should be able to attach a baby gate on that first step using zip ties. You might need a few short pieces of 2x4 for blocking, all attached with zip ties. You can also use zip ties to attach some hard plastic panels on the outside of the staircase sides, so a kid can't climb/fall through.

Are there any other houses in the neighborhood that are similar in style? You might want to look through old RE listing and see if there are any photos of the inside of those similar houses. It might provide some ideas on how people have restored and/or updated these homes.

The wood paneling in the hallway and stairs are absolutely beautiful! I literally gasped when I saw that photo:). Are they walnut? If they truly “don’t go” with the flooring IRL, use rugs and runners, perhaps, or re-stain the flooring, not the walls. Please don’t paint or change the paneling or stairway - honor them. Is there more wood paneling under the blue wallpaper? I do agree the ceilings could be improved upon. You have a lovely, unique home; proceed slowly and thoughtfully.

The wood walls might make perfect sense with the architecture of this home. We can't tell from these couple of photos. Once the right area rugs & furnishings are added it might look great.

I hesitate to suggest paint because it might ruin something nice.

There's some incredible detail in this house. It's definitely architect designed and I agree with Beverly, the wood suits it very well. I love that curved wall in the first photo. What is it? The wallpaper and perhaps a drop ceiling or tiles added to cover some damage in the den are really pulling away from the house's original intent. Have you checked the history of the house?You should be able to check back deeds, tax record, even building permits. I wonder if the floors are original. I would imagine they may have been concrete but without seeing more maybe not. Get an interior designer who is experienced with modern homes to make a plan for you, it will be well worth the fee.

I'm generally pro-nice wood and pro-interesting architecture. But I have to say that the wood on both sides of the narrow hallway in your first photo looks claustrophobic. The compromise might be room by room, or it might be to keep some features and eliminate others. For example, I love the stairs, and you could try leaving all the wood attached to that, while painting the facing walls a light color -- that would relieve the overload while making more of whatever is nicest.

Good luck -- looks like a fun project if you can take your time!

Agree with Acm...baby gate at doorways. Never climb over them. Keep children away from stairs!

I guess my next question would be if I keep the walls the same, what colors of decor/furniture/rugs would accent those walls nicely?

A white table or bookcase would be nice there even if you don't paint the walls you could change the light picture to something like what was showing you could have a light colored Runner on the floor and you could have a f a u x plant cuz green will look very nice with walls

Your house has a bit of a mish mash of styles and finishes. You may need to pick what style you think works best for your house overall, and chip away at things. I don’t care for your floors, but they are probably ideal for a family with young children who are entering “the age of destruction.” 😆 Even well behaved kids can be hard on a house. But coming up with an overall plan before tackling small projects will save money in the long run.

Yes I like the character of the house, all of the pictures are how the current owner has everything. They have not moved out yet. There is a lot going on that I like but not everything is cohesive but I’m no designer, I may have to invest in one to help me out here! Unfortunately the floors are new and not something we can afford to change/we would rather put money into other changes

I like the wood walls but the ceilings and lightingare what I would address. I would buy rugs, maybe solid colors with no patterns since there is already so much going on. Ruggable has washable rugs, which are good for pets and dogs. I think there’s other brands out there as well. I say to live with the walls and if it ends up being too much for you, then consider painting some of them.

I'm wondering what a darker stain would look like on the walls...?

Sadly, they do appear to clash with the floors.

Maybe a color like this?

Staining it to a color like that was my first thought! But it would be a big task and I’m nervous it will go horribly wrong and I completely ruin the wood… but it could be worth a shot! Once we are able to move in and see the empty house it may spark some ideas of what route I should take. I may take the conservative route with furniture/rugs/decor for now and hire somebody to stain in the future

Yes, I realized after I posted that's a LOT of paneling - a huge undertaking!

The grey colors in the wall and ceiling aren't helping much either, are they?

Is it possible that the house was remodeled or added onto in that area between the square tile ceiling and the plank ceiling--where that beam is?

The diagonal plank paneling is a later era than the stained plywood veneer panels. And its a major change in ceiling materials: they would have not done two things like this at the same time, but people did add current details to additions or renovations without changing the adjacent older work.

I would assume it was added on to or something at one point because of those differing ceilings

I tend to be preservation oriented, but I would not really have much of a problem with drywalling over the diagonal paneling or removing it, or painting it selectively since it's not original and it seems to go with the floor less than the older paneling.

As for the ply paneling with the flush doors and that radiused area and the stairwell. I am calling that early 1950s on the older end to very early 1960s possibly.