To me, the other changes you "won't mention" would be less-destructive and more respectful ways to modernize the room. Getting rid of the carpet would go a long way towards brightening up that space. The wood is part of what makes that house special.

I'm normally a wood purist, too...but this room could be brighten so much with paint!
- Paint it all, but a different color for ceiling and walls
- Paint just the walls to brighten
- Paint just the ceiling white...leave walls and beams as they are
- Paint everything but the beams
So what I'm saying is...paint! Just not sure how much!

Don't paint--stain! A different shade of wood would look much better, especially once you remove the VictoriDON'T decor currently in the room.

I'm leaning towards painting the walls (or whitewashing the walls), but leaving the ceilings and beams natural. What's under the carpet???

A really simple compromise would be to paint the walls only, a light color or even white. A soft grey blue could compliment the orangey tone of the wood.

Leave the ceiling and the beams natural.

Replace that godawful carpet.

Don't do it!!!

If it were me, I would brighten the room by hanging some interesting paintings on the walls, adding some pieces, etc. But once you paint that gorgeous wood, you can't get it back.

Or, how about a white wash that lets the wood grain show through. The natural grain is so beautiful and good for the soul.

First, get rid of the carpet, replace with painted white floors, and see how that looks before painting the wood. That, and some new fabrics, could do wonders.

I don't mind it in this room. It gives it a warm cabin-y feel, which I think is nice. It would look nice painted too though. Our guest room has a ceiling like that, but in a darker finish. I love it unpainted with our painted walls. I'm not sure in your case if it might look odd though, with the walls made of the same panelling.

I'd probably try making some of the other changes first.

Paint it white or do a whitewash over it, for sure. You'll maintain the beauty of the wood grain and the rustic/cottage feel, but it will be much more bright and modern, yet timeless. Think: old English cottage.

I like the idea of leaving a section of it unpainted. That way you preserve part of it but get your brightness.

Keep the wood. It's rustic and beautiful. Ditch the carpet.

I was thinking whitewash too. Then you still have some of the wood grain and character, but it's still bright and light.

And man, I agree with englishdaffodil: changing that carpet and rug would be a great way to improve the room without drastically altering the wood look.

White wash the wood--walls and ceiling. The grain can still show through. Leave the beams. I guess I just don't see the point of keeping something you don't like.

Agreed with the comment above -- tear up the carpet, paint the floors, leave the walls natural.

I personally love the wood, it gives the space a cosy, cabin feel. However...if we're not even going there with changing the carpet etc how about a nice subtle lime wash? Although could be a pain if the wood is varnished. Lime washed wood still retains the wood character but lightens and brightens at the same time!

I like wood as much as the next person - I'm sitting in a room with big wood beams and an oak paneled ceiling - but I think I would paint the walls white and go for a Scandinavian look. I know it's blasphemous to some, but you have to do what makes you happy. Back in the 1970's my mom painted our knotty pine dining room (when wood paneling was king) and she loved it.

That said - I wouldn't paint all of it. I would do the walls and leave the ceiling. And even if you decide to paint the ceiling, *don't* paint the beams!

Paint! Paint walls and leave beams natural. But if you are against painting, how about a white wash treatment? Here's an example: http://justatouchofgray.blogspot.com/2011/07/living-room-reveal.html

I suggest you paint a junky board and try to remove the paint. Once you do that, you will not want to paint the wood! The decor can be changed but the wood, once painted, will be a nightmare to change back.

I'd say do everything you can (change the furniture, get rid of the carpeting, etc.) that's not more or less permanent, then make the decision about painting. Everything else can be changed back easily. Removing the paint cannot. You know, because you said so, that there are other changes that need to be made. Do those before even thinking of painting.

I think whitewash would be nice. But leave the ceiling and beams. GET RID OF THE CARPET!!! Otherwise I love this room.

I would paint it (personally) but since you cant decide, why not change the floors and decor and see if that helps before taking the plunge?

I found a pin of what I mean- https://pinterest.com/pin/5348093277001886/

Personally, I would paint or at least whitewash. That's too much wood for me, but obviously, I speak only for myself.

This is how inspired I was by your question: I finally registered to leave comments...I'm in the don't paint camp. It's not an every day room...it's a guest room, a dorm room even. The wood would add to the feel of being away. It's not like everyone else's up to the minute design blog room, which makes it special. I would change out other things that are less permanent, like the carpets. I'd also consider hanging sheer white curtains all the way across two walls above the window. So, they wouldn't necessarily cover the walls entirely, but they'd add a big bit of brightness. You could even drape a sheer white or colorful fabric over the beams that may add more brightness.

I could care less what "wood purists" say.
If you don't LOVE the wood, paint it!!!
It's your home, not someone else's.
The beams would look nice unpainted, however.
The whole look would be very homey, cottagey and lovely-
if that's what appeals to you.

I agree with Jess13, paint the walls a nice light color and leave the ceiling and beams unpainted. I can only recommend this whole-heartedly because my parents did the EXACT same thing in their house in Vermont and it looks great! I also echo the sentiments of those who recommend getting rid of the green carpet. Old VT houses often have wood flooring underneath everything, and even if it is in pretty bad condition, just paint it white and use a few throw rugs and it will do wonders for the space.

I love that our parents' houses have nearly identical rooms. Good luck!

to save my mom any embarrassment (hi mom!) just know that she is fully aware of the awfulness of that floor. it will get swapped out with something else soon. she's trying to decide between hardwood or carpet. feel free to comment on that as well :)

If this were a photoshoot from Sweden, that whole room would be painted white and we'd be gaga over it. I'd say leave the beams, paint the rest, "refresh" the soft furnishings.

No! You can't paint it, it's great.

From the photos, the room looks bright already. I'd say certainly first change the carpeting. If it were my house, I'd put in some sort of grey stone/ceramic tile. (Cedir makes LEED certified tile that would work well).

Spanish tile could also be a fun way to brighten up the floor, and would be easy to maintain.

Brighten up the room be refreshing the furniture with some fun new pieces - check our Room & Board kids beds for some modern American made furniture that would help lighten the place up.

However, if the wood is really sun-damaged and in bad shape, it might be time to replace parts of it, or stain it. But I certainly wouldn't paint it.

Save the walls and get rid of the carpeting!!

Paint it. At least paint some of it, that's a lot of wood! I'd paint the walls white and leave the ceilings and beams. And replace that horrible carpet asap. Just don't replace it with more wood!

PAINT! PAINT! PAINT! ...everything except the beams. My livingroom looked just like that and I was debating for a long time whether to paint it or not. Well, not the ceiling is BM navajo white and the balls a grayish white and I LOVE IT!

i agree with englishdaffodil...start w/ removing the green carpet and then see how you (your mom) feels about the room from there. unless the flooring under the carpet is in terrible shape, that actually sounds a lot easier than painting all that paneling.

I'd whitewash a portion of the walls first, see how it looks. If it's not great then paint the walls and leave the ceiling.

Don't paint. Update the fabrics/carpet and hang some big canvas panels to reflect some more light. Think about the beautiful wood house that you'd love to buy someday and you see the painted detail and go "why would someone do this???" The house was designed to be full of beautiful pine, you can work with it, not against it.

I agree with those who suggest getting rid of he wall-to-wall shag -- it's wrong for the room. If there's a board floor under there especially, pull the carpet and paint the floor. I'm often a wood purist myself, but it's hard to be too precious about knotty pine -- if it were clear pine, I might feel differently. I am leaning toward the idea of a very thin whitewash or lime wash on the walls, something that lightens the color and brightens the room but lets the grain and color of the wood shine through. Then wax over the white/lime wash. The ceiling could probably just be painted, white or ivory. with the beams left alone or whitewashed to match the walls.

I'd paint it in a heartbeat because knotty pine isn't that beautiful to me. It isn't teak or mahogany or really a precious wood. That said, to really paint knotty pine is not an easy process. The knots take so many coats to totally cover and will always bleed a little over time so you'd end up with a polka-dotted room without a thorough job. Hire it done during the winter months when painters will often give better prices for interior work in the Northeast. It's a lovely room but way too much wood for me.

The wood is part of the charm of that house, but the carpet is not! Change the carpet to something lighter and you can instantly brighten it. And a super bright room is not always the most cozy, especially on a cold winter night in Vermont.

I agree with CASSANDRAH. Try some light sheer curtains and see if it lightens the room up. I'd also change the floor, bedding and maybe paint some of the furniture to see how it looks before making permanent changes to the walls.

I would paint the walls and ceiling white - leave the beams natural.

Leave it - it's beautiful. But remove the carpet and brighten the space in other ways.

I am not a fan of wood paneling in general but I would actually say to not paint! It's a small house in a town in Vermont... the paneling goes with the setting.

First I'd make those other changes you mentioned and then see how she feels about the paneling. I'd paint the floors if there is wood underneath and then use a rug (or rugs since you said it was a large space) to warm the floors up when getting in and out of bed and ground the space.
'
If she does decide to paint white may make the space feel too cold considering it's in Vermont so may want to think about other colors that would make it cozier.

I have a hatred of knotty pine walls, but this is an old house in Vermont, not some subdivision, so if it was left as is, it would be OK. If it was painted, I think it would still be OK. Absolutely lose that horrid carpeting and make some covers for that window seat pad and the pillows; something a lot less twee. That alone would be a huge improvement.

Nooo!!!! I love the wood! I would kill to have a room like that in my house. But git rid of the horrible carpet.

The wood is beautiful. I would change the floor (if there's wood flooring under the carpet, paint that white), maybe invest in sheer white curtains as suggested by others. It's such a cozy, comfortable space otherwise.

Paint the ceiling white and go for a different colour on the walls. The beams can stay the colour they are.

If you paint the paneling like above then you could go with hardwood floors, however if you decide to keep a lot of the wood, I think you should go for a lighter carpet. Adding hardwood into a room with all that extra wood would jsut make it worse.

Here's a great before and after on AT. http://www.apartmenttherapy.com/before-after-an-elegant-bedroom-redo-fixing-it-fancy-168037

If you are keeping it for visitors, I would leave it. It has that warm, cabin, fuzzy feeling.
I normally don't care for wood paneling but I have to admit, this one has been well taken care of and it's actually quite pretty.

The real wood looks fantastic. And I wouldn't change it but to see if you really you want to take the plunge try lightening lighten the room up by changing the flooring to something with a light color and put up some linen drapes also in a light color.

If it was my house, I would paint everything except the beams white and put in a wood floor that matches the beams. Good luck!

I would consider using removable, paint-able wall paper, its inexpensive and will allow you to paint AND preserve the walls for the future.

Personally, I'd paint the walls and ceiling and leave the wood beams alone, but that's just my opinion, which is totally irrelevant because it's not my home.

It seems that your mom might be wavering because she can't visualize what the changes would look like if she were to paint. If it were my mom, I'd collect a huge bunch of images of similar rooms that have had some or all of the wood painted, and show them to her. Give her some time to look through them all and develop a mental picture of how the room would look painted, and then she can make an informed decision either way.

It's blasphemy. Leave it alone and work with it. Think Ralph Lauren, rustic, plaids, textures, cozy, Kilim rugs...

Agree with Tammye that your mom should look at images of rooms with similar beams and rooms where the wood walls were painted (I've seen a lot on AT but not sure how you would search for them).

Personally, I find all wood rooms gloomy. I'd paint everything white except the beams and the window trim (plus lose the carpet). It would look so airy and cheerful.

My initial inclination is to paint the walls one color, paint the ceiling white, and leave the beams natural, but then I had a different thought:

What about drywalling the front (bedwall) and back wall (the one presumably behind you in these pictures) and paint them a nice accent color, such as a robin's egg blue (you could even do it by furring it out slightly to make it possible to remove in the the drywall in the future should you want to restore the paneling at a later date) and remove the carpeting and if there's not wood flooring install a wood similar to the walls, thus creating sort of a wood wrapper along the floor, up the wall, ceiling, and back down the other side, with either end of the room anchored with the smooth, painted walls. The beams could either be left natural (my inclination) or painted white to establish a lower ceiling plane. I think doing so would reveal the simple house form that's a cool aspect of attic spaces like this!

Nooooooooo! Don't paint all that beautiful wood! A one-time design decision would ruin the original wood forever.

Instead, I agree with everyone who said that the carpet's gotta go. Your mom can strategically modernize the furniture, too, and add some accent pieces.

do somethimg out of the box. hang panels of fabric. You could staple the fabric to furring strips and attach along the ceiling. Do the same at the bottom of the fabric and attached along the flooring. For a really professional looking job, remove the baseboard before and add a crown molding at the top. Where the fabric panels meet, you could run a strip of painted wood to cover the seam. Done properly, it would look great and be temporary, as well. a few staple holes would be the only change to the paneling.

I get the impression that his "helping my mother decide" business is you pushing her to paint. So, first off, it isn't your house. I think you might want to get off your mother's back about (her) style and wall finish. If you inherit the place later on, it's yours to ruin. But why on earth would you want to paint paneling in a cabin? The thing looks the way it does because that's what it is: a woodsy cabin.

The yellowness of the wood can be corrected by stripping the old lacquer and recoating with non-yellowing polyurethane. The wood could be lightened up before sealing, with a pickling effect, though I wouldn't do it. White or light-color fabric in abundance would light up the room. White canopies for he beds (mosquito netting style), or fabric banners draped across the rafters, or fabric wainscoting tacked to the wall up to high chair-rail height or even to where the ceiling corner meets the wall (put a thin layer of batting behind the fabric). Gauzy curtains, light area rugs. Bring in some chenille for funk.

If this were mine, I would have Hudson Bay blankets on the beds and would embrace the esthetic of the place.

As a guest room, I'd let it be. No one has to live in it every day and the wood really is nice. Nice place to visit. If it were my bedroom, I'd probably paint it because I like light. I would remove the green carpet but keep the large print rug.

PAINT IT PAINT IT PAINT IT!

I'm not really a wood purist, I guess. Pine wood looks cheap and rustic, IMO. Worse yet, faux rustic - like someone in the 60s wanted his house to look like it was an 1840s hunter cabin. don't even like it in a vacation cottage, though I tolerate it there.

That's my opinion. Yours may differ. :)

I just love that wood. It's so beautiful as it is. If you decide you absolutely must cover it, please cover it with something that is not permanent and will not damage the natural beauty of the wood.

Agree with the rug and decor first, then consider a whitewash at the most. Vermont has charm. This fits up there. If it were in the suburbs of a major metropolitan area, different story.

...actually, I'd second the suggestion someone else had about painting the floors. Unless they are gorgeous, wide floorboards worth scrubbing down and finishing as is. But area rugs for sure. I'd go with rag rugs, but some organic-color Tibetan rugs (strie) would look fab.

Please don't!
I love it, it works with the charm of a rustic vermont home.
Curtains, removal of the carpet would do wonders in warming the space.

We have similar solid pine paneling in our TV room, and we recently painted it and now it works far better in our 1920's colonial. But in your space, this looks marvelous. I will say, painting pine paneling well takes A TON of time - lots of filler, sanding and several coats of primer. All said and done our 15' x 10' living room took more than 100 hours to prep+paint. Keep the vermont charm and focus your efforts into warming the space with different flooring and accessories.

Don't touch the wood paneling. It's an old house in Vermont - that wood paneling is part of the history of the home. It's gorgeous and in good condition and you shouldn't do anything to it. There are enough people who are doing something to theirs that by the time your mom decides she wants to sell, there will be people who are looking to reclaim the glory of Vermont's older homes and will love a house that hasn't been painted over.

I agree with others who say to deal with the hunter green carpet, floral fabrics, etc. Make those changes to modernize the space, but do not touch that wood paneling.

Paint the walls and ceiling, leave the beams natural (for that rustic touch) and for heaven's sake get rid of that carpet XD

I don't think paint would be the way to go. WIth all the groves and knots in the wood for paint to collect, it will turn out icky. I would go with whitewash or stain, or better yet! BLACK STAIN! Ebonize the walls for a dramatic effect. In the light you will still be able to see the grain, and then it will look good with unstained beams and natural colour hardwood floors. (Seriously though, WTH is that carpet doing there!?)

DO NOT PAINT!!! PICKLE!!! I love the weathered old gray coloring of barn wood and that weathering will be a color that will be tolerable for a long time to come. The unfortunate honey maple is very dated. However, if you pickle (and not the fake pickling of the 80s that turned everything an unfortunate icky off white...but the real pickling: See here http://www.houzz.com/ideabooks/990132/list/Great-Material--Gray-Wood-for-Winter) it will have a great weathered look which will keep that "cabin" in Vermont look...and lose the dated look. *nods*

Traditionally softwood, or 'pine', was almost always painted - certainly in Europe - as it's quality was not regarded as good enough to leave exposed. Whereas - generally - hardwoods were left un-painted as they have a more attractive grain and are of a better quality.
This rule of thumb still stands. Knotty softwood is just not very attractive, whatever varnish or stain is applied. The knots will always make it look 'spotty'. Its cheap, and looks it.
Certainly paint it.
The colour scheme can be changed every few years..

The potential for this to be a gorgeous room is just killing me! If it were my space, the walls and ceiling would be painted white and the beams would be left alone. There'd be a few other changes too, but I think you already have some ideas about that! :)

- Remove carpet.
- White wash the walls or have a decorative painter do a cerused finish on the walls
- Leave the ceiling.
- Add more lighting.

Paint or whitewash the walls but leave the ceiling and structure natural. This might sound ironic coming from me but I think too much wood can be a bit oppressive and limits your design options.

we painted our knotty pine ceiling and have NEVER looked back. We have wood floors, a wood credenza. no reason to have it EVERYWHERE! Good luck with your decision.

I'd paint the walls white, but leave the ceiling and beams wood, as others have said.

If you do paint, YOU MUST PRIME WITH SHELLAC BASED PRIMER.

One coat will seal in the sap that will otherwise bleed through anything else eventually. Someone upthread mentioned this being a problem. Not enough people know about shellac primer! Zinnser BIN makes it and it's easily available in Lowe's, Home Depot, & paint stores. Pain to use in that it's drippy and it stinks, but it's SO worth the effort.

I would paint in a heartbeat, too. Knotty pine is a cheap wood mostly used in construction where it is hidden. It is not pretty in my opinion. And yeah, if it was a Swedish room with painted pine paneling, everyone would be drooling over it.

@englishdaffodil nailed it in the first comment.
In my opinion, doing anything to the wood is a waste of time if you keep that green carpet, so take care of that first.
I am partial to sisal flooring (check this out for pictures: http://www.uniquecarpetsltd.com/collections/sisal), which would look great with whitewashed walls (and/or ceiling) but I really like the cabin-in-the-woods feel, so maybe a new floor and some "woodsy" colors and patterns (no pink, no flowers) is all you need?

I'm dealing with a similar problem in my bedroom... only I'm a renter, not an owner. Plus, my husband loves the wood.

My current solution (shamelessly stolen from Martha Stewart Living): cover the wood paneling with painted radiator grill material or balusters. The painted material lightens up the wood, is not permanent, and allows the wood to be seen through.

http://www.marthastewart.com/287624/rebeccas-eclectic-modern-room#/287623

paint everything but the beams. i saw a redo on "hotel impossible" last night and this looked really good.

Wood blasphemy! Just change everything else.

My two cents, I love how everyone is telling you to not paint the walls because of the wood and in the next sentence usually tells you to get rid of the carpet and paint the wood floors underneath!
Do what makes you happy, it is your (mom's) home!

The ceiling and walls are gorgeous; why not highlight them by changing the carpet and upholstery instead?

I know it's a lot of wood - it's too much for me, but I DON'T LIVE IN A BEAUTIFUL VERMONT CABIN. I vote don't paint. There are a lot of excellent tips already to minimize allll that wood, but a cabin-feeling dorm for visiting guests in Vermont is just charming.

If you want to brighten the room, paint it!! I did it myself to my family room which my children were too frightened of to play in.

I primed and used a warm white. It really changed the look of the room. If it had beams in it I probably would have left them unpainted while painting the ceiling white as well.

http://www.no29design.com/2012/01/how-i-painted-over-wood-panelling-and.html

I'm totally sidetracked -- that window seat is upholstered in my mother's drapes. Cool!

No No No don't paint the beautiful wood ! I would do some fancy white moldings that echo the lines of the bed and put up some large light colored art pieces.

My inclination is, "No!!!!", but I grew up with the awful fake stuff in the basement. Can't someone do a Photoshop mockup to help your mom decide?

I say, get rid of the carpet first and see how it strikes you! If it still seems too weird, then paint.

Or, what about painting JUST the ceiling and leaving the walls??

Don't paint. The wood is lovely and the cabin feeling is so cozy.
If you decide to paint however, leave the beams as is, and perhaps just paint one or two walls, leaving plenty of the lovely wood. It gives so much warmth and natural whimsy.

But please get rid of the carpet! Ick.

DON'T PAINT THE PANELING!!! I have to spend hours and hours stripping the paint off of the gorgeous wood in my home. If this is real wood paneling then leave it and update the room with new flooring, a lovely, modern chandelier, etc. Please don't paint the paneling. It is simply gorgeous.

My problem with the room is that the "Victorian" styling fights with the "rustic cabin" look. By putting in compatible rustic furniture and touches, you could make the room work.

Lose the pink and floral, put a couple of Hudson's Bay blankets on the beds. The nice plaid throw can stay. It's not a rigid style--your mom has lots of resources available for this look. Google: adirondack, summer camp, rustic bungalow...there's a lot to look at!

Oh, and lose the carpet no matter what!

Don't paint! Don't whitewash (ugh!)
Ditch the carpet- painted floor, great artwork & rugs.

Don't paint! Redecorate!
Get new carpet - off white/natural.
Get new bedding - I think some pendleton national park blankets would be great.
Make some simple natural muslin curtains - that will help break up the paneling.
And some bright primary color "camp" accessories that coordinate with the national park blankets!
This space is so charming!

Definitely rip the carpet up, and start with white floors...it will do wonders to change the space. Don't touch the wood till you are 100% sure you want to.

• White wash the walls.
• Leave the ceiling and beams their natural wood color.
See the condition of the floor. You might want to stain that or white wash it as well. Here is a link to show you some ideas.
http://www.houzz.com/white-wash-bedroom

This is faux rustic, so I have no problem recommending that your mom whitewash it. With sisal carpeting, it will be gorgeous.

If she's undecided it means that she likes it, so leave it as is. Fashion is cyclic, wood panelling will be back anyhow. Just give it, and your mom, some time.

Please don't paint, just redecorate: furniture, carpets and window treatments. Keep it simple.

See Sarah Richardson's treatment of similar wood paneling at Sarah's Summer House. In the end, she painted but she used a more transparent white wash. The result was a lighter room and paneling but the grain of the wood still came through. It made a terrific backdrop. It looks Scandanavian in some respects.

You need to do something. Start with the walls - wood paneled walls (even real wood) NEVER looked good. The wood beams and the ceiling are 'a look'. I think if you start with the walls, that might be enough to stop suffocating in wood.

Following up on my previous comment about Sarah Richardson's summer house paneling,
Here is a picture of the result. Check out the ceiling:http://www.hgtv.com/decorating-basics/tour-sarahs-summer-house/pictures/page-7.html
This is approximately what it will look like if you wash with a semi transparent paint treatment. It's up to you whether you like the result in this picture. I like it and think it would be delightful to sleep in a room like this. It's rustic, not medieval.

Tear out the rug and paint the floor. Get rid of the floral textiles. Leave the wood, it's beautiful!

I would paint the walls and leave the ceiling/ beams! Great space!

This is exactly like my bedroom in our 1.5 story home in Minneapolis. I would paint it...Decorator White by Benjamin Moore. Leave the ceiling and beams as they are to keep the charm. If I weren't so lazy I would have painted mine long ago...mine has varnish on it that needs to be stripped.

I'm for white washing the walls with a see through white or off white color and leaving the ceiling woody. Maybe just the ceiling beams could be natural wood and the ceiling white washed. You would still see the wood grain but it wouldn't be as oppresive.

Don't paint it! This isn't a "style" it's a type of building: a cabin. It'd be like putting a Pottery Barn in a Frank Lloyd Wright building.
Embrace the architecture and go cabin.

I do advocate ripping out that horrible carpet. Find some hand woven, rustic ones to keep the tootsies warm in the winter.

I hate wood paneling with a gut wrenching, hair pulling passion. For some reason it just irritates me to no end and I never hang around long in rooms with it.

That said, I would never paint this room's paneling. It's simple well done. It can remain relevant to modern life simply by changing up the furnishings and replacing that carpeting. I say leave it just how it is.

So many people here are going to tell you not to paint it, but you and your mom need to figure out what is best for you. Do a google image search for white painted tongue and groove and see if there are any pics that you can use as inspiration and get an overall impression of how it might look. It could completely brighten up the space and make it really cheerful! On a personal note, I just put horizontal t&g paneling up on my master bedroom walls and painted it white, and I love how it turned out. It was a little labor intensive as I ended up having to caulk each grove as the first couple coats of paint did not do a good job of covering the groves even though I cut in each with a brush. With those vaulted ceilings I don't envy you if you do decide to paint!

I decided to not read all 107 posts thus far, so I'm sure other people have already mentioned whitewashing the wood to brighten it but retain the grain. That's my vote, not that your Mom cares! ;^)

@ KHinNJ one more thing about the Sarah Richardson cottage, in the episode she started to do a white wash, but because they mixed old and new paneling it looked terrible so they just painted it white.

PAINT! PAINT! PAINT! Everything. I think that particular color of pine is hideous. Always has been and always will be. And yep, get that carpet ripped out too. And if the floors are wood, stain them a nice walnut. Anything but that fugly fugly pine.

Oh PLEASE DON'T PAINT! Yes, ditch the carpet. Check out www.retrorenovation.com & send photos for more authortitative convincing NOT to paint. Once you do that; there's no turning back and it'd be a great loss of character.

I think the wood is beautiful. I would tone it down by painting the low cross beams red, and hang brightly colored folk art or tapestries on the wall.

The wood is in such good condition it would be a shame to paint it. I understand not wanting it to be too cabin-y, so I would brighten it up with other things: remove the carpet and put in a large or multiple large rugs; use colorful bed linens, cover the window seat with bright fabric and pillows, and do something with curtains for the windows -- instead of the blinds. Basically, draw attention from the heaviness of the wood but don't cover it up. To put some color in, *maybe* paint the beams a bright blue.

I think it's hilarious the way people are so against painting wood. It's knotty pine not 17th century linenfold panelling. Knotty pine is not lovely wood.

Paint it. Leave the beams if you want. It will transform the room.

This room needs at least white-washed walls - something to brighten up the room and give a good backdrop for the furniture and decor. And I support ripping out the carpet. The carpet is an overwhelming color and clashes with the warmth of the wood. I would consider painting the walls a nice dark mahogany stain, white-wash or white paint on the walls with the ceiling left either as is, or white on the ceilings with the beams left alone. With a blank canvas, it would be easy to make the room as stylish/cozy/multi-purpose and you like. I feel that too much wood makes the room dark and the lack of contrast is very deadening.

Then your mom can either keep the existing furniture or replace. One idea I had was painting the beds in a fun bright color - the ever-present aqua/teal, sunny bright yellow, bright apple green, or the tried and true red. The color would really pop against a dark floor and lighter walls. Or keep everything white to act as a back drop for colorful family items - old quilts, paintings, pictures, old books.

Evolve - allow the room to evolve.

I would paint the walls white, but leave the ceiling and beams natural. If you want even more airiness, paint the walls and ceiling, but leave the beams natural. Definitely leave the beams natural, whatever you do!

The carpet! Gag! But it's the same stuff we have in our cabin in the Upper Peninsula.

I have a lodge-like living room with knotty pine paneling, flagstone fireplace, etc. The style is ok for my taste, but I've been agonizing ever since I moved in about whether to change the walls. I thought it was the dark orange-y stain I didn't like. I added a couple of skylights which make the space light enough.

But what I FINALLY realized is, it's not really the wood, or the stain, that's a problem, it's the KNOTS. I just don't think the eye can really see all those dark, random spots, and not register "messy."

However, though I've seen nice photos of the same kind of paneling that was painted, when I really look closely, the look is kind of tacky, IMO. So it felt like my only choice was to stain the wood a very dark brown to match the knots, and then go with a sort of Ralph Lauren woodsy look.

However, JAE V's suggestion above to whitewash (see the website at http://justatouchofgray.blogspot.com/2011/07/living-room-reveal.html) looks really great in my opinion.

Since your mom's is just the guestroom, I might keep it the way it is and just make the furnishings match the rustic nature a bit more closely.

Another commenter links to a beautiful photo on pinterest, but I have to point out, that wood does NOT have the messy-looking knots, so it really is apples & oranges!

If you add touches of white and cream - be it in the floors, the beams, you can leave the original paneling and still make it look cozy but modern.

I'm in the paint the wood, leave the beams (as is or stain them darker or just strip for nice rustic look that's a big more modern.)

I know some love the wood look, but to me this looks a bit outdated and dark. It's also just pine and not sacred; some people act like your'e killing a live creature but if you don't like it, you can always just strip the wood back to the original color anyway.

I think no matter how much you try to brighten the room with accessories or furniture, if you are going to a achieve a less claustrophobic look, you will have to paint over the wood. Just my two cents! Good luck!

See? The Sarah Richardson whitewash looks awesome -- you can't actually see it on the page linked to in these posts -- just go back to the beginning of the photos. Much lighter, but can still see the grain. Right now, the yellowness in the space is overwhelming.

I like the cabin look of untreated wood. Hanging some art and mirrors would brighten and give some more personality. I actually think your mom's decor is just fine, too...I can imagine that if all that furniture was showcased and called granny chic vintage whatever, that comments about it would run more positive. Funny. It's cozy and sweet. And unstudied. Authentic, not labored over to give the impression of authenticity!

I love white! Pishaw to the wood purists. Of course, staining it white would be a nice compromise.

Normally I would say paint, but it does look nicer than most- I would say do what you want, both would look good, but don't paint the beams.

I happen to love wood panelling, but it really does depend totally on what you want the room to be. I see wood panelling, I think about making a small, cozy little den; dark, lots of wool and reds, with low lighting to read by at night. To me, that is a great room, but it isn't what I want every room to be, so she needs to figure out what she really wants out of this room. The decor heavily suggests she wants something light and airy, and it is definitely fighting against with what the panelling is doing and makes it seem less than cohesive. As much as I love panelling in general, and as much as she might love the panelling, too, it looks to me like your mom wants a white room. I would paint the walls a non-matte white, and leave the beams as-is. It is easier to paint the beams later if you realize it looks weird, then to start painting the beams and realize it would have been better without.

Oh, and after image searching "wood panelling accent wall," I pretty much just want to curl up and die looking at this. So. Cute. Do anything that looks at all like that.

There's a big difference between "let the wood show" with lovely types of wood, and then just plain old pine.

Why would you want to keep pine exposed? It's cheap and quick growing and really doesn't look great at all. Paint it.

The rental we are in has pine panelling down one wall in both the lounge and dining, and thankfully before we moved in it was painted to match the rest of the walls. Painted it looks great, really breaks up the regular flat wall box feel of a room. Unpainted? I probably would of found another house to rent.

Holler - cute link! That's a good idea for the room... leave the wall behind the beds but paint the rest. I like it!

Whitewash everything except the beams. Sand off any varnish there may be so the whitewash can soak in and you can still see the lovely knots a bit. Best of both worlds.

Make the other changes.... and don't Paint... Pickle the wood with a pale "stain".

Oh and when you "Pickle", white is not the only option.

OH MY GOSH DON'T PAINT!

Update other ways. That room would look AMAZING if you actually went *with* the woodsy theme. Think cast iron, taxidermy, dark colors. Twigs. lots of different shades of brown. big (not dainty) furniture. one or more trunks. Throw in bright, cheerful pops of mustard, soft medium blue, grassy green.

P.S. hang some curtains? those bare windows are a bigger problem than the walls! I would get long curtains and hang them a foot or more above the actual windows the emphasize height in that room..

A wonderful alternative to painting the walls- pull up that carpet and paint the floor white! No matter what is under that carpet- it can be painted white. Find some colorful throw rugs, and voila! Your room is totally different and brighter and you left all that wood alone :)

Many folks would die to have that great woodwork. It reminds me of a great A frame house. I would do what others have said and get rid of that carpet, recover the window seat fabric, etc. It could be made to look like a woodland retreat or even if you replaced things with furniture with very clean lines. If she had to keep the poster bed, it could even be painted hunter or black and be piled with cozy throws that had some stripes or looked like Pendleton blankets or faux Pendletons.

Paint!

@Holler - that room does look sharp.

BUT... that's not yellow knotty pine paneling on the wall. God is in the details. :)

I would go for whitewashing the walls to brighten the space but leave the ceiling and beams alone. Ive just been blogging about a sort of revival in wood paneling http://www.designgratislondon.blogspot.co.uk/2012/08/trending-in-design-wood-paneling.html. I do think it works best when the rest of the space isnt to stuffy / fussy, so if you want to avoid painting the paneling I would strongly suggest pulling up the carpet, and updating the furniture so that the aesthetic is more clean line....

Wood walls have a very natural, restful vibe. You could just change out the decor to have more of a cabin feel. Then the wood walls would make more sense. Keep the furnishings and flooring light and bright. Cover one wall with a non-busy modern two-tone quilt with lots of white or cream. Keep it a fun, restful retreat that you enjoy spending time in.

NO PAINT!! Once painted, ALWAYS painted, you will never get that original pine back and it's part of the character of the home!! (Plus it's gorgeous!)

Rip up the god awful green carpet and lay something brighter down (carpet or area rugs). Go with some white or white washed furniture and pics or posters on the wall with thick white matting --It'll make a BIG difference and you can DIY!!

I am about as wood-purist as they come, but even I do not care for this floor-to-ceiling knotty pine paneling. I have never seen an example where it does not look stuffy and claustrophobia-inducing. I would paint either the ceiling or the walls -- probably the walls -- or at the very least white wash it so some of the grain can come through, but as others have pointed out this knotty pine is not good quality wood. If you paint wood paneling you will still have wood paneling. It is not like you've drywalled it over. You just won't be able to see the knots.

Paint is also not forever. It takes a lot of elbow grease (or just money) to remove. But it can be done.

That being said -- if I could see the setting and the rest of the house, I might make an exception for a rustic, authentic cabin in the mountains of Vermont. It could possibly work. I just can't picture it and haven't ever seen any examples I like.

Keep it the way it is! Even the wall-to-wall carpet is fine: That color is ASCENDENT. The minute you take it out, it's going to be back in fashion. See my other little website, Knotty Is Nice, all about Knotty Pine and wood paneling and why is it WONDERFUL the way it is! http://knottyisnice.com/

Oh - don't paint! That is the real deal and, as someone has already said, once it's painted you never get it back. Brighten the floor and decorate to the paneling. PS - Painting over knotty pine will be a nasty job...

It seems most of the comments are for painting, which is so sad. Why do people constantly want to ruin natural beauty with white paint??? YUCK.

I would definitely leave the beautiful knotty pine alone.

Knotty Pine is not an easy wood to paint. My mother tried once, and the wall has never looked quite right. It looks like painted knotty pine. Additionally, once its painted you can't go back. Pine is soft and absorbs the paint. That isn't cheap plyboard paneling and defines the character of the room. Chances are it's local pine. I think in this case, if you paint that room, you will be sorry and will devalue the house. Embrace the pine, put colorful and bright quilts in the room and get rid of the teal floor. There is probably lovely hardwood beneath the carpet.

If you really hate the paneling, drywall over it, which will protect the original paneling.

Leave it! Then brighten it with lots of mirrors, pictures, wall hangings, brighter flooring, and possibly a sky light.

Very shortly you'll start being bombarded by readers of the Retro Renovation blog, as the writer of the blog has instructed her readers to come over here and tell you not to paint the wood. So take the passionate "don't paint" comments with a grain of salt.

Bottom line is it depends on what look your Mom is going for. Is she wants to stay with a more rustic, cabin feel, then I would say don't paint. If she is going for a more clean, modern look, then I would say paint.

I'm definitely a proponent of keeping original details in a home, unless it no longer works for you or you just don't like it. It IS your Mom's house after all, and I'm sure she will do what works best for her and what she likes the best, and if that is paint then so be it!

Definitely don't paint it. It's beautiful! And hey, readers or Retro Renovation have great taste too. They don't need to be discounted.

Leave the wood and go with a minimalist palette OR do something kitschy. Paint by number paintings of wooded scenes, some New England plaids, etc. Embrace it, you're in New England, and you can totally make this work.

And OMG, yes, get rid of that horrid carpet. If it's wood underneath, that is where I might consider painting because you can always strip it later. I wouldn't touch the walls/ceiling though!

All the room needs is some bright art work and either a lighter carpet or (better) light stained wood flooring with bright area rugs. Please ask your mom to NOT paint the wood!. That would be very sad as it's very nice paneling and once wood is painted it's way, way hard to ever go back to natural. Trust me, I know as the house I bought last fall has had many "renovations" that I'm in the process of un-doing.

Oh, I forgot to mention in my above comment that painting the paneling will remove real dollar value from the home. This appears to be excellent quality wood and that is always a plus in any home, deserving a prominent place in real estate ads--I know, I write those ads for a living!

Keep the natural wood! I love rooms like this. Update the colors. If you whitewash the walls it will look like 1982 all over again. Paint is for sheet rock because it is cheap, and looks that way.

Keep the wood. You can brighten up this room by removing the dark carpeting and going with a non shag with much lighter tones. Keep the furnishings simple and uncluttered. Yes paint is always the cheapest way to update a room but in this case the wood is a fantastic look that will keep its looks for a very long time. The whole white and bright look is overrated.
Good luck.

No paint. Authenticity is its own kind of beautiful.

I would pull up that carpet and live with the knotty pine for awhile. THEN I would decide. I'll say this...good knotty pine paneling is easy to care for. Once painted, there's no going back...

If this were that awful pressed board faux paneling I'd say paint it. But that? THAT I would leave.

Please, PLEASE for the love of all things old and antique-y, please don't paint over this amazing knotty pine. For one thing, no matter what you do, those knots are going to telegraph through the paint - you will still see them. But mainly, it would be a tragedy to destroy this woodwork that cannot be replaced, nor ever restored to its original glory. You will be ruining the value for not only yourself, but any future owners. Believe me when I say you will get more money when you eventually sell the house if you have original knotty pine to boast about! Of course you can lighten up the room with lighter carpeting and maybe white lace curtains. Have you thought of white folding screens to break up the large room and make it lighter? Or how about hanging pretty white mosquito netting over the beds to add a light color and texture to the room? You could also add more lighting to the room - cute lanterns would look nice! Pretty please, don't paint your amazing real wood room!

The wood is beautiful and makes the room unique. Changing the carpet and hanging curtains would lighten the room up.

It's pretty unusual to find unfinished pine in such lovely condition. She's got a fantastic start on a genuine shabby chic/ antique look. I would remove the carpet; if it's in decent shape, freecycle it. If it's a wood floor, clean and varnish it, if it's plywood or softwood in poor condition, paint it a pale, cool neutral.

I'd move the bed away from the window and put a window seat there, and pretty white curtains over a layer of sheer curtains. And I'd make sure the room had good lighting, and probably a couple of skylights.

I have the same wood in my living room, sadly stained rather orange, though even with that unfortunate choice, it's not dire. After other, worse, choices are removed, I'll probably replace it or try to rehab it.

I love the horizontal paneling on the sloping walls; just what I plan to do in my attic bedroom in my Maine cottage.

I agree with everyone who says experiment with anything/everything but the wood first. I had a lovely old home with an authentic knotty pine den, so cozy and warm. It is the room I think about and miss the most. I fervently hope the subsequent owners havn't changed it.

Generally speaking I am not a fan of knotty pine, but this is lovely and very well maintained. I wouldn't paint it (at least not right away). I'd lighten the room with new carpeting (perhaps a nice berber), or some other kind of flooring and an area rug. "Lightening" can also be accomplished by way of furniture and accessories - window treatments, pillows, artwork - can all offer a lighter airier feel.

I'd definitely consider seriously before painting, because once this wood is painted, it would be near impossible to bring it back to its former glory.

Don't paint the pine! It's beautiful! Change the other stuff.

Please keep the knotty pine. Don't paint it! It is classic, good quality wood, in good condition. Some people dream of this stuff. It you want to remodel the room, tear out the green carpet. That'll make a huge update. You could change the upholstery and bedding colors, as well. The knotty pine is just the essence of this loft room.

Okay, well I love chocolate but I'm not going to serve a buffet of chocolate, even if it's the finest chocolate in the world. I don't think the excuse of "the wood is nice quality" is sufficient. Look at the whole picture and the design factor.

Yes, the wood is nice, and most of the suggestions to paint have also recommended leaving some of it (specifically the beams and/or ceiling). Just because it's nice doesn't automatically mean it's going to look good all over everywhere. Maybe doing a light whitewash and leaving a special few areas untouched will bring even more attention to the beauty of the wood.

As for those saying it will hurt resale...have you NOT seen the reaction of average buyers (who don't know or even care about wood quality) to wood-colored wood paneling? It's overwhelmingly negative.

I would probably keep the wood. There are a lot of ways you could make it a great room. It is a large dormitory type room so is less likely to feel claustrophobic than a smaller room might. And it is questionable how successful painting that wood will be - it might end up with the knotty bits showing through anyway. If I really wanted to paint, I would drywall the gable ends as someone else suggested and paint the drywall.

I am not a retro purist or an ardent lover of knotty pine paneling, however, in this particular case, I would try leaving the paneling as is and change other elements, like the flooring and decor, as well as add lighting. The space itself, with its high ceilings and beams, works with the paneling. I would not use a light flooring because I don't think the sharp contrast between light flooring and the paneling would work. But if you leave all that paneling, you must go whole hog with cohesive decor, or it won't work. I really like the faux-victorian bed-- it's just the wrong color. Imagine it painted in dusty turqoise... it would really pop against that orangey knotty pine!

I also think that painting the walls, and leaving the ceiling and beams knotty pine, would work, but again, I would not paint the walls white. (too much contrast) Instead, I might go with a dirty avocado green... something that would preserve the charm and cabin quality and play well against the orangey pine ceiling and beams. I can understand wanting to tone down the knotty pine, and I think the walls would look good painted.

Despite some comments here, you can successfully paint knotty pine without any knots showing through, and it looks great. The key is the right primer and prep work. Putting a bead of caulk in the paneling joints (and smoothing it with your finger) gives you a clean look when you paint paneling... You can still see the panel joints but they are more uniform, without dark crevices.

DON'T PAINT!!! There are so many more ways to be creative without killing the wood. It could be spectacular with updates and more modern accoutrements.

Paint it all white, beams and all and make sure it's a flat or eggshell paint, nothing too glossy....it will be gorgeous!

Ditch the carpet. Invest in beautiful fabrics, and put something on the walls. Black accents (iron) would look great. I have a similar room, darker, with varnished wood. I'm considering painting the beams and window frames white.

DON'T PAINT! i've moved west and miss vermont and this aesthetic so much. there is so much potential here! like someone said, think ralph lauren - modern cabin. bright white linens with plaid/pendleton style blankets on the bed... go to cabinporn.com and get inspired! your guests will LOVE feeling like they're getting an authentic vermont experience!

Artwork. Let me say it again. ARTWORK. Accessorizing the room will go really far toward breaking up the monotony of the wood. My grandmother has an upstairs that is this exact same wood paneling and it is gorgeous. But that's because she accessorized (over a long, long time) and used differing wood tones to add depth and texture.

Paint! I would paint the walls white, leave the beams and probably paint the ceiling white too (or maybe leave the ceiling and paint the beams white?). I think it would make such a difference that the existing furniture and decor would look pretty good. If you're not convinced have a look at some episodes of "Sarah's Cottage". It's amazing what white paint can do for wood paneling like this. http://www.hgtv.ca/sarahscottage/

This is absolutely adorable! Paint that gorgeous knotty pine? In a Vermont home? Heavens, no! Once you paint that, you'll never get it back to the beautiful condition it's already in. Pull the green carpet, and regardless of what's lurking underneath, it will immediately change the aesthetic of the room. If you don't like what's under the carpet...(lighter) bamboo floors - or even tiles - will cool the warmth of the knotty pine. Keep the furniture...it's very charming. A few throw rugs next to the beds, some white sheers for the windows, and some squishy bedding and pillows, and it's a perfect Vermont hideaway! And don't watch too many home & garden shows...they'll have you tearing out every charming feature. Good luck to you...I love the room!

Antoher otpion is... Paint the ceiling white and paint all but one wall white or a different colour. Then you can leave one of pine as a feature wall. Leave the beams alone (they'll stand out great against the white ceiling) or paint them a darker colour. Then either hardwood or carpet.

Here's a great little house that kind of has the feel of what I'm suggesting.

http://www.jhinteriordesign.com/tiny-house/

Full disclosure: I am here because Pam Kueber recommended her readers comment on your blog post. But I don't love all wood, and I'm not a purist. That having been said, if I were you I would try everything else but painting the paneling before going ahead and painting it. If you want to get rid of the "knotty" look you'll have to fill every single darned knot with wood putty first, then sand, then prime, before you can paint, and it still won't look like beaded board, which I imagine is the look you are going for. I'd just try to make the knotty pine work; it's a cozy, homey house in Vermont -- go with that! I'll echo what other commenters have said; think plaid, or striped Pendleton blankets on the beds, and paint the floor and put throw rugs down. It will be a charming, warm, appealing space that everyone will want to hang out in!

Also, to everyone who said, "you can always just strip the wood later if you change your mind," nuh-uh. No, you gosh-darned well can't. It is a *nightmare* to strip wood, especially knotty pine. The paint just cannot be removed from the knots, without the use of serious (and highly toxic) chemicals, so no. Just no. If you really can't stand the wood, as someone else suggested, put a drywall wall in front of it, so that the next owner can enjoy the knotty pine attic space.

I would paint the trim around the windows and the bottom of the window seat white, leave the panelling as is, change the carpet as others have suggested, use some throw rugs, put up some great artwork, hang some natural white linen curtains, put coordinated linen bedding on the beds and perhaps introduce some colour by painting the dresser and reupholster the cushion on the window seat in a solid and coordinated colour. You don't ned to paint at all -- and in 15 years people will want the wood again!

The paneling looks charming. I agree that the carpet should go. Might I also suggest that a "bright" bedroom may not be as soothing and restful as this organic, warm look.

What's under the carpet? More wood. It's just overpowering to me as a feng shui consultant. I feel oppressed just looking at the first pic with the wood element in dominance and the multiple heavy beams pressing down on that bed. You could paint the walls and ceiling with a white-wash paint finish that would let some of the wood's character through but would cut the energy of having so much of it. Or paint the walls and the beams and leave the wood ceilings and floors. Good luck!

don't touch!!!! get rid of that kelly green carpet. eegads! go with bulky, gorgeous rug! not traditional. beautiful, clean furnishings and linens will make any room rock. the wood is gorgeous. the beams 'make' the room!! maybe avoid the shabby-chic or all white. but cohesion is KEY! when i am stuck about designing a bedroom, i go with HIGH-END 5-star hotel room; clean lines, simple, sparse, expensive. in that case, less is more.

...and strip the wood if there is a shiny-1960's yellow to it now. bare is beautiful.

Please DON'T paint! I'm just back from a vacation spent in a Vermont cottage, done largely in knotty pine. Could I live with it in my fulltime residence in rooms that are used daily? Hells, no. But did it add a lovely, cabin-y, we're-on-vacation feel to a Vermont country house? Absolutely. It MADE the place. This is a room her Mom doesn't use in her day to day life; it's for visitors who are most likely on vacation. In that context the paneling is perfect and the room has exactly that casual, thrown-together-over-generations look that the best "getaway" cabins always have.

That said, definitely rip up the carpet, paint the floors white and hang some curtains. And know what? I'd keep Grandma's floral window seat fabric from a generation or two ago.

so . . . many . . . comments. I can't read them all.

I would keep the wood the way it is. It would be cheesy if it were in your city apartment or whatever, but in a country house, it is fine. Take up the carpet and do some lighter colored carpet on the floor. I would say to do a light wood floor, but with all that wood, you would be in a box.

If you want to break up the wood a little, get some large framed art without a lot of detail to it - like charcoal sketches or pen and ink sketches on white paper - something in the theme of your location.

Couldn't read all the comments, but read enough. My gut would be definitely not to paint. I would not if I owned this home. If this were your mom's bedroom, or a dining room, and the homeowner didn't want to look at it every day, I might consider painting. For an upstairs dorm-type guest room? No way! This is perfect for a Vermont guest room. I'm guessing you don't like it and want her to paint. Too much work and expense and lowering of the home's value for your pleasure, I'd say.

Also, if you do decide to paint, because it is clear you want to, do just the wall part OR just the slanted ceiling, not both, and leave the other, the beams, and the window framing as is. Use something that is a wood treatment, like pickling or stain, though be aware that many things called stain are basically paint (not sure what whitewash is exactly, but that may be an option) that leaves the knotty wood look show through.

But really, if you hate it, you'd be better to cover it up with some of the suggestions above, like artwork or fabric, even just large framed fabric panels stretched like artwork. I'm sure that you can find many other suggestions for covering walls without damaging them. Because painting will lower the value of the home. Sure, some eventual buyers will want to paint it, and will, but those that don't want it painted (and there will be many) won't want to strip it, and so won't make an offer, but will be sad you messed with the wood.

As to the floor, don't paint that either, whatever you do to the walls. And don't put down carpet or tile. If it is wood of any kind, even unfinished wide not-fine-floorboards wood boards, just clean, lightly sand and seal it. Then put either smaller rugs, or a room sized sisal type woven rug if you want to cover it all up (or even one of those indestructible outdoor flat polypropylene rugs - they come in some interesting colored patterns).

The idea, for best results, is to take the room's structure as it is, and design your decor around that. Nothing will look better, nothing.

In in perfect world (mine)? With NO budget constraints??? Depending on the quality of the pine, I would sand blast it to bring up as much of the grain as possible and bleach it. But as this is a secondary room, paint it. Make sure you use a quality primer!

In this case, since the wood paneling is a beautiful and vintage pine I would suggest carefully removing and saving the old panels and putting up drywall and painting. This will also allow you to check for the proper insulation and wiring behind the walls.

Save the old pine to make into cabinets, furniture or turn into a reclaimed pine floor.

So what did you decide to do?

I would leave the beams alone and go with cloud white everywhere else. Obviously the room needs decorating, but we're talking paint changes here...

If the wood is raw whitewash everything but beams. These stain dark. Unfortunately the wood looks like it has old polyurethane on it and this will make your process difficult.

Paint the walls white and leave the ceiling and beams natural. That window nook is so wonderful! Please post the After.

I did a search on painted pine walls, and in every instance I preferred the painted to the not. In almost every instance, I preferred the completely painted to the partially painted. So take a look at some images and see what your mom's gut reaction is. You can print out a number of pictures and sort them into three piles: Like a lot, Like a bit, Don't like.

In my case, all the knotty pine interior pics went into the like a bit and don't like piles. Of course, YMMV. :)

As an architect, furniture designer/fabricator and preservationist- I am torn slightly-
On one hand I get all giddy to get my hands on all barn wood, or to reclaim and reuse or upcycle old materials. On the other I cringe to see beautiful solid wood furniture pieces defiled by a rogue DIYer with left over wallpaper and a sponge brush.

There is such a story to be told in artifacts and old homes; we romaticize about the lives that have passed through when inspecting the layers of paint on an old farmhouse door, or the notches in the door frame marking the height of the children over the years.

While there is something to be said about preserving something with such integrity, its essence can become lost if so over saturated or left with out an identity. The real stories are told by what stamp we leave behind, a little piece of ourselves goes into personalizing the spaces which we call home.

If she has lost her connection with that space than it no longer tells her story.In this case it is also a retreat for family friends and guests, and the stories she wants them to walk away with. In the spirit of telling your own story I say go for it! Paint away-

Perhaps your mother could just use a little push: one of your own posts perhaps-
http://www.apartmenttherapy.com/winter-white-a-home-on-the-cornish-coast-180726

I truely think that removing the carpet and throwing some whitewash or full blown white on those walls would breed new life into that space with overwhelming confidence. She might even be surprised how 1980's Victorian Revial decor will seem cottage fresh!
Can you say bed and breakfast- when can I check in Please!!

I am probably a 100 days late....but my idea is.....children/grandchildren art work. Use rope & clothes to display! Shadow boxes. Floating shelves.

I am probably 8 months too late. what was the decision? would love to see updated pics. I am a wood purist too, but never say never... look at how bright this room is with just the ceiling painted. You can brighten it up while keeping the character of the place.
http://www.houzz.com/photos/391328/Summerhouse-Sk-ne-modern-hall-other-metro
I like this better than painting the walls but not the ceiling, I'd be afraid it would sort of top heavy with all those sloping ceilings.