SFGate

judyg Yummy, Craftsman. I am always fascinated with this style as there is none of that around my neighborhood, and very little in my state. I have seen some great pictures on houzz…some with painted woodwork and some original and some with half and half.
Cascadia Residence 04

Great house.
Craftsman Home
5126 Fairglen Northlight Architects

But, it looks as if the truly authentic homes are left pretty much original. Of the pictures I posted I do not like at all the one where the entire ceiling is white.

Scroll through Craftsman here on houzz. Lots of ideas for you.

Twisted Minds Custom Designs Please do not paint over 100 yr. old woodwork!!! If it is within budget, you could have it all stripped and restained in a shade you find pleasing, brighten up the space by painting walls and ceiling, and using colorful artwork. Refacing or painting brick on fireplace may liven up room also. If possible try adding some soft lighting inside glass cabinets to give the room a soft glow. Beatiful space, don't lose the charm that older houses possess by trying to modernize.

libradesigneye It is your house, and usually I am all about painting out wood if you want to, but in this case, the style you are heading for will come through stronger with stained wood - just a different tonal shade.

Here's why - painting the wood is going to take this room very cottage-y, and if your style is more transitional, it will come out cutesy. You will get a more refined and architectural look from the contrast of stained wood, though you may want to take it to a darker shade.

Depending upon the color palette you like to have in your living room furnishings and drapery, I'd recommend a dark cherry stain or a dark mission oak (think espresso). If your house accent colors are warm or earthy, select the dark cherry. If they are cool taupes and grays, then lean towards the mission oak tones.

Built up dirt might also make it uglier than it is. Sherry at YHL recommends the magic eraser to clean up old wood furniture, so I'll suggest you try one of these here before you move forward.

Transitional style can work great with more of a dark cherry wood finish (they come in light and dark tones - see the lighter version above left in the pictures posted) and you might not have to restrip and refinish at all, just layer in a dark cherry gel stain - perhaps try it on the back side of a beam and see what i mean - you can always paint over that if you dislike it. This would also require much less work than priming and painting out the tone you have now.

Perhaps you'd like to wait to select your wood floors until you work this out - contrast is possible, but you may want the floors to be just one shade darker in the same tonal family. I think that you could make it all work together and get a much more high end look by keeping the wood if you get that wood tone right.

I would address the interior of the cabinets and the fireplace brick once you set your colorway. You may want to use a mosaic marble to echo the arts and crafts instinct as you bring this gem up to date (reface the brick), You might select an accent color for the interior of the cabinets but again, that selection should follow setting your entire color story.

This house has wonderful bones - the architecture and trim adds a lot to making a room feel expensive. That alone makes working with new stain worth the effort.

yvonnecmartin Don't paint the woodwork, but embrace its style.

carole really,dont paint the wood!!!have a good look on Houzz,put together at least 3 ideabooks 1what you think you want 2what is inkeeping with the house(like judyg said)3 find the ones that match in color or style,and take your designideas from that!!northlight architect i think is a good example for you
modern colors and furniture but still with the warm wood!!!!

shakerjaebs In October, I moved into a house built in 1925 that's a bit arts and crafts and a bit tudor. Anyway, I'm not a fan of the oak tone either. And, all my walls are textured plaster and were painted, what I called "Kraft mac and cheese powder" semi gloss. That made the tone of the oak VERY yellow. Having already decided not to paint the wood because I love the original woodwork, I chose a cooler wall color that seemed to tone down the "gold tone" of the oak.

Also, the design of your woodwork is gorgeous. The beamed ceilings! The built-ins next to the fireplace! Gorgeous. It is of course your house. But I would try to work with the wood before you paint it. It's hard to undo!

Good luck and have fun!

Jayme Hobbs Love the Craftman look, and would not paint it....I found this pic awhile ago..

Valvorie Dunn You are so lucky that you were able to find an old home that hasn't been "remuddled". Oak is not my favorite either but you can stain it whatever color you like. I tend to prefer a biege color with stained trim, but many colors can work well & make the rooms brighter. Good luck with your beautiful new "old" home.

groveraxle tghwed, I love your house. Perhaps it's because it's nearly identical to my 1910 craftsman bungalow. Not quite identical though, because my woodwork is all painted, and was probably built that way. Initially I thought I would strip it all, but discovered the wood underneath the paint is not worthy of stain.

Your wood is beautiful. I hope you'll decide to keep it au natural. Please remember, this house has been here longer than you, and will continue after you're gone. It is an authentic piece of history and you are not only its owners, but its caretakers too. Look on the craftsmanship with awe, take good care of it, and it will serve you well.

groveraxle BTW, a craftsman is amenable to nearly any style of decor:

revss What window treatments do you want for the big L. Rm. window? We have a mid-50's ranch with the same large window. Did it and the D. Rm. in 4 1/2" horizontal wood blinds. Love the look and get many compliments. Much better than the vertical plastics that were there! They are framed by the original woodwork-a simple honey color, and the original marble sills. Blinds from Budget Blinds. (Don't know if this fits with the Craftsman style...) Did the rest of the house-one level-in 2" blinds as the corner windows wouldn't take a larger blade.

Mottles Murals Ceramic Tiles We bought our 1900 sq ft brick Tudor in 2001. It was built in 1948. I would love to have the beams and woodwork that you have there. My thinner size woodwork was already painted, but I did save all of the wooden floors. I had a company come and sand them all down to natural wood and then 2 coats of a sealer varnish. I love them plus the lighter color doesn't show the dust and dog hair as much. I just wanted to share that if you were considering what shade of flooring. Good luck and enjoy!

Cabinets 4U, Inc. You are lucky - I have clients trying to achieve the exact look you already have! I'm adding one more example to the mix; see how the space looks fresh and updated. It's the stone, the furnishings the artwork., even the accessories.

Valvorie Dunn BTW, I would replace the floors with the same type for integrity purposes.

blindsdirectcanada I would go with shutters for the windows and match the existing frame color .

Straight A Builders, Inc. Since the ceiling is evidently in bad shape anyway, you could consider adding similar to the beams already in place to turn the ceiling into a fully coffered one. Tear up whatever you want of the plaster to install some recessed can or other additional lighting, then cover it up with stain grade plywood (or new drywall for a brighter room) in the open areas and trim with crown molding.

Jenny Brown brighten it up! You can keep the wood the same if you can add light elements, candles, mirrors & other reflective stuff. can you open the wall to show more of the staircase? I lived in a craftsman bungalow once & it was gorgeous, but I got depressed living there in all that darkness.

cohoek Thers is also the possibility of bleaching the oak to get it a bit lighter, it darkens with age. I think its called oxalic acid. Anyway there is something out there that bleaches... Your house will drop in value if you paint the wood.

inabunker I would hate to see you paint the woodwork, but having said that, I sure like Cabinets4U's picture. I can see how mixing the painted woodwork with the non-painted and modernizing the fireplace really works!

tghwed Thank you all SO much for the wonderful input.

I was/am nervous about the thought of staining the wood because I thought that would be far more work with stripping, sanding, and staining than painting. I will have to look into the gel stain. Do you guys know of any other "easy" alternatives to staining? I do love a nice dark wood and would absolutely not be opposed to that. The pictures you all found are beautiful!

Thanks again for the help!! :)

tghwed Also, if we do stain dark, what do you advise for the flooring? I am fairly attached to the idea of dark hardwoods. Should we try to match the shade of hardwoods? We've had a floor restoration company come out to see about refinishing and apparently the original hardwoods are too thin to be sanded down more. Its not in our budget to have them install a completely unfinished floor and stain it on site (which would make it look more original) so we will probably just have pre-finished hardwoods installed. Part of the appeal of white trim was the contrast from the dark woods... curious for what you all had in mind.

Mottles Murals Ceramic Tiles Did the refinishing company offer to buff the wood floors? That is what I am going to do.

Sara Bederman Interior Design Painting the cabinets white is a great idea, include the mantle as well. Consider changing the glass in the cabinet eat doors to a simple bevelled style. The arts and crafts feel of the room will lend itself well to the classic modern furniture styles found at Design Within Reach. You can find lots of reproductions of these pieces but browse their site to get a feel for styles. Add a nice Persian or oriental rug to keep the feeling transitional. Good luck!

Ironwood Builders Oh lord, the time and money I spent stripping paint off old house to get back to the original finish. Please, please don't paint this. Consider is an antique, like on Antiques Roadshow, where you just devalued the object from almost priceless to common. Clean the place up, stage the heck out of it, advertise it in American Bungalow Magazine and sell it to someone that actually wants that style of home. I'm currently converting/creating an A&C bungalow from a ranch rambler in California...they don't grow on trees these old homes.

Becky Griffin, REALTOR Houston, TX If you want to paint...paint!! It would look gorgeous with creamy white trim. I personally think painting woodwork looks gorgeous.

libradesigneye For your floor, I wouldn't worry about matching stains precisely, but you want to stay in the same color family - so if you go with dark cherry stained wood, you might select a lighter 'cognac' color in the flooring.

I understand your love of contrast - I had my own floor stained dark after starting with oak and learned the hard way that the closer your floors are to the color of dirt, the easier they are to maintain looking good. My advice is to head for a mid-tone of the same color family for the floor and darken your woodwork instead.

Valvorie Dunn Where is your home located?