I love love love the cedar walls and would never paint them - I would change to a lighter tile on the floor because the overall impression is a bit dark. I would also paint the window frames that dark shade you like and match it on the cross beams on the ceiling.
Just my opinion I am no expert!

I have a little old cottage with natural timber hoop pine walls ceilings and floors...its a bit dark but I'd NEVER paint it.
The brickwork - consider cladding it with a natural light coloured stone. I had a dark brick fireplace that made the environment even darker so cladded it with ribbonstone right up to the ceiling. PIC below just as an example...the empty fireplace has a log heater in it like yours..There would be other stone veneers you could source. I'd agree with a lighter tile on the floor but maybe with a strong all-over pattern and maybe accents of whatever colour you use in the carpet. I find that RED carpet works really well in a "woody" environment...is that a sunken lounge area?...Would look lovely in ruby red..but if you don;t like red try a dark teal and have accents of pale orangey-yellow for cishions or curtains if you use them. PIC also of my wooden environment just as example.

Pics of my timber and stone interior

Yes i have considered cladding the fireplace in something lighter I think it would help!
thanks

I'd definitely paint the brickwork white first & then wait a bit before you do anything else. That should lighten things up a bit and modernise it. Even better if you could render the brickwork then paint it white.
I have a bathroom with diagonal cedar panelling and raking ceiling the same. Was tempted to paint it as well when I first moved in but I'm now glad I didnt.
I wouldn't paint the windows white, you don't want them to stand out against the wood, they are not a feature but the wood is. Maybe try lovely white floaty curtains on the windows or white pull down blinds?

I wouldn't paint the timber,I definitely would lighten the fireplace though,either a textured paint or even better a beautiful light stone cladding.The most change u could make is to upgrade the flooring,I would go for a beautiful pale limestone or a tile that looks like stone,there's plenty around.When we redid our tiles I found a porcelain tile in charcoal,everyone thinks they are real stone!! Good luck

Im leaning towards charcoal stone/ stone looking tiles the faux terracotta and pink granite is awful!What about painting the skirts and archs and cross beams in something else was thinking about white for trims and charcoal for the cross beams and leaving the cedar intact ?
Thanks so much

Seems, Stephanie that you have agreeing amateurs and pros advising the same solution. Hope you solve this to your satisfaction!

Yes It does ! im starting to get my head around it now .

having lived with timber walls and ceilings for 40 yrs the darkening of the timber has started to feel depressing so I propose to retain the beautiful timber ceilings and dark brown aluminium windows and replace some of the timber walls with light painted plasterboard: hopefully easy DIY facelift!!

.Just trying desperately to save those beautiful timber panels from the junk pile... had you thought of lightening some of the panels...a scrub with sugar soap and a good oil with a fragrant natural oil...so every so often you are surprised by timber that is light, satiny a delight to stroke and smell and still like living inside a wonderful tree?
Please don't replace the timber panels! I guarantee you will feel guilty!

Guarantee you will feel very guilty, Stephanie, if you replace some of the timber walls with....plasterboard?!!! (Sorry oklouise).... but timber has a soul from the tree that grew it and it is not forgiving if you do anything to it but enhance it...believe me...trying desperately to save that timber...and not kidding!
Please consider at least, scrubbing some of the panels with sugar soap to render them a lighter contrast to those adjacent to these. Oil the scrubbed panels with a fragrant natural timber preserver oil, buff until satiny. You'll have the facelift you need and your timber will reward you by wrapping itself around you and making you feel that you live inside a wonderful tree! Mad? Many would say so but try, at least.
I guarantee that the mission brown of the window frames will look different too...and I have an idea for them too...but first save the timber!

I'm thinking change the floor to grey tiles clad the brick fireplace with natural light stone
And paint window frames and trims as well as cross beams and leave all the cedar ceilings
And feature walls. See how it comes up !

Blossom100
What a great room. How about going totally Scandi with lots of white in paint & furniture with grey floor covering - slate coloured tiles. Sheepskin throws & cosy knee rugs with colourful pillows & the cedar timber warming it all up, it would be a very welcoming area.

@Stephanie Bergamaschi...I'd love to see the fireplace clad in natural light stone...once you have had that done I really think that the rest will suggest itself to you, especially the coour for the tiles. May I suggest you go to a site called PORCELLANOSA...don't have the web address here but there are some beautiful floor tiles that will surely inspire you...I've never seen any like them. You might even find your cladding for your fire place there as they also have large textured wall tiles that are magic. I'll see if I can find the web address for you. Don't you have some dark brick columns around the house as well? Maybe you might be inspired to do those with the same material you decide to use for the fireplace.

Stephanie....all I can find is PORCELANOSA Gruppo Ceramic Tiles...they are not an Australian product

I am renovating a house exactly like this..... One photo shows before and the other is during the cedar being painted. It looks fabulous after. We did sheet the bricks rather than paint them. render is a cheaper alternative to sheeting and can be done to very fine finish. Hope this helps.

@annaqua...
.nobody would ever know that there was really expensive cedar under the stark white paint!
Your PICS show exactly the effect and will be a good guide for anyone comtemplating doing the same to a like house.
Do you think that if you wanted that clean white modern look you would maybe have been better off and even more enamoured with this result had you just clad all those beautifully joined beams (to show off the timber) with gyproc sheeting and painted that stark white ...or whatever will be the final colour?
To each his own. Good that you are excited and think it looks 'fabulous'....you must be thrilled! Even to get your hands on a house like that would be a big thrill, its really something! To me that ceiling looks as if its been a worn old farmhouse ceiling that the owners could not afford to line so they just painted it white. Mind you, in a farmhouse and even in a more classically architectured building of old that white 'painted beams and joists' look works well. I think though, that in this case, in this style of house that it has cheapened the design of a.really unnusual and probably once very stylish and classy house...but would never stop you from rendering or maybe even tiling those busy bricks in a colour that goes with cedar. One can purchase some really exquisite decorative wall tiles today. Hve fun annaqua and good for you having a house like this to play with.

I've thought long and hard about this one, so here's my 2cents worth. French grey, or as the Americans call it greige, is a neutral with a blue undertone that I have found works at toning down the fiery hue of the timber. (Orange and blue are complimentary colours they tone each other down) I've noticed all the architects houses are all timber interiors. A colour that looks amazing with that shade of timber is Pantenes colour of the year ( as an accessorie ) is orchid as a feature chair or cushions. What to do with mission brown? Well to paint it white would be tonally too far unless a lot of other thing in the room were white as well then you could do the milk and honey look. Or black which is what I'm thinking for my house quite harsh to blend in, or would it recede? I'm thinking of a custom colour thats not too dark not too brown or not too blue, but that fits tonally with the whole house. When I get to heaven (where there is no dust, dirt or decay) the whole interior would be painted white walls, floor, out side and jewel pops of colour accessories

A proper 'grey hue' might do it, you'd just have to find the one that worked with the "fiery" colours in the timber...one that rather than "toning down or what I call :deadening it", would do what a complementary colour should and that's balance it all. Sounds like an idea.. Colour combination and actual creation is a passion for me so I love these discussions and ideas~! Your house has been really in my 'mind's eye'....Would I have taken it on? I don't think so at this stage in my life...maybe 30 years ago...so I'll be very interested indeed to see what you accomplish.
Just one thing though...manufacturer's put fancy names on paint to sell it,,,does not mean its perfect for the job even if its the colour of the year...who said?!....So be your own judge and don't be taken in, its your house and you have to like living there!

We are currently renovating a house near the beach with mission brown everything and cedar walls. After lots of Zinsser Smart Prime and Dulux Natural white the place looks twice the size, fresh clean, modern and stunning, if I do say myself! (Not finished yet...but we are getting there!)

Beach House better bright and breezy But on those cold windy nights the comfort of timber, especially cedar really inspires me. I have one of those log fires...Oh the ceiling! But at least if they are white you can see the smoke stains.

No this is good

to Ladyrob1 - you are looking at the sealer undercoat.... Not the finished paint colour. It is just an example of the before and after effect.

We had a similar dilemma when we bought our 1970s house 2 years ago. We ended up leaving all unpainted timber as is (left timber ceiling, doors and frames and gave the rest of the house a freshen up with Dulux Lexicon white in half strength). I am so glad we left the raw timber because white paint gets dirty so quickly, and even the charcoal paint we did for the kitchen and beams will need a re-coat eventually. However, the timber architraves haven't been touched in 40 years and won't ever need to be. My advice is to leave all timber unpainted, you'll be glad you did once you live in the space.

We bought our 50s house 20 years ago and fell in love with the big windows, timber ceilings and jarrah floors. Chose a light terracotta for the walls and added white shutters or blinds; sunrise and sunset the house glows. The colour is not on-trend now but I still love it. Please consider carefully before paining timber, once painted it will never be the same. As others suggested try cleaning or even a light sand to lift the colour.

oops, 'painting timber"...freudian slip??!! Also, as kayliwild mentioned, we have timber doors, frames, skirtings etc. We painted the bedroom white and I regret it, it does look dirty most of the time. Timber is much less maintenance.

I too have a high cedar ceiling and window frames in a section of my house built in the 80s (the walls are almost entirely glass). I have considered painting all the cedar white; I like the white washed farm house look. But I have decided against it because it would very difficult to undo, and also because the white washed farm house look may one day seem terribly dated, in a way that too much bare wood now looks rather dated.

Cladding fireplace with natural beige coloured stone would look great ie. sandstone see attached pic I found on houzz note the laying pattern, but steer away from book leaf style far too modern for your setting. Rather than paint that beautiful wall cladding (I know it can be a bit much when you have so much timber) however if you were to re-tile the floor in the same stone as you use on fireplace would certainly lighten things up and adding plants will help. If you don't want to use real plants there are some amazing artificial ones out there.
If you want to paint window frames I would definitely go with black. Good luck!

We are trying to sell our house and interior is all wood Feedback about so much wood has been negative I like the wood but appreciate it is a dated look Seriously looking whitewashing a feature wall and see how it goes If it is your forever home you can indulge your taste but when comes to sell real drawback

Noooo never paint cedar,but if there is to much of it maybe plaster a couple of walls and leave the rest as a feature as for the fire place a light stone and the floors a light stone look,might brighten the place up

Don't paint CEDAR
Definitely change your tiles to Ivory/ White marble
Replace your sliding door to modern bifold doors eith white or timber to match the cedar
Cover any brick work with Ivory/ White render
Add sandstone to fireplace

Didn't see this before but painting cedar is a crime for me, especially as it's expensive to have such panelling installed today. Understand if going for the beachy look as mentioned above. But that's only relevant if you really do live near the beach. Plus, many boards that get painted over may be cypress pine or a cheap similar wood and of course thats understandable. Sometimes timber looks dark or dated because other aspects of the interiors have not been updated or cared for. Brick walls needs to be dealt with first, they can be improved if they darken the space. Ours are white brick with a beautiful texture. Poor or dark carpet can be changed with lighter flooring in timber or carpet options. Opening a wall up or changing windows to improve light and views are often better long term options than painting over everything. Furniture can be modernised, doors can be re-invigorated. Sometimes by doing that, you don't have to touch the cedar ceilings. Whitewashing everything is a shame because its hard to go back afterwards if it doesn't look nice or last well.

We have an old pine ceiling which we considered distressing during recent Reno...sooooooo glad we didn't! The natural warmth and texture of timber can't be replicated. We also had a fireplace to upgrade and went with sandstone, which picked up the colours of the timber ceiling and the rendered walls beautifully. I love our rendered walls, such a natural-looking finish which needs barely any maintenance at all. Have included a pic for you. Sorry, first one wasn't so good (can't delete it!), second is better!!

Don't paint the natural wood. Try updating the furniture with lighter models, put contempory furnishings, and paint the window frames black.

@ladyrob1 & @Stephanie Bergamaschi - For your reference, Earp Bros are the distributors for the Porcelanosa Group in Australia. We have showrooms in Sydney, Melbourne and Newcastle and the Porcelanosa ranges available can be viewed on our website www.earp.com.au

Hope we can help...

paint the window frames and roof beams.

Paint the window frames black.

Regarding painting the cedar,

Click on it.

Hmm. I would cover the brick fireplace with a nice stone, lighter color, e.g. sandstone. personally I could not cope with all that timber it would get me down as it's a bit dark and it feels dated to me. Maybe you could leave the beams as they are and paint the rest of the ceiling white? Maybe you could whitewash the ceiling and walls.? if you don't want to make such drastic changes at this point. I would put a huge artwork where the picture of the deer head is to cover up as much of the wood as possible. I would change the curtains for white ones, The brick of the wall unit I would paint white

So, what did you end up doing?

This has been going for a while hasn't it?

I've come to call houses with all timber interiors, especially cedar, as being made of... "Unobtanium".... that was inspired by a movie..can't recall the name at present. Let's face it, you won't find timber like it anymore except in vintage reproduction/recycling places...and then you'll pay heaps! The time must arrive when your all timber interior will be a sought after luxury and people will pay for the luxury.

I've been happy with lightening some of my timber walls and ceilings, putting transparent coloured stain on parts just tp pick out interesting features ( I used food colouring suspended in a mix or kerosene and oil.) In other rooms where I've been undecided, I've invested in some rather exotic wall hangings...one is even a floor rug...some really nice rugs goung cheap at present. I'm a bit "arty" so this idea wouldn'r suit most people but putting it out here just in case. Have my eye on some really exotic-looking wavy Porcellanosa wall tiles for a new wet room... expensive but worth saving for. Again its another of my "out there" ideas...but I think that my only solution is to enhance what's here whilst it becomes more "unobtainable"...and maybe someday it will occur to a buyer that what's here is priceless!

With chookchook2...what did to end up doing Stephanie?

Our beach house has a large wall of cedar wood on both sides of the room which runs from the dining through to lounge area. We are renovating and have removed the older style kitchen which will make an open plan area. This living is upstairs and now have to replace flooring. Can I have advice on flooring to look good against cedar paneled walls. Also want the flooring to be all the same from kitchen through to dining and living which is very open.

To da_jg_king...This thread is about Stephanie's dilemma and all responses are directed to giving her some suggestions....its grown to be a rather long article and it is unlikely that anyone will respond to your dilemma. Why don't you start a post about your house and put up some really good photos to give Houzzers a "look in"? I bet you will get lots of respnse if Stephanie's post is anything to go by. Its hard to imagine your environment and make alternative suggestions without having photos. Cedar or any timber panelling can be deceptive depending on the area of the room and on the lighting that would change during the day..really need photos! I'm sure Houzzers would love to pitch in with suggestions...some of the ideas given to Stephanie might inspire you too! I love the challenge of natural timber.

I've come across and advert for a beautiful new paint colour from the RESENE company..They have some amazing stuff that gets me quite excited imagining what I could do with some of it...You ask for suggestions for flooring that would look good against cedar walls....You do not say whether you want colour suggestions or materials suggestions...so...Go to the RESENE paint site and have a look at all their paint products, you might be inspired by the colours and that could lead you to other ideas...like tiles, floor renders..etc.

Lately I've had a "thing" for a definite shade of Wedgewood Blue..( and I don't particularly like blue in my environment), but there's something very appealing about a dusty, light, warm-looking exact BLUE...leaning neither towards green nor purple...a perfect blue that I just love next to my timber walls.....That might be a clue for you...though it would depend, as colour always does, on the natural hue of your timber walls...Wood has its natural colour variations according to its type that also change with age....lots to consider. Put up some PICS! Yes?

All I would do is change all the flooring as it's just about the same colour of all the wood and put something light in

Hi Stephanie - what did you end up doing with your project?

Milk paint the brick to a lighter shade. Should look awesome. Clean the cedar. There is a white wax you could use to buff the cedar and make it look a little lighter. But once the brick is lightened and maybe a new floor covering the room will be transformed