You've been given lots of good suggestions, and I agree that you should not paint the staircase. To me, the room is very busy. I would use a solid colored rug and try to make the accessories more cohesive. I think that the chrome lamp is distracting. Your room has beautiful bones, but the architectural details are getting lost with all of the different types of colors and accessories.

I recently used a color from Lowe's Olympic Audobon collection (color matched to better paint) called Crocodile Tears. It's a great light olive drab green (how's that for a description?!) color that picked up the red undertones in the 112-year-old trim in my living room.

Sorry for the crummy picture. It was taken using my phone in low-light conditions. The most accurate depiction of the color is toward the lower/middle of the window.

I found it on the Lowe's website, but this is NOT what it looks like in person. It's WAY more green, but still a nice neutral.

My vote is for the Sienna Laurel: http://www.benjaminmoore.com/en-us/paint-color/siennalaurel

It would brighten the space and compliment the red tying it all together.

As a suggestion you may want to purchase sample pots of paint and paint poster board to give you a better idea of how it would look. You can move the poster board around and truly get the feel of how it would function in your space.

I agree that getting rid of the chrome lamp, or at least changing the shade, and rearranging the accessories would help a lot. I think the stuff on the mantel is particularly distracting, as much as I live flowers. With the interesting people scultptures and the painting and the rug, I would consider leaving the mantel bare. I also think the chandelier is too elaborate and a bit undersized for the space.

Bright white almost never looks right in these style of homes with lots of nice woodwork--the creams, golds and olive and sagey greens and taupe/greige complement it so much more, as does more jewel tones.

Would you mind posting a pic of the outside of the house? Is it a Foursquare? Or maybe a Colonial? The door and the narrow trim and the staircase does look a bit later to me, but the quality and amount of wood is rather unusual for the 30s. The horizontal window glazing is a later characteristic. There is a bit of Art Deco in it, which I can see in your furniture and accessories as well.

If you post more pictures, we can help figure out the style and possible date of construction. Depending on where you live, you can check Sandborne maps and old city directories (addresses do change though) and the local historical society to figure it out. That is how I found out that my house predates 1894, rather than 1920 or so like I thought. Turns out it had an extreme makeover from a Victorian cottage into a bungalow about then.

Love the light and all the art. Looks like a very comfortable and welcoming home.

I will post some more pictures of the outside of the house a bit later. I live in Johannesburg, South Africa- will need to do a bit of research as to when my area (Dunkeld) was developed to help figure out the age of my house. Thanks for the comments

Alana - what is the name or number of te Lowes paint you posted?

JanisHill- is the "screen colour" of the Sienna Laurel the same/ very similar to the real colour? As I cannot get Benjamin Moore paint I will need to try and match it with something here in SA.

Every monitor is different or I would say yes.

Can you purchase sample pots of paint?

Every monitor is different or I would say yes.

Can you purchase sample pots of paint?

It is always possible to go a bit darker and add your own white to get the color you want. Do they have computerized color matching there? You can try printing out a good sized swatch of the color you want and have them match it, or mixing your own with craft paint. I have mixed my own color for a number of rooms in my house--the trick is to mix enough!

I am assuming that style characteristics in S. Africa are quite different than they are in the US. Despite the Depression, homes were still being built and some are quite elaborate. It would be interesting to compare local variations, but that door really looks like something I've seen in the US from about 1940 or so, maybe a bit earlier. The stylistic date range can be quite wide for some of these characteristics anyway--maybe +- 10-15 years. I see you have some on the adjoining wall too. So nice that you still have original doors.

VBW...I, too, have mixed my own paints. One time I didn't have craft paint in the colors I needed to tint a gallon of paint. I used food coloring instead. It worked!

rosiegabbie - it's Crocodile Tears. It was an Olympic color.

Also - the ceiling is Pony Tail, if anyone's interested. ;)

Sorry for the late response, I've been scrambling to get ready for my daughter's 5th birthday party.

Have decided to go with the colour to the left of the artwork- it's a neutral greyish colour with green undertones. Will post a completed picture later this week. Can anyone share pictures where wooden floored (reddish brown teak)/ paneled homes have paint in grey tones on the walls?

Another angle

I think that's a beautiful shade! Here's something a little bit similar (though the color looks more saturated) in a Craftsman home:

An example of gray walls, reddish wood flooring:

Another angle

Another angle

What a beautiful entrance with the wood, its warm and inviting. I personally don't like to see wood painted in this environment as this is the look of your bldg.

For artwork/ I would try to pick a theme and remain consistent and/or at least have the frames match on all of it. Beautiful woodwork that I wouldn't paint, as you said you were not going to. I had a very similar entry way in one of my homes, and the wood is the star....other busy things are not needed.

HI -- This is so beautiful . I have never had a problem with painting wood . Lots of furniture etc. have been painted and then restored with having the paint removed . BUT, in your case I don't think you need to paint the wood , I think all you need is a nice rich damask or something with a hand painted look wallpaper. So don't touch the wood just work on the walls.

I prefer the paint color on the wall with BW art. It looks "fresh" to me. Beautiful space.

Usde a paint color close to yur woodwork. Leave the woodwork as is, except paint tthe wall panels to match the walls.

I love the wood, but then again I'm a lover of wood. I have seen walls that were painted a deep rich pink/peach that matchs in with the wood tones. It looks very warm and blends in with the wood.

The colour you have chosen looks great. Picking paint is never an easy process but well worth the time you have taken to find the right colour. It's an elegant colour that complements the wood, is neither too green nor too grey and is a good foil for your various artwork. I would love to see the finished results.

I really like the color you chose. I think you'll be happy with it.

I would not paint the wood. Once wood is painted it is extremely difficult to bring it back to its natural state. why not try a color Instead of white. Colors such as light olive green, a celedon, a putty color or taupe go great with natural wood.

Walls now painted! It is not a drastic change but definitely gives the area more warmth and goes well with the wood without being too green.

For those of you who requested to see exterior pictures of my house, I have attached some with this comment- more to follow

Additional exterior pictures

Additional exterior pictures

I love your home. I am so happy you did not paint any of the wood. There is nothing like a well maintained old house. Can we get a tour of the other rooms? I live in a historic district with homes from the 1920s & 30s few from the 40s. You just cant compare the older homes to the new ones that fall apart after 5 years. Whatever you do try to keep it true to the era. It is such a beautiful home.

The paint made a subtle, but huge difference. The room feels warm and inviting.

What a lovely home. Are you native to the area?

Janishill, yes I have lived in Johannesburg all my life. We bought our house just over a year ago and have done quite a lot of renovating- mostly cosmetic work. The floors throughout the home are parquet except the kitchen and three bedrooms have carpets over the original parquet. We had to lift and relay, sand, seal all the parquet as it had not been maintained for years. A hugely messy and costly job but well worth it!
We also replaced all the windows which were very old metal framed windows. In winter we could not close any of them properly as they were full of old paint, hence a freezing cod house. Next winter should be much cozier! Also did some work on the kitchen (added a central island and new cupboards). The rest was paintwork, wall papering, curtaining etc. It's been a busy year but such fun. Joanjean1, I will post some more pics of the rest of the house soon.

Janishill, yes I have lived in Johannesburg all my life. We bought our house just over a year ago and have done quite a lot of renovating- mostly cosmetic work. The floors throughout the home are parquet except the kitchen and three bedrooms have carpets over the original parquet. We had to lift and relay, sand, seal all the parquet as it had not been maintained for years. A hugely messy and costly job but well worth it!
We also replaced all the windows which were very old metal framed windows. In winter we could not close any of them properly as they were full of old paint, hence a freezing cod house. Next winter should be much cozier! Also did some work on the kitchen (added a central island and new cupboards). The rest was paintwork, wall papering, curtaining etc. It's been a busy year but such fun. Joanjean1, I will post some more pics of the rest of the house soon.

The cost of re-creating what you have in your home, using quarter sawn oak would be a small fortune!

The rest of the house.. I will post pics as I take them

Downstairs dining room. Do need some suggestions on ways to lighten the space without changing wallpaper and charcoal paint and curtains. Again lots of wood

Downstairs dining room. Do need some suggestions on ways to lighten the space without changing wallpaper and charcoal paint and curtains. Again lots of wood

The kitchen

Breakfast room off the kitchen

Formal lounge- to the right as you enter the house. The dining room is on the opposite side

For the kitchen you might put a big minimalist white colored vase and place a big white framed mirror..would fit to your gray wall/panel..

To brighten the dining room hang a large mirror on the solid grey wall which is directly across from the windowns. This will bounce light around the room. Btw, what is that exactly?

If you have any energy left, after doing all you have been doing, recover the chairs in a yellow/grey/white print.

Hope you will post updates!

HI, I think you should get a nice rug to break up all the wood.

Thanks, great ideas. I think a solid coloured rug- lighter grey Would work quite well. Any other suggestions? I also like the idea of a mirror- think I would need to remove the other two then? Too many mirrors?

Found some rugs that I LOVE for the dining room. Very expensive though...

Some more

Do not paint ANY woodwork! Instead, go with a nice green, blue, or grey color on the walls.

My apologies. I was tired last night and could not tell the grey wall was the fireplace wall.

Something I noticed when I was looking back at your pictures was the difference in height of the 2 doors at teh back of the room. You could top the left one with a framed mirror to lessen the difference visually. Then add a large mirror over the fireplace, as previously mentioned. I couln't tell in the pictures if the frames on either side of the china cabinet held mirrors or pictures. The answer is yes that would be too many mirrors.

I like both of the first two rugs. Either one would look fantastic.