Rebecca - try oiling the timber and see if this brings it up. Rub it in with some steel wool and it can do wonders to bring life into the timber again and it is quite quick to do. The worry with painting is once that is done, you can't go back. I'm assuming you live in an area of similar homes so for selling purposes, I would check out all homes currently on the market in your immediate area, go to open house days, see how they have been renovated and gauge potential buyer's response to them, ask questions as to just what they are looking for in a home. Agents will help you with this too. I spent a year doing this before I sold my home and learned a lot from it. There are just as many people out there who want to put their own stamp on a home as there are those with no vision who just want everything pretty. Your front door, while it doesn't allow much light, could well be a significant heritage piece for the home so a solar tube or 2 could be the answer to bringing light into the space. Colourful artwork on the walls will then help detract from all the panelling too. Good luck with it all.

Det lyder som et spændende projekt, Julia! Du har helt ret i, at farven kan variere en smule, når man matcher mellem forskellige malingmærker som Aalto og Taubmans – især fordi pigmenterne og baserne ikke altid er ens. Men hvis du har den præcise formel, er det bestemt muligt at komme tæt på, især hvis du får hjælp fra en professionel farveblander. Hvis du er i gang med noget større og ønsker et flot og ensartet resultat, kan det også være en idé at få hjælp fra en erfaren maler København. KT Malerfirma ApS udfører alt fra farvetilpasning og specialmaling til tapetsering og restaurering – altid med fokus på detaljer og bæredygtige løsninger over hele Sjælland.

Hi, I had purple suede effect on my wall. Easy to sand the texture off. Talk to your paint shop about the right colour undercoat/sealer to cover a dark colour before painting your new colour on with 2 coats.

quite possibly, that was going to be my next solution! heading back there in a moment to check it out. the existing tiles have been layed quite nicely/flat so i dont think tiling over would be an issue