Hi Maria, we love the wood but it is a little overwhelming in that space with the timber floor. A liming white is a great idea as mentioned by a few people here. This will let you have the best of both worlds, a lighter, brighter finish while still allowing the wood grain to show through. You could try Feast Watson Liming White Floor Finish (yes, it's not a floor but it has the size of a floor!) and build up the number of coats until you are happy with the amount of timber grain showing through. You'll probably need to give it a light sand first as it's most likely already got some type of coating on it. The other option would be to leave the walls as is and consider a large, light neutral coloured rug as pompom suggested on the timber floor and perhaps a good sized piece of art on the wall or white wall shelving instead of the dark side unit you have to reduce the amount of timber in the room.

I totally agree with you. GO NEUTRAL. Add colour thru access. I used Hog Bristle. Honestly, book a Colour Consultant thru Dulux or who ever, who will come out and give u the best advise. Dulux Consultant charge about $150, but this is refunded off the paint you purchase. So ur getting expert advise for nothing, if u purchase the paint. Money well spent. I did this and was so glad I did. She will explain where to use what paint, being 1/4, 1/2 or full strength of the chosen colour. I was going to upload photos for you of my rooms, but for some reason this page won't let me. If you would like me to send you photos thru email, I would gladly do so. ir u send ur email address. Good luck.

I had the same problem too. I rang Dulux and had a paint consultant come in. I have chosen the white exchange full strength throughout the double story house as we have a lot of natural light with vivd white ceilings and WA white doors and trims. The bedrooms I have 1/2 strength white exchange with vivd white ceilings. I wanted my white kitchen to pop with the wall paint colour. Our kitchen cupboards are polar silk white with moose silk contrasting and ice snow bench tops. Hopefully it all blends with the spotted gum floorboards. We have not installed the kitchen yet. I hope it all comes together. Good luck.

I hear you, being a mum is a big job & not for the faint-hearted, hehe. That was sweet of your husband to do all that for you. As your ceilings and skirting and architraves are white, maybe a fresh white would really lift the whole house. There are many shades so my advice is to visit your local paint store and look at the whites. Hopefully, you will be able to narrow it down to a few. Of course, other colours might appeal to you as well, so just see what takes your fancy. Also, have you looked through the kitchen and living room Houzz photos to see if any particular room colours appeal to you? That might be helpful too. :)