samr63, Honestly, I think this space is quite beautiful and perhaps you're thinking too much about the elephant in the room so to speak!! If there is one thing I have learned on Houzz, is that there does not have to be a specific style in one room and what I mean is, you have a modern bed but it doesn't take away from the antique fireplace nor vice versa. Definitely as I mentioned earlier, the tall boy doesn't gel at all, nor do the bedsides, but purely because of colour, so I would out them and match the bed with your bedside tables and just stop, the room is very elegant and I really can't see anything seriously wrong with it!!! Perhaps a lovely painting on the bed head wall would soften the room as it's a shame not to use at least one of the picture rails in this room!!! Good luck with your decision. Cheers, Barbara

Old post here Anne, but it really comes down to the style of your home too and keeping that style as part of its character, assuming then that your furnishings and such would also be in keeping with the style. Focus on the big picture. A lot can also depend on the colour of the stain too, some look really rich and beautiful while others can be very heavy and depressing. As I said here originally, paint on timber is a lot of upkeep and work, although there are undercoats and paints now that mean you don't have to rub back each time you paint like you did years ago. If the style of your house is right, I do agree that white finish on timber does make the house look a lot brighter and it sharpens the colour of your walls too. Another option that would be a lot of work, is to rub back the timber to remove the original colour and then use a liming varnish. Feast Watson do a range of this, it is very easy to use and it dries quickly. You could use the white in that, which will still allow the grain in the timber to show through and you can keep adding coats until you get the level of white you want. I did some beds that were originally a really deep mahogony colour with this, I ended up putting 4 coats on but am thrilled with the result. It does give a beach vibe if that will work in your home. Another suggestion - some paint companies have a feature on their websites where you can download a photo of your room and "paint" it with their colours. Perhaps you could do this and "paint" all your timber white - that might help you decide. Good luck - it is a big decision to make when there is no going back.

What natural light do you get in the room/what orientation? i.e. is it a 'cold' or 'warm' room? If it's a colder room, I'd go with a grey with orange/red undertones to warm it up a bit, or if it's a warm room you could get away with a cooler grey, maybe green undertones to compliment the maroon. Or you could even try a green rather than grey. The Aerobus is a blueish grey so will be cooler. As others have said you would probably want a lighter tone than this for the walls (unless you're purposely going for a dark dramatic mood). 'Miller Mood' is a couple of shades up in the Colour Atlas. Get sample pots and paint a section on each wall, or paint a white bit of card and stick to the wall to see how the light is at different times of day.

Will look much better white BUT! Having done this to big old sliding doors and window frames in an apartment with more ‘steps’ in the frames there are a couple of things to watch out for. Sealing - as mentioned in another post is essential, if the wood is stained then the colour will come thru to the paint. I did this just as the manufacturers were getting the water based enamels right and have done several recoats since. Agree that Zinsser are great paints, I have used their wall and ceiling paints everywhere, cost more, are a bit more ‘drippy’ but also have a sealer component and actually do a real white that doesn’t yellow. They also last really well on the wall. When you transform to white - especially if you are thinking high gloss EVERY defect in the wood surface will show up. This adds to the charm or is a problem, depends on your perspective. I dropped back to a satin finish on wood trims. There is only so much prep you can do, sometimes it is easier to fix the obvious dings and then do another round after the first coat of white, after the sealer. This is harder to explain - but you can end up with a dark line around each window pane - because the glass is sandwiched between two pieces of dark coloured wood and the ‘inside’ of the wood shows through the glass and you notice it from across the room. I painted slightly onto the glass, a few millimetres to achieve a fully white effect. You only notice it if you look closely. Fly screens - wooden fly screens have the same ‘edge effect’ metal flyscreens are a bit easier to paint. They all look significantly better in white than the dark wood - in my case the two sets of sliding doors have very wide frames. Depending on your skills and patience you may want to get a professional. I am about to replace the south facing repainted bathroom and study windows with double glazed UPVC tilt and turn with white frames - no more arctic bathroom, jammed winder, condensation or mould. These are now made (licensed) in Australia so only have to pay for shipping from Vic to ACT rather than from ‘overseas’.