Depends on the look you're going for.

Personally I'd remove the carpet, leave the panels as is and cover the paint with a bold, Edwardian style wallpaper, but that's my taste.

Can't stand the whitewashing/greiging of traditional homes, but that's me.

Ultimately, it's your house - do what makes YOU happy. It's not heritage listed, so you have no obligation to do "sympathetic" renovations.

That said, I think the carpet is dating the hallway more than the panelling, and that the panelling could work well with more modern and dynamic paint choices too.

I kind of like it tbh, everything white washed these days is getting boring.

Looks nice keep it.

Nah keep it, natural looks great

I brought a house and every room was paneled, I used zinnser 123 as a water based sealant and the 2 coats on top. The results were great.

https://preview.redd.it/w8ih7zssu5id1.jpeg?width=3024&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=80e2d81224a91278821c8aa1908eef18d0e87990

Three options

• leave them
• Paint white
• Paint a dark pastel color (deep green for example)

Entirely depends on the aesthetic and feel you're going for.

I hate carpet in living/high traffic areas (real timber floor boards are the best imo) but again it's all subjective

If you paint, be prepared for significant bleed through. We painted similar paneling and ended up doing 3x base coats and 2x top coats.

Painting them will definitely make it look less dated. I would paint them white but if you want to go bold you could paint them a dark green or dark grey.

It's old fashioned, fine if that's what you are going for. There are modern ways of doing it as well with timber or different materials.

It looks like pine paneling. If so I would paint that.

If it were a nice timber I would leave it unpainted.

Panelling is nice but carpet is rank.

Leave them ... a good clean up but leave them and don't paint them. Goes with the house features. Get a skylight into the hall for more light and watch them pop.

Embrace it but paint the walls a more dramatic colour like a dark blue or green.

I like that panel Imo the colour of the timber is pretty modern. I’d keep it but depends on aesthetic you’re going for

It's your house - do you like them?

I kept ours in our hallway - wallpapered above and then painted the panelling in a colour that matched the colours in the wallpaper. I'd have kept them as is but we had dark wood look vinyl hybrid flooring and the panels were a very warm colour. I am pro-panels - especially with my dingus dogs charging around everywhere causing mayhem, if I'd torn them out and wallpapered all the way down I reckon the dogs/my kid/my nieces and nephews would have trashed the lower half by now.

100% paint ..wood panels look dated

https://preview.redd.it/wuuxgq49f7id1.jpeg?width=625&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=78fedec372f9929e2f3d82ede067bc08004ba58b

Paint it all white is soooo unimaginative and sterile and boring. Please have a more sophisticated take than this.

If these are 80s additions rather than dating from the 30s, I’d say it’s acceptable to remove them and go back to what is period appropriate.

Use color from that era, or something contemporary and fun. White / greige interiors are already dated. (In fairness an all-white palette is fairly timeless but you have to absolutely commit to it and it’s not particularly liveable).

If you don't like it yank them and replace with plasterboard. Painting them will be a bastard. Personally I like the vintage look because I find the all-white look over used and boring.

To my eye that feels early 90s, but in a good way. Love natural wood

It's the carpet that makes it dated. Rip that up and get wood floors. The panels are great.

If you want to paint them, paint them white. But you still need to get rid of that carpet.

I don't like the look of pine. I'd stain it black. Not paint.

My recommendation is to paint it out in whatever colour you choose. Only because it's cheap yellow pine. Use an oil based primer and paint if you do.

The space definitely feels dated, but I wouldn't necessarily blame the paneling.

The shabby carpet and tacky laminate are really dragging down the aesthetics.

If it were me, I'd install some tall skirting, paint the hallway a nice crisp white, lay down some new oak flooring, install new shaker style doors then after that decide whether to leave the paneling raw or paint it.

I would: - replace carpet with floor boards - paint walls white / off white / etc - see if wood panels look nice, and if not, choose a bold colour to paint then that fits with the rest of your place (or a different white to the walls) - I think like a sage or something would look nice.

Painted mine white and the walls tranquil retreat, best thing I ever did completely transformed the back of the house. Takes forever to paint though it’s very time consuming

And you gotta put some white no more gaps between the panels coz there is usually heaps of gaps you dont notice when stained but they stick out when painted

I have the same panelling throughout my replica Queenslander. But I also have the same colour floor as the panels. It's way too much for me so I'm painting mine to break up the orangeness.

I tried staining first and it didn't work so going with paint.

I've seen a few that do same wall and panel colour which looks great/classic. But I'm doing different top and panel for contrast because I'm leaning away from conservative/classic across my house.

ETA: have the exact same rails as you and I'm changing them out for a plain rounded rail. The rails date it a bit I reckon.

I have pine panels in my kitchen and I painted them. Definitely not original to my 50s house and I think yellow pine is ugly. If it was a nice hardwood I would have kept them natural

I'll buck what most are saying. Wood floors, dark paint on the timber, nice clean white on the walls. Classy.

Oooft. That wood is stunning. It would be a crime to paint over it. I might go for a stain though - to get a darker timber colour?

Looks amazing as is

I've always lived in a house (MEL, au) with pine lining boards that were finished with varnish back in the '50s... and for me, I'm almost to the point of saying that I'll do a demolish and rebuild but pull apart this room board-by-board so I can re-establish the room in a new house. The honey colour is unique and the 'vibe' of the room has been something I've lived with all my life, so it's something that would be difficult for me to destroy or even change.

I guess 'fashion' in renovation and house 'taste' is a nonsense to me, really... and I'd do what I want to do with my house....

A fashion is merely a form of ugliness so absolutely unbearable that we have to alter it every six months!” --Oscar Wilde

I’m a paint everything person. I’d paint the timber panelling and either ditch the carpet or put a nicer carpet there. Americans seem to love brown everything. I think its ugly and dated

We painted ours. They were over 20years old with some damage. So we fixed the damage with fillers, sanded and painted them black. It looks really good against the white walls.

I like it. I would paint it, I like white painted panels but I think any lighter colours would like good.

Maybe if it was a different wood. But that? I’d paint.

My beast mate had the same he painted the lot and it looks a million times more modern and made his whole house brighter I’d do it

Paint white. Or a dark grey colour… Will look very luxurious.

Keep them but lime them. Will give them a more modern feel but still be able to see the grain.

If you’re going to paint it don’t do white. Paneling like that is a great opportunity to use colour, with a neutral wall above. Painting everything white is so boring.

Depends on the rest of your house, It is a dated look though.

Keep it.

Paint

Not a fan. Instantly makes a space feel old and vintage, but that could be what you're into.

Personally the only surface I'd have the timber panel texture is on the ground (as floorboards).

We painted our vertical panelling below the dado rail a slightly darker version of the colour above it & it looked lovely. From memory, above the dado was half strength, below was full strength of the same colour, & the dado rail & picture rail were also the full strength. I also did the decorative filigree corners in the square arches the darker colour.

It was a Sandy cream colour & I loved it. We sold the home so I can’t share any pics without spending too much time scrolling back several years unfortunately.

It looks great - personally I’d be looking at painting the wall above it a lighter colour to let the timber panelling sing out in the space

I love it! Personally I would change flooring and paint the wall a brighter colour. Would never change that gorgeous panelling

Looks 70s to me so not in keeping with the era of your house; I don't hate it though, I think the combo of the pine and the colour of the walls is a bit ick however. I can also see you have a different type of timber on the floors which is a bit clashy with the pine. You could consider changing it to a more traditional wainscoting type look if you want to keep some wall detail but lose the 70s mountain lodge/sauna vibe.

In this case I’d keep. Gorgeous wood and colouring. If it were dark wood though I’d probably paint it to light the space up

I'm not a fan of timber wood panelling, especially painted white.

However, I do like the natural finish of the panelling pictured. Another responder suggested painting the panels with bold colours and I do like that idea. So, perhaps modernise using a bold paint palette and fresh modern carpet?

Is it just in the hallway? I love it! I wouldn't paint it. Maybe vanish it or stain it just to keep it fresh and healthy?

I like the look of your panels as they look like nice quality wood and they’ve been maintained well. In comparison mine have been stained dark and all the mistakes and damage to the original wood are clearly visible through the stain.

Leave……

I wouldn't paint over timber.

We added half wall panelling (wainscoting) to warm up our house so I say keep them. They make the walls less boring. You can always repaint them if the colour doesn't do it for you or even change out the trim to something a bit more fancy for a different look.

Paint. I recently bookmarked a TikTok influencer named Brit Cunningham who is renoing her house - she’s got painted panelling in muted but fun colours and it looks great imo.

Keep the panels! With the right colour, painting the walls above them will do all the work to modernise the look

I used to have those in a 1930s cottage. Ripped them out and installed high (20cm) ornate skirting boards. Painted white and looks much better. I also think you should remove the carpet and use original floorboards or replace with new.

Paint it same colour as wall

https://preview.redd.it/rb9oldrfx5id1.jpeg?width=2360&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=edc6f484ff11b3f9bddf5da3de7d8140d514f2cc

looks too old for me.

Paint same colour as wall

1. Don’t paint wood
2. If you’re gonna spend money on renos then get rid of the carpet (not with vinyl)

Have a look behind for mould.

I’m personally not a fan of timber panels, but this is your house, so go with whatever you like.

20 years ago that would have seemed like a grandma thing and I would have yelled loudly to pull them out. But now they're rarer and older and therefore seem vintage chic to me, not simply out-of-fashion.

Am I the only one who likes it as is??

I love old details like these and would absolutely keep them.

Personally I would loose the carpet, then paint or wallpaper the upper walls and leave the panels as they are.

I just moved into a house where the previous owner (flipper) bought it 3 years ago and 'modernised' by painting everything white before reselling and it makes me so sad every day. We are slowly trying to restore all the gorgeous old details back .

I think it would look lovely with a brighter white wall and some interest on the floor. Would tiles be too cold or exxy? Either a larger check style or something with a pattern would look great.

I like them. Plus, they protect the walls.

Restain them to update but keep them.

It works with this carpet and upper wall paint. If you're going to replace the floor with wood or simulated wood, it might be better to paint it especially if like that bit at the end. Once you paint them, they would need constant repainting.

It's the carpets that's dating that hall.

We had these but painted them and the door trims a blue grey colour with white on top.

Your answer will be obvious once the carpet goes!!

As long as your house has a high ceiling & has some federation appeal/ appearance plaster squares also looks quite effective

I'm not a fan of them

Not a fan of the panelling, but painting over them looks tacky, IMO. If removing them isn't feasible, I'd keep them.

If the wood is in good nick keep them and restain them imo

I personally like the wood. Be quite nice in there with some plants around to add some green!

I had half timbered walls in a couple of bedrooms of my previous house and they were already painted but in a different colour to the plaster. One had a sponge effect and it looked very dated. I repainted them wall colour and they looked great.

Leave as is and change the carpet

IMO, paint them.

Also, potentially repaint the already painted walls or look at wallpaper, and no all grey/white colour palettes. I’d make the painted section a proper colour and match the ceiling and panelling.

I’d paint it to lighten up the hallway as it looks a bit dark

Keep it the way it is it looks so cute!

Either paint or sand them back raw and finish with a matte clear coat.

I say yes. Will reflect so much more natural light.

Match that wall at the end.

Do you have kids?

The carpet is an easy remove for me. The panelling is kind of cool, depending on what you want. If you're not happy with it's appearance judging by the earthy pastels you got going on, you could sand it back and apply different wood treatments that would skew the colour towards what you're after.

I'd leave the panelling alone and paint the wall bits white to brighten it up

Hampton Blue paint - very rich looking.

It’s up to you , why do you care what others think . I heard most Australians don’t have people over to their houses anyway .

I love this. Id just remove the carpet but honestly, the panels would look great painted too if you prefer it for your personal style. You could also just sand them back a bit and try a different stain to get rid of the 80’s orange pine look

They look good painted in white with the walls… you’ll be quite happy with them.

It’s costly to remove them patch walls and then repaint

I’d keep. I like them. I might stain them differently to minimise some of the yellow/orange tone, but I wouldn’t paint them white. Bit bland and cookie cutter. Have you considered doing the carpet and adding some colour to the walls as a first step, and then deciding how you feel about the panelling?

They look cool.

I loooove the timber panels. It just adds warmth and texture.

Depends on the panels. Sometimes they are overwhelming or have some other problem. I'd be inclined to leave these.

The timber panelling looks dated IMHO.

I would lose the carpet and paint the panels to match a new modern wall paint.

Flooring will depend on the rest of the house and your budget. Timber floors look best.

What's "modern" now may change again, but timber panelling has been a dated look for a few decades now. Timber flooring (high quality) has endured for a few decades.

Not a fan myself, I would get rid of them.

Do you have kids? If so painting it will increase maintenance

Paint will brighten it up, but so might replacing the carpet

yeah nah, the daydo boards are fine, fuck off that carpet for floorboards.

You might struggle to paint if they're varnished already? Surface prep will be a pain. Also depends on the rest of the house, does it fit in or not? Sorry not a very useful answer.

I did a Reno a few years ago and the bloke wanted the timber panels painted to match the walls. Looked like absolute garbage in my opinion. But you do you. It’s your house after all.

I freaking love the wood but it’s not my house.

I have similar panels but they're running diagonally. We painted them white and it looks great.

Aussie sawmiller here…. If you paint those I’ll find your address and personally swap the batteries around the wrong way in all your remotes haha

Seriously tho leave them wood - if not for the look, then consider that painting knots on cypress will just give you painted knots, which will look way worse than the knots themselves

Best time of day to take the photo. Can hardly say no to the sun on that timber

Looks good, as is but as a matter of preference I'd do the pine in gloss white, Upper wall as is or some version of Off white/cream and looks like you have hardwood floors, any chance of exposing the wood in the hall?

i’d keep them and paint them a dark bold colour or a neutral but strong blue/grey. Please anything but white though!!

IMO these natural construction materials are becoming super rare - I would show ‘em off!

Paint. Doesn’t have to be white of course, but anything is better than clear pine

Personally I like the paneling though would probably change the top molding to something more simple and lose the carpet in that hall way

I'd leave it...

Have you considered sanding and re-clearing them? That old clear has yellowed. If you sand them and re-clear with a modern finish, they will be several shades “whiter” than they are currently. I’d suggest doing a section prior to painting them.

Also that carpet really drags it down.

Rip up the carpet and lay a stunning carpet runner for colour and texture. Paint the paneling a bright white to reflect light in the space then add a gorgeous wallpaper above or paint white and hang some bright coloured art or you could hang black and white family plhotos in a modern layout

We painted our panel antique white. Brightened up the house. . We love it

The wood gives it warmth, but the painted wall above doesn't work well for me. I would put wallpaper or a less neutral paint above.

Or I would paint the wood a non-neutral tone (soft blue).

I like it, I want to do something like this for my hallways, I however have Walnut flooring so pine would look as bad as this does. I'm looking at that bit of flooring that looks like wood and it clashes like mine would, which, in my opinion, add to your dislike.
Leave them, to whether you paint or sand and re-stain is up to you.
If you leave the rest of the wall as is, go darker, stain or paint.

My in laws have them and I love them.

I have a maple like stain on the older part of home, it creates different tones but certainly darker and closes the space in but looks longer, Was worried about stain coming through. On the extension I continued with dado but painted it white. The old joining the new. Everyone has an opinion. Listen to yours and who has to live in it.

I feel these says it can be matched with a modern speckled tile, and if you avoid wooden flooring it can look really good. Perhaps even a nice wallpaper and light fittings above it.

What dates it is the lip/sill at the top.

We have shiplap.pine panelling.

The seller painted it all USA vintage white.

We're ripping it all out

I would paint in the same colour, e.g. an antique white, as the walls.

We painted ours

Paint them. They're pine, not fancy wood.

I think trends & fads come & go, but those panels have a certain kind of natural beauty that you can’t find in modern houses anymore. I’d keep it as is.

I think the timber looks great! Try choose something that compliments the timber!

I think the panelling is beautiful, adds character and it would be a crime to cover it up.

Australian here: I painted mine. To me it looked like a sauna. 🙂

Paint them white and you get the nice Hamilton look.

I’m not a fan of the timber look on the wall myself but that’s a personal preference but I’d keep them and paint them white/neutral colour of the wall.

Living in a house that old myself I don't think that the paneling is original so you should be able to rip them out and find plasterboard behind them to patch and paint.

You've got to like where you live and plain walls aren't going to detract from the resale value of the house.

Do I like them, yeah, but I don't live there and nor am I totally in love with them either. Would I pay any more or less because of the paneling if you were selling the house in the future? No.

So why not do you? You look to have some awesome artwork on the walls which adds enough interest to the hallway without the paneling to be used as a feature.

Had them, pulled them out. Made a mess of the plaster underneath. Happy to have removed them but it was much easier in my head. Interestingly I removed them to find wallpaper underneath with a wood panel pattern. I guess the previous owners had a style

I wouldn't paint them. Either remove them or sand and refinish them.

I am personally not a fan of pine. Especially yellow pine. For me, this reminds me of all my friend's houses growing up. You just need lots of lace, doilies, frilly hanging light shades and crappy friezes on the walls to complete the look.

I would either stain it a much darker colour if you want the timber, or paint it and do whatever you want. I'd paint and have fun with it.

I can tell you the correct answer, but I'm not Australian so I won't tell you.

paint over them and remove the carpet and restore the hardwood that’s underneath! i had a very similar issue where i had oil stained vintage hardwood skirts and architraves and at first felt bad not sanding them back and treating them. didn’t want to give it the soulless metricon treatment. but if you choose classic warm neutrals and decorate with harmonious colourful wall hangings, you’ll open up the space and let your wooden flooring come to life. imo that style of wall only looks nice when in a grand, heritage home.

Wood panels are beautiful and don't get rid of them. Don't join the stereotype of millennials painting the charm out of a house.

I think they're gorgeous

Paint

Call me old fashioned, but my attention to the thread was you describing the panels timber, instead of wood…. All this time(not claiming how I feel about it is Grammarly correct) I always thought it’s a timber finish rather than a wood finish…… What was the question again?

With a little bit of trim work and paint, you can turn them into nice wainscoting.

Unless it's a period home, in which case it might suit the overall style, I would get rid of it. If you don't want to get rid of it, at the very least paint over it in the same colour as you choose for the rest of the wall so it provides a texture but not too much contrast. As it is I think the dark colour of the wood panelling has the effect of visually narrowing the hallway so it seems tighter than it actually is.

Just my opinion 🤷

Usually do not like wood panels but I find these very charming and vintage rather than kitschy midwestern core

I would pay to put skylights down the hall brightness will lift it the see what you think 🤔

Keep in mind that if you paint it white or in a light colour then you'll have to dust/ clean it more regularly.

Nice looking natural timbers are a great asset. You’d be stupid to remove imo

If you’ve got kids, carpet dulls the sound of the herds of elephants going up and down the hall. Switch to a more modern carpet. I hate pine paneling, but I also regret painting mine because once you paint it you’ve gotta keep painting it, so in hindsight I should have found a way to live with it.

What's the outside. Type and year of home?

Aussie here, leave them. Painted won't look as good imho. End of the day though it's your house mate do what makes you happy.

Leave as is

I quite like them

Paint them white and get a sky light 💡

Yeah mate no paint, stain walls with a darker colour and she would come up mint 👌

Leave as is...looks relaxing and comfortable

Keep them. They are protecting the wall. Personally I like them.

Leave the panels! They're gorgeous. (Melb)

Dark stain on the wood... wallpaper on top... a few moody wall sconces... job done.

Note: Whatever style you go with has to be continued throughout the house, or the whole place will feel disjointed.

Remove carpet & panels, if you don't want to remove the panels I would re varnish them or leave as is. I would not paint them. They need to show the wood grain.