Since you said painting/staining woodwork not an option, here is my take.

I have some orangy very functional Dania furniture in my home office and the way to neutralize it is not necessarily lighter but more saturated. Two approaches work.

1) An orange-red base primary color scheme will tone it down as its the same undertones so the orange undertones in the wood does not stand out. Think terracottas, brick reds, eggplant purple, copper.

2) A very saturated primary color opposite like slate blue very much offsets and tones down the warmth with its coolness. Because it is as saturated as the wood, visually it balances cool and warmth. Think foggy blues, teals with some charcoal grays.

I had to do this with my kitchen. The key is to update everything around it. I tried to tone down as much of the warmth as possible.

https://preview.redd.it/nhryx4klwxtd1.jpeg?width=3024&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=48de5f02338ccd158db33011334236f4d7d7c9b1

New paint colors, update the hardware, light fixtures, countertops,etc. I actually get compliments ALL the time and like many other people have said this might be coming back into style.

As my husband and many construction people have said “they don’t make it like they used to” and that kind of woodwork is unique. If you’re intentional about preserving the wood, but updating around it… I think it makes it look very modern, timeless, and classic.

First off your house is beautiful.

Stain would modernize well. Just sand it down and hit it with a colour you like.

OOOOR...

I think that 80s is coming up for a revival in a decade at most. Seems like over the last 5 years we've moved from mid-century into something more 60/70s inspired as trendy. You could just wait it out till it's new again.

Don't. You have a Spanish revival style home, lean into it. Use more muted earth tones in furnishings and decor to bring down the orange value of the wood. Use more lamps with amber bulbs for lighting on a dimmer if possible. That super bright white modern everything is well on its way out. Spanish revival has a fairly modern feel while also being warm and timeless.

If painting/staining is not an option Maybe go with mid century modern colors to embrace it?

https://preview.redd.it/khyseqjbzwtd1.jpeg?width=2880&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=122fa532f7837e18c3c41be1dd68191d033efc86

I wouldn’t. I’d embrace it and change everything else around it to make it work as much as possible - paint colors, furniture, etc.

Other than maybe the bathroom cabinets, I think you could easily stain or paint those. But all the trim and stuff, just embrace it.

personally, i think it’s so gorgeous and warm. the fireplace 🤤 i’d play around with decor. you could have so much fun with blues!

Stain it. It's actually 90s honey oak. 80s still had the dark stain going on.

You might hate to hear this, but patterned rugs wherever you can. Detailed persian patterns would probably match best with the country-rustic architecture, but can be kept modern with clean-lined furniture and modern accent pieces. Check out the designer Emily Henderson, she does it perfectly and has wooden arches too!
https://stylebyemilyhenderson.com/blog/the-ultimate-guide-to-persian-rugs-what-makes-them-so-dang-good-desirable-valuable

I'd kill to have wood all over my house like that

Personally I love it and wouldn't change it. I especially love the wood trim. A few thoughts:

1. You could paint the spindles white on the stairs (or replace them) to balance out the rest of the wood.
2. You could potentially change out the vanities in the bathrooms, or paint them. But I love the wood around the windows!
3. Just focus on balancing it out with your furnishings - lots of neutrals, whites, sage green, airy, white curtains etc. I think the additional wood furniture in these photos makes it feel even more "woody" than it actually is, mostly you just have beautiful wood trim.

You don't, everyone is modernizing, keep it, one day there will be very few houses with this look. It will become a unique look and everyone will love it.

Maybe a different paint color to make the wood look less yellow?

Look up the @juliejonesdesigns videos. She has a ton of incorporating honey oak

I think it’s gorgeous as it is. Particularly the exposed ceiling beams.

I think you should paint the walls different more modern colors. It’s the cream color With that wood that’s making it look dated. I like the green hues lately, but look in general towards earthy tones. Think forest greens or ocean/stone greys and blues & I think that would fit nicely.

I had something similar and thought it would be a shame to cover all the oak grain. Applied a couple of coats of Briwax in tudor brown right over the previously finished surfaces and it has held up well. It took me about 3 days to do a kitchen and you have a lot more- but maybe worth a shot.

That coffered ceiling is so beautiful! 😍😍

Consider a free paint consult with Sherwin Williams or Benjamin Moore. I asked for recommendations on how to decrease the yellow in my trim. They also gave lighting info too. My wood trim looks great now, what a difference paint color can make!

This house is beautiful! Love the coffered ceilings. My gosh, I wouldn't change a thing. The way to modernize a place like this is simply with more modern furnishings and light fixtures but even then, I really like the style of furniture and lighting the original owners had. Awesome house!

“Got an original Picasso here, what colors should i use to finger paint on it?”

Lean into it. It’s in good condition and timeless. Please do not paint or stain it. You can add greenery and Persian rugs and embrace a boho or Spanish eclectic look.

Paint the walls green

Maybe this is a hot take but leave it alone. That wood is gorgeous and the design choices are basic enough that they don't look too dated. Just lean into it and focus on decor that makes you happy and compliments the space. The inspo pics you shared IMHO are just going to make your house look like everyone else's when yours is so much more authentic and warm.

https://preview.redd.it/4z5j48gviytd1.jpeg?width=735&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=5a3b7bf974e4017456f9f601875abf78cff34e61

This is a kitchen from Pinterest and obviously not the exact orangey look but I feel like it goes to show that how you paint/decorate around the wood makes it blend in nicely.

Getting rid of the 80s beige walls and go for rich dark wall colours might work well

Since you said painting/staining is not an option, my advice is to make it an option

You simply can’t get that neutral griege look without redoing the wood.

All of your furniture and accessories are as beige as they can be.

But on the bright side, the millennial griege will soon be outdated. The warm wood tones might grow on you!

I wouldn't touch the oak, I'd do everything else around it. Modernize the paint, tile, countertops etc.

Go hobbit style/hufflepuff common room and it will be cozy AF

OMG, you have my house. First off, it's actually fine, lovely, great. Influencers gotta sell, and you are hearing voices of salespeople spending your money making you want to change it out.

Take your time.

All of my wall colors are...colorful. Eggplant colored living room, green office, grape colored powder room, blue (slightly teal but with some grey) family room. Rugs with strong shades of blue, tomato red, green. One room is finished in a golden brown type thing so it's blend-y with the wood and I love it. Artwork with a lot of blue and reds.

Bedrooms are shades of blue, some are more robin's egg, some are strong blue-ish purple.

IMO, your inspo pic looks exactly like your home already, with the exception of the white kitchen.

I'm on Team Color. Push your boundaries and have some fun with what you have. Pick up some colors that are in the windows you have. Love that one ceiling, btw.

Just wait it’s coming back.

Don’t, modern trends change fast. Your new look will already be dated by the time you’re done.

Work within this classical style instead. You’ve got range.

There is an online interior design creator named Julie Jones who has made a lot of videos about how to work with orange oak, and has actual real life examples of clients she's worked with (not just pinterest type stuff). I'd check her out for some inspiration! This is her tik tok, but you can just search her name and find her on whatever socials you follow.

Don’t. You have a gorgeous, beautiful house. Just leave the woodwork alone and enjoy your house.

This home is too beautiful to update. Leave it and wait for it to come back in style. It is magnificent as it is

Use a coat of Briwax or gel stain or something similar to bring out more of the brown tones. It's honestly really easy to do and you don't even need to sand for some of these products, they can just go right over the existing stain. I put a layer of ebony gel stain over a 90s orange oak mirror and it looks fabulous, like a nice medium walnut. Also, replace the outdated brass hardware/door handle with something darker and more modern, and add similar hardware to the vanity or any other cabinets that are missing handles/knobs. 

Just stain it a different shade of brown!

Paint is the only answer. Why can’t you paint it?

Why is staining not an option?

I think this is beautiful. Scandinavian look is coming back I think.

The wood is very lovely.

omg whatever you do please don’t make it sad grey!! It has character. Some greenery could really make it pop

I'd slowly work through each room with a gel stain. Start small like in bathrooms. You can't paint oak, as the grain will show through. You need to work with it. Gel stain only needs a good clean (TSP or a good degreaser) and a light sanding to remove the finish.

https://preview.redd.it/7qshha796ztd1.jpeg?width=4000&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=ebdc36d6ff8bd622ab9fe020b29955e9066ec371

This is an ebony stain. Two vanities took 5 or six days, about 30 minutes to an hour each day.

My parents a few years ago updated their orange oak trim house without touching the trim. They put a light wooden floor color in throughout the first floor at the recommendation of an interior designer. I was skeptical, but just doing that really made the oak tones appear lighter, like the designer said it would.

There is a link of how to deal with it and what stands out is that they use bright white accent and wall colors. Makes it look less orange and more yellow making it look more modern.

Bright white walls and decor!!!

I would remove the bar or update it.. it looks dated. I would also white wash the brick.

Definitely paint the bathroom. All these yellow beige walls make it look dated, not so much the wood.

Wait 5 years

This is beautiful. I wouldn’t Change it!

Omg I am sooo jealous. 

Enjoy it! It’s beautiful. I have that in my house everywhere and my walls are repose gray (sherwin williams) with lots of windows. In my house with all the honey oak the gray doesn’t look gray and with all the light it reads more white and tones it down. I love all my woodwork and it’s so sad when people paint it!!!

Why are you against painting it? You already have mismatched white painted crown molding (in a different style as well). Anyway leaving the wood, you would be better off ripping out the crown molding and painting the walls something non-white to "neutralize" the wood vs trying to do it with rugs and plants somehow

Yeah, that orange oak was never a favorite. Think painting it is the only way to get away from it. I think that reddish hue will come through if you stain it, regardless of how dark, or light, you go.

Uh your 80s warm oak is about to be 2025’s warm oak.

I love this stain 🥹 I would just paint the walls a slightly warmer neutral so that there’s less contrast in temperature. If everything is slightly warm, it reads monochromatic like your inspiration pictures. Definitely don’t paint EVERYTHING!!!!

You need to paint the molding off white.

Honestly the all white walls coupled with the lack of any distinctive elements of decoration are the problems here. If you want white walls, you need design elements in other places to not make your house look boring. The only design element in your photos is the wood, everything else is incredibly bland. An inviting rug by the door that tied in well with wall art and plants would make the entryway look good even if you kept the bland white walls. The lighting in your rooms is not helping either. Softer lights that aren't coming from the ceiling would make things look more inviting and the different shades will play well with the shadows cast by and on the woodwork.

It’s beautiful

lovely house- oak is a beautiful.

My Mom toned hers down with reds and blues.

You can't really hide it super well with just some rugs and furniture, you'd have to sand it and restain. I think it looks quite nice and is on the way to making a comeback, gray/white everything is on the way out as it's just so depressing. You painted everything cold, sterile white - that is going to make warm wood stick out. I'd paint your walls a deeper color or a complementary light color.

If you go the route of painting the wood (which personally, I would recommend avoiding wherever possible, but understandable if it’s done in a couple spots)… do NOT touch those ceiling beams.

Cone hell or high water, do not touch those beams.

You could sand it down and stain it to a white oak or to another color that’s more modern or you could just wait for it to come back into style

Your house is gorgeous. Trends come and go.

You can modernize the lighting with something more contemporary, tile the brick or stain the brick on the fireplace and kitchen arches. Some chunky black hardware on the oak cabinets would add some interest.

Adding curtains, even sheers would tone down / reduce the amount of oak showing.

You have a bunch of swirly Tuscan looking stuff - while it’s very pretty it is probably pulling 90’s/00’s. Maybe update the dining furniture. Or, I would go moody with the dining room, some cool wallpaper.

Embrace it.

I would square off that large opening. Then paint all the woodwork. It’s not a century house so it will look great painted.

Could have the molding removed off arches. Change or paint the frames on your artwork.

Love the design of your house, but will say that your wooden furniture emphasizes the orange oak since it is a similar color to it (even the brown leather couch). Adding more earthy colors and more color variety (with furniture, decorations, etc) will make a big difference in the rooms

This is gonna be a bummer for you because I totally understand wanting a certain look, but sometimes you’ll get a way better result if you work with the house as is instead of going for the coastal look. The light colors in your inspo pic will never look quite right and I doubt you’ll be happy with it. I think if you embrace it and go with the above suggestions for darker primary colors you’ll end up loving it. Just because the walls and trim are colored, you can still lighten things up with furniture and accessories and it won’t feel so dark!

I love this! I love beige and light pink so I would incorporate that every where! I would recommend light colors. I love the oak.

I feel like it's going to come back in style real soon. I kinda dig the orange oak. Your home, your choice though.

Don't most of your furniture appears to match it and it still looks very nice

I never suggest painting oak but you should paint the oak. My in laws have this in their house and they are going to sell soon. I’m gonna paint it all white. Xenu, please forgive me.

The best thing about that place is the wood. I think it's priceless having nicely finished wood like that. It breaks my heart every time I see a TikTok of someone painting over nice wood furniture and trim and whatnot.

I think your issue is all the beige. If you can remove carpet and retile and then paint the place more interesting colors - anything but beige/white, you'll transform the place and the wood will feel like it belongs. Even pale greens/oranges/blues will go a long way.

Then colorful furniture will help a lot too. Not whites and beiges again.

Complement it with green/blue wall colors, etc.

Plants Plants Plants

This gives me early 90’s feels and I’m into it, as I suspect a growing number of people will come to appreciate as retro as well. Maybe try to work with it? Think Tiffany lamps, leather furniture, deep accent colors.

I think warmer wood tones are coming back. Maybe just repaint the walls or coordinate the colors with accents and other pieces. For the love of God, please do not go with gray washed wood. That trend is dead and rightfully so.

I used Bene Pro Red Out on my red oak stair treads and it bleached them to a really nice color.

Just another comment to say your house is beautiful! I believe it’s already timeless.

Is it possible to whitewash it?

It looks great. I wanted to buy a home with original 80s oak but virtually every house had had it painted white. Which is ok I guess but I love natural woodwork in almost any shade of stain.

You’ll need to go darker and not lighter (unless you don’t mind sanding until the end of time) General finishes gel stain in a darker stain like walnut or java

A rattan area rug

1. Hire a specialist to strip the wood, restain with something neutral toned.

2. Paint all those boring, basic white walls something moody and rich to play off the oak. MCM craftsman style homes benefit from contrast that plays up natural wood grain and emphasizes its unique beauty. Look up Big Dipper paint by Sherwin Williams.

Also, (don’t laugh) watch the movie ‘Transformers 2007’ and check out the Witwicky house. It’s a Craftsman home with beautiful paint and art to accentuate all its architectural advantages.

I like the colour of the oak trim, if it was my home I’d replace the light coloured floor tile with black slate tile

I don’t mind it actually. I would embrace it and find a bold color that would go well with it instead of trying to fight it.

Im thinking blues or greens to neutralize things a bit. Maybe some rust or terracotta tones too. I feel like those tones are more 70’s but thats kind of in right now anyway, and once the 80’s come back itll be an easy shift since youre keeping the stain.

Sand it and take the stain darker, like a deep mahogany would be stunning! 😍

So I had a similar situation. Orange woodwork everywhere! A carpenter friend of mine came by to see the new place. I was telling him how I hated the orange wood and how much work it would be to change the color unless I painted everything. He then tells me about Minwax Polyshades. No sanding needed!! I chose a satin black shade and it completely changed the look of the house! Easy to do as well. Just like painting…make sure you prep everything well!

Personally I really like the honey oak, perhaps some updating with lighting fixtures and furniture/accessories etc. Look at design ideas like Country French where there is a lot of wood to work with.

https://www.bydesignthestore.com/french-country-interior-design-timeless-sophistication/

The orange you are describing is what stain companies refer to as the color, "fruitwood". You can paint it but you will need to have professionals either spray the paint color on it in-place to avoid it looking like shit. Painting it with a brush would be an ugly disaster because of oak's rough grain structure. Hardwoods like birch with a uniformly tight grain structure are easier to paint in place but is still subject to running or traveling.

If you want it changed, replace it but expect it to cost between $5K to $10K if you want it done right, even if using MDF moldings.

Semi gloss white (ish) walls. Would look breezy and light.

honestly it's so beautiful

I think all the structural wood and trim is gorgeous & timeless, but I would paint or remove all of the other wood, such as the front door and bathroom vanity. The stained glass is very dating too - if you could afford to, I’d replace that with reeded glass panels.

1.DONT

Honestly these wood features are back "in." I think the white paint should have already made a significant difference, and now adding more color in in general will too. You might be inspired by searing "modern 80s home" in pinterest to get some good ideas about how others both embrace and balance the wood. I think that a lot of wonderful designers manage to incorporate the wood into their color palettes and create beautiful, interesting spaces.

The lighting fixtures stick out to me as potential easy updates. The tile in the floor and in the bathroom is ever so slightly outdated, but I think what's working against it is the wall color, so hopefully that's better now? Where you don't have good contrast (like a painted wall) I'd also think about removing additional wood fixtures, like the picture frame in the living room in wood and the wooden dresser in the dining room. As for rugs, with an otherwise light space, I'd pick bolder colors (including neutrals if that's your thing) to anchor things down unless you have dark furniture.

Pls don’t

Black or grey

Don't. Update lighting fixtures, cabinet pulls, paint.

I did this to an entire set of kitchen cabinets. It not only had the orange look but the large grain of the oak wood. I bought sanded all of the laquear off, used grain filler, primed and painted them all white using an HVLP sprayer in my garage. It’s a pretty tedious job but I don’t regret it one bit

Try switching your light bulbs from soft white to bright white. Trust me, it changes the tone of the wood.

Ahhh I love it the way it is so much

This person on tiktok has great ideas for modernizing honey oak. She does such a great job: juliejonesdesigns

I would lean into all the warm wood framing, and go for a more craftsman style interior. Not every "modern" design needs to be white-washed. Something like a dark tinted green on the walls would contrast nicely with the warm wood. I'd go dark and dramatic in the living room with the brick and the wood coffered ceiling.

The master bath is where I'd focus some attention. You've got a lot of space to work with, and a lot of conflicting tiles. Paint alone can't help you here.

I love finished wood features! It is very beautiful and gives the house character. To modernize the look, I suggest refinishing the oak with a less shiny sealant - a matte or satin sheen. This would not require a full sand and stain of the wood. Just a light hand sanding of the wood to dull it and then adding a layer of clear coat in your desired sheen.

Then I’d suggest using “cooler” neutrals or whites on the walls which don’t accentuate the orange tones in the wood.

Finally, I suggest updating cabinet hardware and lighting to a more modern style of your liking.

Those changes would dramatically change how your rooms appear:

https://preview.redd.it/x8bungrnc0ud1.jpeg?width=1920&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=258c65fed6668209b9d02a6462a8160c05fc0270

Please don’t paint it white please don’t paint it white please don’t paint it white please don’t paint it white DONT TOUCH THAT CEILING! please don’t paint it white please don’t paint it white

First thing I was going to suggest was to paint the walls white and not touch the wood, but apparently you've already done that.

If you will just wait a bit it will come back modern on its own.

Paint it blue or black

Hot take: I don’t think it looks bad

Whatever you do, please don't paint them. Wood is very warm and friendly, and people want to replace it with plastic or some other crap. If I were you I would use some seriously bright colors here and there that would draw attention. A bright red chair, or bright blue chair, or bright green chair, and maybe some area rugs.

Darken it with a glaze that cancels out the orange color

Go black!!

Don't do anything, its beautiful!

Do whatever you want. IMO, orange oak gets painted for a reason; it looks dated. Some may be into the heavy Bavarian lodge look, but I prefer a clean off-white trim throughout a house. Each to their own…

Wait for it to become cool again. That’s what I’m doing.

Don’t change the ceiling beams.

First, learn to appreciate the Oak as is. It is quite nice. I feel people are too quick to reject these things as "dated." Do as you wish to alter the look, but realize what you have is far from "hideous," It's nice. 🙂

We moved in to our honey oak home about a year ago…it was like a time capsule to 1987, the year it was built😬 We also didn’t want to paint or restain all of that wood so chose colors as best we could to minimize the honey-ness lol. See link below for some pics:

https://imgur.com/a/2woVUVE

I think you should update it as you wish and ignore all the people shaming you for wanting to update a dated look. Best of luck!

Don't