How to dark wood?

I saw this house that I really like but it is very dark.

The living room has two sides with full length glass doors all around 20 foot tall overlooking a lake, so it should not be this dark, but it still feels very dark because:

(1) the walls are painted red - so I need to repaint it to a light color will help some.

(2) the floors are of unglazed mexican tiles - not a whole lot I can do there. May be pour a concrete floor over it. Will see if I can do this with minimum thickness.

(3) the ENTIRE ceiling (20 foot high) is lined with very dark wood. It is lacquered so I cannot tell what type of wood but really dark. Not oak I don't think. The kitchen cabinets are stained the same dark wood. Is there anyway to lighten up the dark wood?

We like light wood, the less pattern the better. Bamboo, maple are my favorite and I cannot stand dark oak. I don't think there is a way to lighten up darkly stained wood, but I thought it wouldn't hurt asking. This house has all the right angles and layout for me, just the wrong color.

I don't want to paint it white, that would turn this into 'country' - no!

Thanks for any comments.

I have a similar situation in a rental unit - a big wall of glass on one side, a brick wall on the other, and wood on the other side. A brown rug on the floor. Very dark, and worse because the patio out back is enclosed with 8' high walls and half-covered by a second story overhang.

I put in extra lights (not hard-wired but rigged to turn on with two switches), and I brought in white area rugs. You could do the same - but since you own the place you could wire the lights. And about the rugs - yes, they do get dirty, buy cheap ones from Home Depot or Ikea (if you have an Ikea near you) - then just replace them every year or 2. Less of a pain than trying to clean a nicer rug (and cheaper too I think).

You could try stripping the wood and varnishing it to see if you can lighten it up. Just experiment on a small corner of the room (behind a piece of furniture) first.

Anyway, good luck with your dark home. I'm living well with mine!

Try sandblasting the beams...that'll strip the finish off and let you start over. We did it in a 114 year old building several years back with great effect. As for the tiles, they'd be great...people pay extra for that these days. And you'd be amazed at how much a new paint job changes the look and feel of a place.

Changing the wood color and retaining a smooth finish with the grain visable is a large task. Most people in the business would agree. I'd recommend a wash tecnique over the existing instead. Sand blasting will bring the wood back to bare however the sanding involved will be time consuming and will never be perfect. Especially the cabinetry. If you wish for a rustic finish then perhaps the sand blast is for you. Sorry I always shy away from work like this because the end results can be dissapointing.

Beams 20' up, try paint.

'Wood' colored paint, just not dark wood....

By the way, on one side of the wall there is a built-in book case that runs the entire 20' height. Same color wood so I have to deal with that as well. Do people really put books 18 feet up in the book shelf? I would need a ladder (or one of those electric lift I saw in movies!) or should I install a role hanging from the ceiling so I can climb up and down and swing sideways!

Tricky to paint ceiling at 20' high?

If you're going to do books, then, yes, you'll need a ladder. They probably had decorative items WAY up there.

Rent scaffolding from Home Depot...simplest way to take care of it...

I would say do the painting of the red walls first and then see how it looks. The color of the walls can make a huge difference.

Sum....

I think the others have given you some ideas about the wood finish...personally I think it would be a mistake to paint the wood if you like natural wood...and I imagine that you will spend quite a bit of money to buy the house and don't want to cheapen it.

Another way to get more light into the room is with skylights....depending on the style of the house. Perhaps I'm wrong but this sounds like a modern design, so skylights would fit in perfectly. The best way is to place them near a light-colored wall so the light reflects into the room.

Let us know how it goes!

Interesting. So, painted wood makes a building look cheap?