What do I do with these built ins?

If you want to restain, you will have to remove the protective finish first (polyurethane). If you decide to paint, chalk paint requires little or no prep. Either would be pretty, it just depends on the amount of work you want to do.

It is definitely an orangey color! It would be an awful lot of work to strip and restain all of the wood, but if you do it a piece at a time it would definitely look much better if it was a richer color that is a little darker, too dark and it may not look so spacious and airy like it does now. I wish I had a home like yours!

Paint them white and change crown molding to white as well.

Darker wood - but not grey walls. Light Grey Walls and Medium Grey Chalk Paint with Antique or clear Wax on top. Maybe light grey trim on Chimney a

shelf with Big Mirror above - TV or Striking piece of Art.............

For me it would depend on the woodwork finishes in the adjacent rooms. Doe the fireplace stand in front of the bookcases? I mean instead of beside them? Painting would be easier but then that is kind of it. I mean the labor to go to restoring the woodwork to what it is now would be a lot. Also we are seeing things unfurnished. You would be amazed at how much color books will add to say nothing of decorative pieces. Also the lighting in this picture is from above. . . always a harsher light. My advice would be to use as is and then decide in a year or two if you want something else

I typically am against painting wood - but this color is pretty tough. It would be beautiful stained a darker color. If you do paint. It can be wiped down with liquid sandpaper. DO NOT USE chalk paint. You want to be able scrub this down once in a while. You cannot do that with chalk paint.

But you may want to get your things moved in and then see how it looks. This is a huge project to take on, it looks like a big house.

Yep, you do have a lot of it! Whatever you do in this lovely house will still be lovely. But I do understand your dilemma. Is this a fairly new house?

Personally either stain it a diffeernt color or a white wash would certainly give it a different appearance

Love your built ins The thought of sanding or stripping all of that wood would make me paint but I love this solution

hope this helps

https://www.artsychicksrule.com/super-easy-way-to-update-wood-stained/

It would be a shame to just paint all of that beautiful wood. I can see that the wood has yellowed over the years. Take one thing at a time and restain them. I think you'll be glad you did, and if you paint them you'll probably regret it. One piece in one room at a time.

PAINT them.... you could leave the door trim moldings natural... just stain them a darker richer color (including the crown molding trim too).... less orange.. The built-ins around the fireplace would look nice white, gray, or black.... you could put an interesting wall paper in the back of the shelf units.. and the doors would be nice painted white, gray, black or a color to match the wall paper.

Glad to have helped...........

do not paint beautiful wood. change stain color

I personally would stain the built-ins and doors, and paint out the trim. I have had success with darker gel stain on kitchen cabinets, and did not need to remove the protective coating. I used liquid sandpaper and steel wool and gave a good but light scrub. Then I took an old damp towel to remove the crud leftover (especially any stray steel wool hairs), and let everything dry thoroughly. Then I applied the gel stain with old socks on top of disposable gloves.

If you are thinking of going that route, try it on an old piece of trim or the inside of a door to see if you like it. Your built-ins are beautiful, and you wouldn't want to ruin them.

https://www.kylieminteriors.ca/tips-ideas-update-oak-wood-cabinets/

https://www.cleverlysimple.com/how-to-gel-stain-cabinets/