I would say you have 2 options: 1) paint as Pat says, but choose a nice dark matt colour, ( or I suppose White if that is you want, its a matter of personal preference), and handrail dyed and varnished MATT, or, stain / matt varnish the whole lot. Here, with discussion with client, and led by the client who wanted a low maintenance finish, the 300 yr old beams had been treated and left as natural, unfinished, and the new soft wood ( budget did not allow for oak or hardwood) was finished in stain and matt varnish - I thought it might not work, but the end result was pleasing to all and very very happy client. This expressed the new joiner from the older structural timber frame. What do you think?

Thank you all for your input. I need to perfect the art of closing one eye to block out other colours! I was not good at this! I think you need bigger sample cards than I used. I couldn't paint on the wall as there's currently wallpaper there. My local F&B stockist suggested Shaded White which is a nice, "safe" neutral I think and as the room is quite dark, it seems to work better than the greyer shades I was trying. I guess sometimes what you want is different from what will actually work best and Shaded White seems a good compromise. I'm delighted to have got input from you and I'll post some pictures later of items I'm considering using in the room in the hope of some more advice.

Firstly, Happy New Year fellow Houzzers! Hope 2019 is happy, healthy and generally good for everyone. Want to again pass my thanks to you all for all the responses, advice and inspiration. Without you I don't think we would have got to where we have with the room. As you may have guessed, I am updating the thread because we have finished it (mostly!). The jury is still out on painting the dresser as I don't want 'matchy-matchy' so I am going to live with it for a while as it is. We absolutely love the room and it is beautiful in the morning light. The wallpaper is the Sanderson Chiswick Grove Sage, the paneling and skirting is in F&B Breakfast Room Green eggshell, the ceiling in a pure trade white with the doors and cupboard in F&B James White eggshell. All the woodwork too 4 coats to cover the sanded orange varnish. :( The curtains are the old Ikea things we had up so I need to decide on what to replace them with (they got paint on them so need to go). My lovely sister gave me a really nice brass chandelier so the old light will go too. Also thinking about a jute/sisal rug for under the table, anything patterned would be too much I think. At some point I will replace the black Ikea lamps too. But at the moment they are doing a job. I don't want the lighting to be too old fashioned as the room would go a bit chintzy I think. Hence the lamps on the sideboard looking a bit more modern. Here are some pics if you are interested. :) Cheers all. :)

Hi Natalie, o wow what a wonderful open plan kitchen/living space, and I love the glass doors! Duck Green is a stunning colour and would look amazing here. The wall behind the log burner is a great idea, but I would just stick to this wall and not go in to the playroom area with it. I think either way you paint the skirting boards would work well, but maybe in this case I would paint them green to match! And I would definitely paint the window reveals and the plaster lights :) Hannah