What is the built-in? Just a panel, a bookcase, a closet, a bar???

yeah, that looks almost like a door! %^)

Sorry for the bad angle/picture. The hallway has terrible lighting. Here is a better photo

There is a linen closet with drawers. I have no idea what that tiny door is supposed to be for!

These doors are not builders grade oak. I grew up in a house built in 1955, and had this same wood finish. I forget what it is, beech, poplar, something like that, but they don't make them anymore. You should stay true to the mcm roots of the house and not paint the wood.

I don't think doors are that expensive, why not replace them.

On an episode of House Hunters Renovation they took doors like those that were on kitchen cabinets and had them professionally sanded, and painted with a whitish gray silver treatment that still allowed the grain to show through. It was absolutely stunning!

The wood is definitely getting painted as well as the trim. And I will paint the doors too. All of the trim in the house needs a boost, most of it is fading into an almost grey color and it needs a coat of white. I'm just undecided on painting the built in the same color as the wall or painting it the same color as the trim.

What color paint are you going to use with the rest of the hallway and the trim?

I'm going to try and keep this short. You might have Douglas Fir wood. (I say that because the doors to the cabinet look like it.) Many MCM homes had it. It's very valuable to someone who is trying to restore a MCM home. Take a drawer to a woodworker's supply store (they sell all types of wood for fancy projects). If it is Doug Fir I suggest you inquire from architects as to any MCM owner's groups. You may be able to sell any built-ins / cabinets in order to get what you prefer.

I'm planning on painting the trim of the house white. Haven't figured out color for this ugly cabinet yet. I've been living here for 10 years now and the wood has a weird stink to it.

More pics of built ins. The giant one in the living room is a closet. The bookshelf is obviously too cluttered but other than that the wavy style of the wood surrounding it isn't my style.

Okay, so if you're keeping the rest of the wall yellow, and if your trim is white. I would choose light gray. This blog has some interesting ideas for pairing yellow.

I should add that the trim isn't original. My father in law put all the trim + oak floors down in the 90's. The built in's are original though but I just hate the look of the orange wood. The hallway doesn't bother me as much because I don't see it often, but the book shelf and the big closet in the living room area is just ugly.

Just remove that wavy trim and paint same color as walls.

Removing the wavy trim has crossed my mind but it's connected to the actual base of each shelf so it's not an option without some carpentry skills. We're on a budget so that's out of the question at the moment.

We're the previous owners smokers? That could account for the stink and orange-ness, and you will have to prep the surfaces very very carefully so you don't get bleed-through.

Since you are determined to paint, I would paint out all the built-ins to the wall color (do the walls at the same time to match colors properly). You seem to hate the look of them, so you'll want to make them disappear as much as possible.

Not to my knowledge. We were close friends with the previous owners. What do you all think of the big built in coat closet in the living room? Is it an eyesore or does it have beauty?

I am far from an expert on wood, but what you have looks more like figured maple: https://www.nwfiguredwoods.com/curly-maple-wood.php

Here's a side angle of the doors. The wood looks pressed

OK, full disclosure, I am more in the "don't paint nice wood" camp than the "it's your house, paint anything you darn well please" camp. So the only wood I would consider painting in your home is the 90s add-on trim and the ceiling beams.

I think with a different wall color (white), freshly painted ceilings and trim, and stripped and refinished built-ins, the wood would shine and be a thing of beauty in your home.

BUT if you're painting, you're painting, and after 10 years of hating it nothing anyone says is going to magically change your mind, so again, I would suggest painting all the wood and walls the same color.

In general I agree with "don't paint nice wood." But in my humble opinion this just isn't nice wood. And the carpentry isn't anything special either, there isn't a ton of craftsmanship that went into it.

Here is an example with yellow and taupe/greige

Hit it with some Zinsser Clear Shellac before painting. That will seal in the smell and prevent bleed through of the wood grain/orange tone.

Please, no more GRAY suggestions, so overdone & on the way out, already out where I live...... Just saying :)

I don't mind the gray but I'm realizing how a lot of people feel about painting wood. Even when it's cheap old pressed stuff.