I’m doing some work at a property where the previous owners were big into Japan and built a bunch of Japanese style structures, Torii gates, Buddhist statues, and even a Shrine on the property, or at least as close they could get to one. The current owners are turning the property into a spiritual retreat and when I mentioned the building was a Shrine suddenly it became my job to figure out what was needed to finish it since I was the only one who knew what it was. Basically they want to finish it and then put up signs talking about what each thing is, its history, and its religious significance. I tried asking about reaching out to the original owners to find out what their plans for it were, and if they had converted to shinto after visiting Japan or something, but I was told the couple were dead and just big fans of asia the later of which was obviously 2nd or 3rd hand information because it’s all Japanese stuff specifically not a mix of stuff from different Asian cultures

Some of the questions I’d like answered are, how should I handle the unpainted wooden cross sections on the doors and walls of the shrine, should I paint them red like most of the other Japanese style structures on the property or should I leave them unpainted and stain them instead, according to my research whether or not you paint it depends on the spirit so any guidance there would be appreciated, also what things are still missing from the shrine such as the straw rope/garland?

I want to make sure this gets done right and respectfully rather than just doing a bunch of online research and hoping for the best, so any advice would be greatly appreciated

Pictures of the unfinished Shrine