The search is on for white!

Thanks Grover but the fabric looks worse in person, it has to go. It's has more golden stripes than it appears. I do have some more white stuff I can add to the China closet.

H C, I think someone mentioned possibly painting the cabinet the green color of the wall. What do you think? Would it be possible for you to paint the back of the cabinet this color, to see if it would work...Just another option, other than the white.

Painting the cabinet green will make it disappear. Here are light, medium, and dark versions. I vote no to the green, yes to the trim color.

I like the china cabinet in white.

Plain cream upholstery:

I don't like the green China closet. Might as well just remove it, it's lost in the room. I'm i'm going to try to lighten it up and cover the mirror. If that doesn't work then I'm getting rid of it. Thank you all for your help. There's no way that I could've done this without all of you.

H C, it was worth a try. Please post a picture when you lighten it.

I lightened up the China cabinet, painted the handles silver, cleaned it out, rearranged some stuff inside. It may need a little glaze to soften it. No on to the fabric. The big piece that's covering the chair looks very blah in person. Thoughts everyone?

Ooh - I like that little shot of purple in there!

They're two old tea sets that were my husbands grandmothers.

I just realized that the cream chairs work now because they echo the ivory/cream in the rug. You'll have to make the call on the upholstery fabric because monitor colors are so iffy, but the stripe pattern in your old chairs looks good, so a stripe in the colors of the rug might be the ticket (if you can find such a thing).

Good job on the china cabinet!

For selecting the fabric, I want a clearer view of a couple of them that are sort of hidden under and on the right side of the chair. And, it would help if the drapes were off the windows. They sort of detract from the fabrics.

Wondering about the one on the far right: looks like light cream dots on a brown bark color background. And a vertical pattern like a stripe but a little bit on the more contemporary side.

I think the cabinet looks so much better!!! Great job!

Are you going to cover the white chair bottoms with the same fabric you pick for the end chairs?

Cabinet looks great! I think some light glazing would take it to another level.

As far as the fabric, I'm assuming you were not able to find anything in cream and green? The cream in the middle would probably be my choice, but I would like to see the brown with cream dots on its own. Can you also take the curtains down so that they are not affecting the fabric choices?

lol, the curtains are coming down after thanksgiving :) I just came from pier one, one of you suggested replacing the end chairs with chairs from there. I had no idea they had so many options, and not bad prices. Since it's going to cost at least $100 per chair to recover, I'm reconsidering just replacing the chairs. At least I can see the chairs finished, and return them if I don't like them. I'm really worried that i won't like the chairs with the new fabric. I want something lighter, but I think only dark will look good with the dark wood. I wanted to recover all the chairs with the same fabric, but am ok with mixing, too.

BTW, I just wiped the china closet with some watered down off-white paint I had laying around with a sponge and dry brush. Took about 45 minutes, so easy.

I think I probably suggested Pier 1 for chairs. I bought my dining chairs there and I love them. And you are right lots of options, colors and not expensive. Pick out the ones you like and then decide on the seat covers for the side chairs. They do not have to be the same fabric (not much of the seats will show under the table) and if you get a patterned chair, just pick a color from them to do seats. Did you find one that hit a hot button?

It was Susan2494 who recommended Pier One. Now I'm thinking neutral and light. I don't see any patterns that would work. I'm also limited due to the height of the white chairs. Thoughts?

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How tall are the side chairs you have now?

I was wondering about this chair. Pier 1 and is 38.75" Not sure if the wood will blend with your other chairs. They also have side version. That way you could make cushion for them out of same fabric as other chairs. I like the wood contrast and appears that it will blend with table. I also like the curved top.

What do you think?

BTW, I do like the 2 you posted also.

Houston, we have a problem. None of the chairs are tall enough. Went back and read and you said white chairs are 42". The tallest is the 2nd chair you posted and it's 41".

These are cream linen 48" high 2 for $256.49. 5 star rating, 71 reviews. Overstock.com ITEM# 13814904

ITEM# 16300571 2/$354
41.38" Only 2 left

ITEM# 16237325 43"

2/$290

Yes, the chairs are 42" at the highest point. I thought I might be able to get away with 41". Maybe not. I think i prefer the fabric chairs over the wood.

$307 each 47" beige linen ITEM# 14300156

I have given you some options that do not break the bank. All from overstock.com. I like to see host chairs a bit taller than the side chairs, but if you can take one home and try it from Pier 1, good deal. You do have to order 2 from o.com as they come in pairs except for the last one.

I think I'm going to try some from Pier one. I have a 20% off coupon and it's free shipping. So hard to decide without seeing it in person.

I say buy one of all you are considering and bring them home to try. Doesn't matter if the charge is a zillion dollars, just keep receipt and return them pronto.

Oh, sorry, I thought you were picking them up from the store!

Will do, I will be picking up from Pier One, the coupon is only good for in store purchase. They are all just a wee bit short, so I will have to see if it's noticeable.

New curtains, removed chair rail, painted wall bottom to match the top. Working on the end chairs.

I chalk painted the fabric on the end chairs. I'm surprised how easy it was. Thoughts?

I liked the chair rail and the green paint. You said this was a pricey dining room set? Did the chairs all match when you got them? I really like the new changes but still feel like the different colored chairs are a problem. I would paint the 2 end chairs to match the others or paint them all. Beautiful rug!

I've always been leery of painting fabric, but it certainly looks great. How does it feel? And I wonder how it will wear. The plain ivory color makes the room very calm, and I like the cohesive look of the woodwork and china cabinet on the back wall.

Well, it looks great, but i always thought so. I am here, to find out, how does that paint affect the chair foam? And beware of heat, someone had a guest perspire and they turned red.

what about a narrow console table under the window. and clear bulbs in the chandelier

What a difference.

Regarding the chair rail, I was tired of the look, although I did like the green too. I decided to keep the beige, which is a faux finish, because it's also in my living room and hallway that are connected.

The set is Ethan Allen and I ordered it that way. I don't like when everything matches perfectly.

Regarding the paint, I made my own chalk paint (found recipe in the internet) by mixing good quality satin paint with calcium carbonate (found on the internet) (4 parts paint, 1 part calcium carbonate mixed with enough water to form a smooth paste), sprayed down the chairs with water, then just painted with a paint brush, two thin coats, letting each coat dry in between. I wiped the excess off the wood, since I couldn't take the tops off. If I would have watered down the paint more, they would have been a more transparent, which I think would have looked better. I lightly sanded them smooth with a fine sandpaper, and applied some minwax paste finishing wax, which gave them a little shine. They feel soft and smooth. If I apply more wax, they start to look like leather. I'm now ready to tackle the other chairs, but can't decide on a color. I'm also considering changing the color of the wood to something whiter. I saved about $200 by not recovering those chairs.

The fabric feels pretty durable, I sanded it pretty good and not much came off. I assume the waxing will seal it. Time will tell. I only use the set maybe once a month, if that. Either way, I can always repaint it :)

There's not enough room for a console under the window, the picture makes the room look bigger than it is.

You don't really use enough paint to soak through to the chair foam. Although i would not try it on padding that was not synthetic.

Close up of chair

Very nice update! Good work.

Wow, that chair looks great! And you don't waste time getting your projects done! It takes me forever just to get motivated, lol.

I think I want to paint the brown wood on the chairs to match the paint on the white chairs, maybe even lighter and lighten them all up. Also, I need to paint the fabric on the four white chairs, but having a hard time deciding what color. Thoughts?

When you get done with your projects, please come to my house! You work fast!

Curtains shortened, gold fabric is now green. Update on the beige chairs, the fabric now almost feels like vinyl, where it used to be more like satin. Not sure I would recommend this for all fabrics (unless you were ready to trash it anyway, like me). The other chairs are more of a tapestry, and they feel just a little different, slightly rougher. It was much better fabric to paint. I also only put one really watered down coat on. I also added more white stuff to the china closet. Time to move onto the living room.

Before and after:

old chandelier