I agree Flo! The chairs I did above were not done to save money! We could have bought New for less. It is only worth it if you want a certain look and love the frame and of course if money is no object!

The previous owner moved into a senior's home and her children left quite a bit. Some is garbage but some is worth keeping. Thanks to everyone for your input. We will sleep on it and see what happens.

I have done some similar pieces lynartist and I agree, it cost me more, but I have had these pieces for years and still love them. I have moved them a dozen times and always had a great place for them, because I love them! Very fun. I did one myself and the next one, which was much more complicated I had done professionally and it is so beautiful. Maybe I'll take some pics and post them.

Please do Flo! Would love to see them!

I can do the one I have here, other one is in our other place. bbl

Paint it white and recover in black

Does anyone know what style/era this furniture is? I was going to say french provincial, but it is not as ornate as most. Hmmm?

Kind of dark, because we have a storm going on right now. But I feel in love with the shape of this chair and it was in good condition except for the upholstery. I have this guy who does these type pieces with loving care and he redid it for me. I got the fabric which is white with a subtle pattern on the inside of the chair, and the back is a velvety fabric also in white but so soft.

Back/side view.

Inside is different fabric, soft flowery white on white. Loads of details as you can see. Piping, nail heads, flat trim, curves everywhere. He did a beautiful job.

Awe!!! That's a beauty Flo! Now that was worth any price redoing! A good upholsterer is worth their weight! No? I have an old Dorathy Draper chair at mine right now waiting:)!

Ingrid, it looks to be a late sixties French inspired ( revival) sofa.

For those who think this is "grandma's furniture" or not what a young person would want: NOPE!

(I'm 35, so not super young but far from Grandma, let's hope...) I love it, Husband would appreciate it, 10 yr old daughter peeking over my shoulder declared "I like it." Some people were raised to understand quality and some naturally appreciate something other than brown boxy leather...

OP already said her son is open to interesting design styles, and maybe if he someday has a significant other they will appreciate having something other than brown to work with. How many dilemmas have we seen that start with "I'm stuck with this brown leather" or "I have this grey sofa, how can I make my space more interesting..."

I think the furniture you have Ingrid is French Provincial because of the leg and the curving features. Probably 1920-1940s is my guess. The Art Nouveau period featured very feminine lines and graceful curves. Generally thought to be from 1914-1935 roughly. There is the most amazing exhibit of this style furniture in Paris at the Musee d'orsay. If you ever get to Paris you must go there. They also have the original Monet "Water Lilies" painting which is humongous! Several panels and covers a wall about 30' high or so and probably 40' long. Amazing what this artist produced.

I have my doubts it's that old but it's hard to tell my phone. It's pretty streamlined though. You might find a manufacturer label underneath it or under a seat cushion; although it has probably been reupholstered!

White

Grey

Stripes

With the less ornate woodwork and minus the tufting, your son's pieces would be very gender-neutral.

If I lived near you, I'd happily take them off your hands :)

I do think you could give these pieces new life with some masculine fabrics and paint colors. To save money on a old dining set a couple had, I took it to an auto paint shop. Yes, they painted it glossy black and it came out great. They are still using it today and that was a while ago. Might be something like that might help do it in a way that is manageable. If not, Habitat will pick up if they think the piece will sell or work for them. Good to know it can be reused.

keep! I love it. Worth the effort to recover!

I looked around a little too and I believe lynartist hit the period right. Not as old as i thought. But still interesting. @lynartist and @lindsey. Glad you like my chair! Quite a find. I love it.

I'm seriously coveting your chair Flo;)

These four chairs in my dining room are actually from the 1970's! I found them at an estate sale for practically nothing. They were covered in an orange and yellow floral and had light wood legs. I had my upholsterer add the rings to the back and we darkened the wood.

Love the chairs and dining room:)) really lovely!

Oh no...Lynartist....do I see dried flower topiaries...you might have a dilemma for us to fix now that you posted the image!!:))

Not to worry HIWE! They are left over from Christmas;)

As are the candles...

Ingrid, here is a photo on the Miss Mustard Seed blog of a similar sofa that has been reupholstered in canvas or linen.

https://missmustardseed.com/best-of-2016/

Paint the frame black and put zebra print on it.. do the same thing with the chairs but use a punch of color.

Other options hide on hair?

diamond tufted luxury velvet is what I would use. in a wonderful color. like this teal or something

found one almost like yours in a light blue

Yes Beth, that sofa is similar except it has one more cushion. The foam in the cushions is rock hard and so it has to be stripped to the bone. I figured between the two, it will need at least 20 metres of fabric and a tone of foam, felt etc. Don't know. Have to go look at fabrics to see if I am inspired (and the price is right).

Incidentally, my son is 30, and has been on his own for a few years. He bought his first house, and it's very tired. The people also left a dining set that has tons of potential. It's in NEW condition.

So we have seen pinkish carpet in the living room, avocado (shag?) carpeting, a green/grey (?) tile and paneling on the wall. Do you have a plan in place for addressing these issues so that you can select the right upholstery, paint or stain colors or is the furniture going to drive what happens to everything else in the rooms?

Definitely toss!

Seems like a lot of the furniture left behind needs to be sold to folks who would give it care and new life. Unless your son loves this and can "re-invent" it, try some of the ways folks sell stuff like this. I think that table has a real value and a shot at bringing in some cash to do the other work y-all want on this property. Think "cash in hand" and move on.

Yikes! Loose the dining set;(

Congrats on your son being able to buy his first home! But I'm sure there will be a lot of work to do and you don't need this dated , bulky furniture getting in your way! It's pretty ugly. Everyone thinks because furniture is old it's worth something, in truth it usually isn't. Don't let this stuff determine what the final outcome of his home looks like!

Dining table ....omg...paint it black and add houndstooth fabric onto chairs...it could looks so awesome.....time for your son to use chalk paint!!!

Just found this the sofa and chair would look great in this deep ink blue velvet!

Old tables painted in black just work great.....somehow black makes every cool again!!

I agree, Home Interiors. Both really work. Actually, the colours are probably what they had in mind....I like the black, but they might be more inclined towards a dark grey/blue. Paynes grey, if you know fine art colours. My son likes paisley, so I might look for that patter for the chairs. They said (He and his girlfriend), said they like blues (painting the walls a putty grey.

Well, lynartist, he doesn't have money for new stuff, now that he has a mortgage. Hence, repurpose if we can. His apartment was comfortable, but now he has extra rooms. The house has great bones and the floors are hardwood in PERFECT condition, having been covered with broadloom for decades.

That's why mom is stepping in to help fix things. I'll be painting kitchen cupboards next week.

A dark gray velvet burnt paisley fabric would be beautiful on black chairs and gray wall!

tedbixby, this is a side split and the floors upstairs are immaculate hardwood. The room you see is the lower level, which will be a craft room and the floor has nasty tile etc but not worried. The next level has a family room and then the next level is a living room L-shape dining and kitchen. Then three bedrooms upstair plus bath. Excellent starter home with a huge backyard. The walls will be quite neutral, mostly greyish tones.

The pink carpet will be lifted after they paint. Floors in the living room are perfect hardwood.

I love old furniture painted black. Give this a try if you want; there's nothing to loose. It's not as graceful as the one HIWE posted though. It helps to have good bones to start off with.

Found another table set in Black with a rub vintage finish

Not a pro, but I consider myself to have good sense of style...I love old Hollywood glam in a tsk, grey blue, or gray velvet.

Meant teal

Hollywood velvet glam

Agree entirely, Home Interiors with Ease (don't know your name, sorry), black or the black distressed look is stunning. I know I've seen awesome paislies that would work. Yup, I think that might do it. He'll have to trust me...besides, it's free. Both the furniture and the labor. LOL!

As the top is in great condition, perhaps leave it natural and do the rest blackish. The chairs black as well. They will be stunning in black.

Hey Ingrid..my name is Julie..so nice to meet you!:))

why not try and leave the top...I'm not real confident of how it will look;/ but you can always paint the top if it just doesn't look right...win win...

if your son and girlfriend like a bit of glam...I have seen these old tables topped with mirror or antique mirror...it looks gorgeous! Any local glass shop can cut one for them....have fun can't wait to see the finished pieces:)