My Mom gave me this table for our new home. The problem is that she gave it a gray distressed look about 5 years ago. She never had the leaf in at her house. With 5 kids who all eat at this table daily, we need a longer table. The table is black on the bottom and the chairs are all black. I'm debating whether to paint the table top a fun color or to strip/sand and stain it. This table is a little more traditional than my taste, however it's still a beautiful table. I planned to leave the bottom black but to remove the paint and stain it either a colored stain or a wood color stained. I feel that going to the darker shade of wood in the middle with the black will keep the traditional look. My style is more contemporary and Industrial. any ideas on what you would do to kind of modernize it. This may sound crazy but I kind of like the two toned look, however not these colors. Also disregard the lack of decor. we moved in last week and habe not hung paintings or decorated.