Nice chairs, although I don't quite see them in velvet. Have you checked to see if they are high enough to double as dining chairs?

I like them! Go with it. If you're going to refinish them at all, I'd have them painted white or black and use them in a family room, sitting room or screened-in porch. They're making awesome indoor/outdoor fabric these days that would be great. Some ideas:

Nice! I see a flat weave rug, so it is telling a bit about your style.

Painted white or black with a modern fabric could bring them into this century! :)

Of course they can work (& would work especially well in a 1925 bungalow) and in any fabric you love AND in any color you love. But for dining,just make sure the seat height works with both the table and the other chairs.

Not a Pro.

I think it is a great idea!

Some inspiration:

Love, love, love them. New fabric and voila, awesome chairs anywhere you put them! Would think twice about changing color of frame. Friends in Maui tried to do this on the cheap, and well, it came out cheap.

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I agree - they look a bit low for use at a dining table... They would be great accent chairs, though, in a living area. Not sure about velvet - maybe a linen, instead? Consider painting the rattan - black, white, a great color?

I agree with leaving the frame alone.

They are pretty nice chairs and I think once you lose the tropical fabric (which is actually a great print--jut not for what you want) they will look more indoorsy. They aren't overly slouchy or relaxed-looking so I think they will go along with your plan.

Those chairs will never go out of style. Freshen them up with a new coat of black paint and cover the cushions with a fabric you love and an instant win-win for you and your BF.

So many directions you can take with fabric, no need to paint frame!

I would get them re-upholstered and then see how I felt about painting. You might decide that you are OK with the color once the flowery pattern has been replaced.

My parents had a couple of similar chairs and they have two practical advantages as side chairs: they are light enough to move around when you have extra people over and (usually) they are narrow enough to fit through doors if you need to move them to another room.

To me they look too low for dining chairs, but you can measure the seat height against your other dining chairs.

I wouldn't paint them. Give them a good cleaning with furniture polish and touch up scratches with a scratch pen in the appropriate color.

Thank you everyone, not sure how to reply individually, but you have all been so kind and so very helpful! It turns out that the chairs were custom made right here, a shop only a few blocks away, been in business 40 years....I stopped in and YES the can re-cover and they do so at a super reasonable cost. So that is the plan, keep the wood, change the fabric, probably a solid and a natural fiber like linen or something with a bit of texture. Not velvet, not going to use as dining chairs, but will be keeping them and loving them more than ever. Thanks for all the great insight! I'll post pics when they are done. Thank you!

HI All! I wanted to thank you again and show some pics of what I ended up doing. I kept the rattan, kept it as is (time and budget) and just updated rugs, paint, some pillows. I think it works. I made emphasis on dining room too, instead of trying to multi task in there, decided it was time to just accept it and go with it. Also, fireplace, always bugged me to have a tv over it but no other spot works, so painted wall dark charcoal, tv virtually disappeared. Yeah! Thanks again for all the help!

Very nice!!

Nothing more chic than black rattan

Just make sure you combine it with accents of black and other strong colors.

Your home is lovely!!! And GREAT solution for minimizing the impact of the tv.

That looks lovely! So glad you didn't paint the chair : ) . The footrest is adorable, esp with the matching cushion.

I love your home, it has a very personal and individual feel, with lots of personality. You have a very nice sense of color and pattern, and everything works together wonderfully.

Your rugs are great, such good colors for both rooms, very lively and vibrant. That dark fireplace wall not only “disappears” the TV (brilliant) but also has such a nice grounding effect in that room. Well done. Both rooms looked pulled together. And when you’re ready you can still replace the rattan chair fabric and about anything would work with the room.

Thank you everyone! Wealthy, yes one day probably will still update the chair fabrics, but am so grateful for everyones input- I truly love to use what I have (most of my stuff is either hand me down or something given to me from a loved one) I like to look around and think of everyone 'there' with me.

Well done!

What a charming house! Great job! I also don't agree with the toss-it-and-get-new mentality....where's the "soul" in doing that...

btw, love your fuzzy things(?) on the sofa!

Looks fantastic, good choice.