I think if you left it wood, it would look odd simply because you have two wooden pieces above it and that space takes on the designation of the "wood section."

I vote painting it a different color than white.

I’d save the effort and only strip the top and chalk paint the rest (stripping is not required). I also have a feeling the whole piece striped will feel old fashioned due to the cabinet doors.

Afterwards if you don’t like the top, paint it as well. Like the colors below

I vote for paint as well - the light aqua is similar to your table top. Is that top section a false front or one long drawer? I wonder if it's feasible to remove that and make a long open shelf if you have pretty items you could store there. Or maybe remove the center drawers and replace them with baskets if you could find the right dimensions. Either would be a way to open it up a bit and add some color and texture to a big solid piece of furniture.

Looking forward to your "reveal"!

Hey LD. All the drawers are working drawers and there are wood shelves behind the doors. It had an old fashioned hutch as part of it but we left that at the salvage place where we picked up this beauty. We had originally intended it to be a coffee bar but it might get turned into a bar bar🍹
Planning on stripping the top first all! Then will post pics

Orange stripper and a pink martini! First time stripping furniture. Watched a few YouTube videos and voila! Who would paint this awesome wood! Will strip the rest this weekend and see what we have!

Wait!!! No flippin way!!! Open up shop!! Your awesome!!!! Looks professional

That is gorgeous. :)

Beautiful! You just never know until you go!

HU, I guess we got lucky! It only took about 20 min for the paint to lift. I was expecting to let the stripper soak overnight.

Great job!

There are some pretty sea glass knobs on Etsy that could be pretty with your coastal theme.....

I love the top, are you stripping the rest or leaving “as is”?

Beautiful! Do you think the doors are original? From the picture, they look more modern than the drawers and they don’t seem to be the same color (whiter).

Following

looking fabulous. cant wait to see the rest... nice job.

Anna, based on the majority feedback from the team here we’re stripping the whole thing to see what we have to work with.

Mark, The doors are original. The whiter doors was a test paint I did. 🎨

Me too Theresa! 😀

just thought i would share a pic that is similar to your situation... all white kitchen with wood stained accent cabinet.

Spent the weekend stripping. Things I’m learning as a first timer...
Plastic wrap is awesome at keeping the stripper wet and working longer.
I rolled it to get the stripper even.
Yes, it’s messy.
The wood is stunning but it does have a redness to it so what do I use? The third picture is just water to see what it would look like with clear coat. I don’t want to paint it after all that hard work but I don’t want the reddish brown. Should I wax it or maybe a pickling? I just don’t want to ruin it and sand it down again.
Any ideas on the next step?

It's gorgeous! The thing about mahogany is it is red. Our deck is mahogany. Left untreated over the years in the sun it has changed to silvery gray.

wow, gorgeous.. can you show the piece in the room? may help determine next step?

Good job. Thanks for sharing the pictures.

Fun! It's like unwrapping a present. Are you sure it's mahogany? I hope an expert weighs in; you may want to post in the woodworkers forum to see if anyone can give a definitive answer.

I thought this looked beautiful yet his wood was not as dark as yours.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QUiZHdyvIas

Here’s a picture of the piece in room Theresa

Thinking of doing what this gal did to her small mahogany table. She used a classic gray stain and it looks dreamy Which might play well with our gray island

https://www.drivenbydecor.com/how-refinishing-staining-table/

Her wood was a lot lighter than yours. I would not do more gray.

that treatment will look great, but I also like the 'pure' mahogany, gorgeous contrast with the white cabinets.. it will be beautiful.

I would keep it wood for now but remove the wood wall art. Rather do st contrasting to the dresser

I’m late to this party and glad you decided to strip the wood rather than paint it. It looks gorgeous, I would leave it as is. At a minimum, live with it for awhile before doing anything else. The richness of the piece contrasts beautifully with your white cabinets and makes it a show-stopper!

Damn.. that looks good!

Great job. Looks great. How about putting glass in the lower doors? That would “lighten” the look some and add to the beach feel.

It’s done!
Had to add a touch of “beach” with the pulls and figured we can change them out with some chic brushed gold ones if we want a change.
Also note the touch of Louboutin red on the inside of the feet to tie into the rug. This was hubby and my very first crack at refinishing and we had a blast!

Fun! I’m on the lookout for entryway console to refinish. Thanks for the update!

Wow! That looks fantastic — great job, you two! Love it, it’s perfect in there.

Looks grea.

Pretty. Did you strip the new white paint off of the stiles and rails or was that still old paint ?

You did a really nice job on that chest. Thanks for coming back with update to share!

awesome job, so fun.

Looks nice, but I think it would be fun painted a turquoise or blueish lower half and the top left wood.

Looks great! I would not have painted it but you did a nice job with the combination of the two. You could order a glass top to protect the wood so serving on it won't be a worry. You could get it tinted like your table.

Great job!

Thanks all.
Craljh- We stripped the entire chest all the way to bare wood.

TerriTheresa- The mahogany was so spectacular that it was a tough decision to paint it.

Kate- I think of it was a cruddy piece I would have ventured toward a more bold color paining the body of the piece. I’m now on the lookout for a smaller piece that I can be a bit more risky on because I do love the idea of turquoise!

I prefer the mahogany but your cabinet must reflect your taste.

You could lower your seashell display case as a "backsplash" decoration and add overhead cabinets above the cabinet you're refinishing. You might consider white wainscoting on the side of your island.

Looks fantastic! I think you’re going to get a lot of compliments on it.

Finished lining the drawers with some fabric I’ve had for >20years. Anyone know what the wood inserts in the drawers are for? This piece started out as a buffet with a hutch.

I bet they held a tray or something that fit in there. That is beautiful!! You both did a great job, i have refinished a few pieces, one that large, but others smaller. The red on the inside of the feet just is really so unique, i think!!!

I usually paint the inside of the drawers for a surprise for my customer, but i like that fabric idea!!! Especially because it is your old fabric, very cool!

Thanks Alice. I cut cardboard to fit, used a light coat of spray adhesive to adhere the fabric, then just popped them in so I could protect the original wood. I love little surprises too!

Applauding your excellent job of stripping and the unique way you refinished it. The red touch is hysterical (but I guess you need to be a fashionista to get the joke). Now you know any wood piece you like is an option because you know how to strip, stain,paint and refinish. Chalk paints require much, much less work but when the paint is sorta on and coming off, this is the only way to get back the integrity of the wood.
Great job!

Thanks Red! Of course you’d “get” the nod to the Loui red soles 👠