I'd definitely approve painting the chairs - perhaps pull a minor color from the rug, like green or gold - and darken it up a bit and use that. I'd leave the table top and sides unpainted, unless it is in poor condition already, as table tops take a lot of wear and it would be hard to get a painted finish durable enough that you'd be happy with it. Tbale base could go either way, but since it is not particularly visible, I'd probably leave it wood to match the top.

Very pretty room, great confident use of color and art!

I agree with soberg. I would get new lamps also. Those are a bit dated. Sorry.

I see why, the wood is bleached on the sides, right? You could pick the duck-egg-blue-or-sage-ish from the rug (can't tell clearly) and tape off the center of the table top and only paint the sides (leave the legs bare too). I you use spray paint, you could use a crotheted table runner (or the pvc version) to get a stylish edge. Find a funky fabric and re-upholster the chairs, but keep most of the wood bare, it's a wonderful dining set.

Note: find out if the finish is classical french polish and wax (mostly done before 1930) or laquer/varnish. French polish and wax are fat-based and needs to be removed with caustic soda (for example), because sanding will only rub it in deeper.

I think I would make the furniture the center of attention by lightening up the walls or replace the curtains with white or at least remove the valance. Taking out extra furniture like the extra table and chairs and minimize nick knacks.

Re- cover the chairs bring in some FUN ARTSY design that contains colors from wall,ceiling and the rug [if you plan on keeping that] darken the wood on chairs,table and buffet. Change the hardware on the buffet to gorgeous glass handles/knobs possibly in amber.... :-)

A springy green color for the walls...

Painted furniture has been popular since the Swedish Gustavian style took hold in the 1700's....so it's not exactly a fad. There are all kinds of offshoots and comparables from French Country to "Shabby Chic"...and they all have a place in the design world. If I were to begin with the furnishings I'd first eliminate all unnecessary pieces. The room has a lot going on and paring down would be helpful. The overall style of the room is more on the traditional side and the color is one-note. The walls are red, the rug is red, the furniture...well, you get the idea. There's no depth and it's a little oppressive. I'd lighten the walls for starters, along with the window treatments. Cornices are a dated look....a more contemporary approach is to keep the eye moving to the views....blur the lines between indoors and outdoors. Remove the extra table and chairs. If you need an extra serving surface, I'd suggest something like a sofa table/console. Also, I agree that the lamps are overpowering. Candlestick lamps work better on a buffet. Once you have lightened up the painted walls and window treatments, removed the excess furniture and accessories, you'll have a better idea about how to approach the dining room furniture. Painting and reupholstering the chairs may be a good option for you and I'd keep it neutral...don't do some crazy color that will grow tiresome within a couple of months. It's just paint and upholstery, but the time and $$ you'll put into it will not want to be repeated any time soon. Keep it classic...take your cues from magazine articles and boutique showroom displays. I'm an artist myself and I'm all about adding whimsy and surprise to my designs, but it requires a deft hand. Stick with the basics and you can zhuzz it up with fun lighting, upholstery, and accessories. Enjoy the process!

Paint the walls white, the ceiling an artsy color like hot pink, acid yellow, or lime green. Pick up one of those colors in a minor stripe in new drapes with bold colors, mostly white with lime, caribbean blue, pink, yellow etc. Recover the chairs in white, and then add some bold art on the walls.

I love the Idea! I would paint the whole set to match the lamps! I LOVE THE LAMPS !!!!!! The white would really pop with your orange walls. It would be bright and cheerful. the curtains may need to change however, if that was to be done. BRIGHT YELLOW would be really fun. color to paint the dining room set also... but it is risky that you would tire of it sooner.and would not have as many options if you decided to change the wall color later.

I would go with the family of greens for the side board (if you want to keep the rug) , and the selfing unit above, - If you want to take one step further you can do something like an ombre in the middle section of the sideboard (the drawers) choosing for each line of drawers different shade of green, starting from the lighter shade in your sample card, choose every other (or every 2 shades) for each drawer, leave the table as is , chairs can been painted the same color family but maybe something from the lighter shades of your preferred green sample card color line... , find a really cool fabric , as your rug is on the floral side , I would go with a graphic pattern on the fabric. I saw that you have extra chairs that are not the same with your set, I would paint all the chairs and mix and much them around the table. :)

The pictures are a bit blurry on this end, lots of reds. It looks like you have hats on the wall behind the chairs that would poke people in the head if they sat in them and I agree with everyone about all the little chotchkies! The huge lamps make the other things look so small and insignificant. I'd either swap the teeny things for larger pieces or move the lamps.
I thought the dining set was the best thing about the room. If it's a nice set I'd recommend selling it to someone who'll appreciate the beauty of the wood and buy an unfinished set to paint. They're a lot cheaper so you'll have money in your pocket when you're done.

Your room is quirky and fun and, for me anyway, overstimulating. I would definitely paint the chairs and was going to help, but it turned out to be a lot of work, so I just moved a blue chair into the room instead. A perfect complement, I think.

Well, maybe I misspoke about painted furniture as a fad but it is a fad to paint beautiful wood furniture right now. Its hard to get real wood furniture now so I would definitely think twice before I did it. Perhaps buy a table to paint (something inexpensive) and leave the chairs as is but with new fabric.

@Dar I'm always careful about imprinting my personal taste and preferences on others. There's no shortage of good hardwood furniture and even if there were it's a matter of personal taste and style preference. As a designer, I recognize how painting over a period or traditional piece can give it a fresh and relevant edge. If the client likes the look, it's their home. My job is to make recommendations based on classic design concepts and elements while honoring the space and the client's lifestyle and style preferences. If that includes painting over an antique, it is what it is...and if someone down the road wants to remove the paint, well so be it but enjoying it today is really what it's all about. In the meantime, there's no hard and fast rule about how one should treat a piece of furniture as far as finish and upholstery. Some of the most beautiful and relevant pieces were achieved by style-bending...just as they did in the Gustavian era, painting over classical Louis pieces to achieve a fresh new look.

I think the room is pretty great as-is! Love the orange walls. You might just start with changing the fabric on the chairs to a blue, gold, orange print, adding a table cloth, and swapping your red rug for a blue one. Painting the furniture will ruin the antique value, if you care at all about that. I'd lose those over-sized lamps on the buffet and find something smaller for better scale. They could also pick up the blue color.

I'm with Keating studio, the room is feeling a bit stuffed, so much of a good thing.
What is over the cornices? And buffet lamps are too large, too many things hanging on wall.

It needs a little space to breath.

Ok, here's my thought. If your family is artsy & fun & because I love, love your gold ceiling...I would do horizontal stripes in two colors. Use your red as one of the colors & pull another color out of your carpet. Then add thin gold stripes randomly. After you do that you can decide what to do about your furniture (chairs) & drapes. Your drapes may look terrific after the decoration at the top is removed. Hope you're brave enough. I would love it & I'm really traditional.

I would repaint it all to an off white or cream, you could have fine stenciling on the walls. Keep the furniture, upholster the chair seats, to a patterned cream, remove the wall shelving above dining cabinet-add a larger piece of wall art there, add ceiling to floor curtains, change the rug and add tall green plants to the room- at least two.

Some examples of what I mean from Houzz pages:

If you paint the table make sure you seal it with many coats so you don't have chipping. Recover the seats, make sure you pull the material quite taunt and staple away. I love the color and rug. And yes maybe change the pulls on buffet if possible

Keating, this is not the place for this discussion. For the most part I'm not upset if someone wants to paint their antiques. But sometimes it is not in their best interest and I feel I have to say something. But it is their choice because they own the furniture. And have you looked at the new furniture being manufactured? How much real wood goes into those products? Not including particle board. Now explain to me how much real wood furniture is out there now and in the future.

Dar...let's not get snarky. If they're doing something that would jeopardize their health and welfare or not in compliance with local codes, that's one thing...but this clearly crosses the line. It's furniture, and it's theirs to do with as they wish. I can make recommendations but I've learned in the past 30yrs that it doesn't pay to be dictatorial. "Real wood" furniture is still being made by real artisans and even if they do use advanced technology to help stabilize it or create even more interesting patterns and lines, it's all part of the art and evolution of furniture making. But, as you said, this is not the forum for this particular discussion so I won't engage in it any further. If you want to continue a dialog please feel free to contact me.

Since your style is artsy and fun, I say go ahead and paint the furniture. Unless those are shadows, the table top looks a bit worn? I say go for it. If it were me I'd paint it a soft yellow/gold; recover the chairs with something fun and colorful. I agree with geges, be sure to put at least 4 or 5 layers of polyurethane on the top to seal it to increase durability.. As far as the rest of your design, I think it looks fabulous. Everyone doesn't have to have the "model look' in their home. Best of luck!!

If you are going to paint it may I suggest you look at Fine Paints of Europe Hollandlac Brilliant. I suggest this product because we have found no product that produces the high gloss finish that this one does. You will not have to poly over this product for protection.

I hope you are not attached to those lamps! Every one has a big problem with them ;-) A different shade could change them up. The scale of the shade is to large for the buffet, perhaps just a smaller shade is all it would take . btw there is nothing wrong with the lamps if you like them! I like them ;-)

Myself, I'd choose a light lemon color. You wouldn't have to change anything in the room then.

Just a thought, spray paint the lamps the color u want! I did and I love mine. Get new shades or do some stencil The walls would be very pretty with either white and the drapes and other items being your color. Or ( my fav) a yellow and do the lamps in blue and bring the cushions and drapes into the color scheme. Remove the rug. And get one that's fun and young It would be beautiful

It would be a travesty to paint that gorgeous wood. It looks just perfect on the lovely rug. If you want to freshen the room, try trading the lamps for a Ginger Jar lamp and/or an Imari lamp. They would look beautiful on your buffet and accent your other Oriental pieces. Switch the curtains out for something less heavy looking like maybe sheers with bamboo shades underneath. You already have a VERY warm room. Don't mess up a good thing. :)

I'm not sure I like the stark white shades, but they would lighten things up a bit. Of course this style lamp comes in a variety of patterns and colors.

You could also have a silk flower arrangement made for your table with your ducks on either side.

I would change the colors to better match your color theme, but you get the idea.

Could someone explain to me how these old posts get resurrected after such a long time of dormancy? I don't mind reading them but I suspect the problems have been solved long ago.