Hi,

The chairs are nice and seem to be a good idea to pass them on when your done with them. A good way to know which way to go is first if your really love them and second are they a high quality set? If both is true then it's a no brainer spend money on investment pieces but never on something you don't like or is not adding value to the item!

Hope that helps!

Maria
Design Consultant

The set is lovely and very high quality. It's a small set, with only four chairs and one leaf. It sat in the same spot on their dining room for almost 50 years, with no protection from the sun, so the finish is gone, but the structural quality is great.
If you paint something now, to fit our more casual lifestyle, does it make it impossible to refinish it later?

You can the poor quality of the finish better in this picture, which shows the before and after fabric.

I think I'd refinish. The wood is lovely and will probably work for you in more spaces in the future than a painted finish will?

What color and shape is the table in. Think painting or staining would depend on table condition. And depends on how you want to use the set. Chairs are beautiful. Getting a good finish for 400.00 sounds worth it.

I would not paint them until you find out if they are valuable.

Here is a link to a great antique info site:

http://antiques.lovetoknow.com/Antique_Furniture_Value_Lookup

The chairs are really beautiful and if they were mine, I would not paint them.

I could be persuaded either way. Old furniture, even 100% wood, doesn't have much market value right now unless it's an authentic antique. My gut says refinish them because they are lovely and $400 is a great price.

You can certainly paint them. Paint body shops do a great job of spray painting but you will have to find one who has done it before. If your thinking of painting them yourself you will have to sand and prime them then paint and it is more work than it seems, as long as you have the time. Go to the local professional paint shop and they will advise you of the proper products to use. If you chose to have them done later by a professional just keep in mind that time is money and the more stripping they have to do the more it will cost you. Why not consider shoe polish on the nicks rub it in and work it into the grain of the wood either dark brown or black will work ( that is what the pros use for quick fixes) you would be surprised how good it looks when your done.

I agree with you keeping the set especially a small set it is easy to move with you.

And yes, the design is beautiful!

Good luck!
Maria
Design Consultant

I have similar chairs and have left them unpainted. I paid $200 to fix one. Since I inherited them, I plan to leave them alone. I get many compliments on them and use them everyday.

If the set is a truly antique refinishing it will actually devalue it as antique buyers want the original patina.

And currently there is very little market for 50 to 80 year old dining sets. Neither my aunt's set nor my mother's set could find buyers. My cousin said they tried for months to sell her mom's set but many young couples no longer want formal dining sets. We gave my Mom's solid cherry with two leaves to Good will.

I love the fabric you chose. If you love them, and want to keep them, refinish them, but perhaps use a black color stain. It would give a nice updated look and wear better than paint.

Lizabeth, I would be the person going to Goodwill for a greatbargain on that set no one else wants, and my daughter (young) would love. Maybe it depends on what part of the country you live in.

handymam, I am not saying it makes sense. I offered to bring it back for my son, but he was Mom No Thanks. Lovely table thought my sister would take it but she remembered dusting it and bumping her head and said she was still mad at it. !!

Can you blame her, lol?

No, I guessed those bumps scarred her for life though. My Mom started out with Girls Now don't fight over the Dining Set. and no one wanted it.
Sorry for the hijack but Smartin1 my advice is do what you like with the table and chairs and I do like the fabric you picked.

I think they would look charming painted white. It would breathe new life into them. They can always be stripped later should you or a new heir decide to bring them back to the original wood.

I would not paint them but there is a product that is a sort of gel stain that my sister used on a set of chairs she had that gives the finish of a stain but goes on like paint. The chairs look fabulous and she had no problems doing it herself. She got it at either Home Depot or Lowes. I would definitely check into that before spending the money to refinish or covering up a lovely wood with paint.

Don't paint. It will loose it's originality. I say refinish.

Do whatever makes the set fit into your space. As others mentioned, they probably aren't worth a great deal.

Please don't paint them, restore them to original finish.

If the chairs only hold sentimential value I would refinish them to bring out the original luster and beauty of the wood. An odd chair placed in the right place can be a great accent piece.

I love the interesting patina on them. Painting them would take all that interest and memories away. Home Depot sells a product called Howard Restore-a-finish. It comes in different finishes. Walnut might be the best for your chairs.

If there are blistered area, lightly sand with soft steel wool. Then apply the Howard. It won't' be perfect, but will restore some luster.

Give it a try and see of you like it. I think you will.

no market for brown furniture. paint

Proper refinishing will cost a fortune and the table should be done as well. Ask yourself if you'd buy this set for purposes of refinishing for your home. If the answer's yes then go for it. It's an old set but not antique and so has limited value as is or refinished. Just noticed this is an old post. Oh well.