Need help with what to do with this dining room set

This set is being passed down from my grandmother, it was a VERY VERY expensive set when she bought it prob close to 40 years ago. it held up VERY VERY well, no scratches or knicks. i just HATE the color/finish. the seat covers need to be replaced they are awful. my grandmother is still alive and is besides herself that i will be usig her set that she LOVES. I would REALLLLLLY love to some how refinish it but donot want to hurt her feelings. I also dont have a clue how to do so. my cousin suggested spray painting it. id really love to take it to a professional to do but dont want to spend a fortune... What can you ladies suggest?! (sorry the pictures are cr@ppy they are from my phone!)

Re: Need help with what to do with this dining room set

You would need to strip the paint, then refinish them. As for the fabric that is really easy. Unscrew the seat, get new foam, batting and a fabric you like. Use a staple gun to attach it to the bottom of the chair. Re-attach the seat to the chair. I would look for a furniture restorer though.

Re: Need help with what to do with this dining room set

omg i love the color and finish
the only thing I would change is the seat cushions!

Re: Need help with what to do with this dining room set

thanks ladies im hoping that once its in our house with the walls and other stuff the way i want i may like it as is!

Re: Need help with what to do with this dining room set

I think its so pretty! I would leave it as is, and just change the seat cushions. Striping the color or adding some other details to it will cost you a fortune.

What color are your floors in your dinning room? This could really look great on dark cherry wood floors.

Also, once you add it to your home and add you china to it, it will completely change the look.
I really love it! I say keep it as is.

ETA... Do the doors in the china cabinet have some kind of black detail on them?

Message edited 4/17/2010 11:30:04 PM.

Re: Need help with what to do with this dining room set

I agree, I love how it is...just change the cushions...once its in your house with fresh painted walls and your decor, it will look really nice.

Re: Need help with what to do with this dining room set

i would leave it, but if its not your taste, I would strip the paint, give it a light sanding and re-stain it. Do not spray paint that, its too beautiful!

Re: Need help with what to do with this dining room set

It looks just like one of my grandma's set! If you did refinish it, I would take it to a professional. I would be afraid to mess it up.

Re: Need help with what to do with this dining room set

Holy crap, my gigi had the same set. My mom seperated the china closet thing and uses one as a buffet and the other oiece she puts the "no touching" things. How much is VERY VEY expensive. You can FM me if you want.

Re: Need help with what to do with this dining room set

I would just redo the chair material. I love it the way it is. And if it's in good condition, this way you don't have to touch it.

Re: Need help with what to do with this dining room set

I wouldn't do anything to the wood, definately not spray painting it - that would look awful. If you like a Country French look I think you could make this furniture work well with that theme. Change the seat covers and go for a different look there. It was hard to see if the doors of the hutch had the metal mesh behind the glass. If they do, and you don't like that, you could probably take that out and just have the glass, but I suspect your Grandmother might not be happy with you changing anything if she really loves this set.

Re: Need help with what to do with this dining room set

Start with new fabric and new hardware. Then decide. Beautiful set!

Re: Need help with what to do with this dining room set

thank you so much ladies.. i think because its in her dark dreary dining room with burnt orange carpets that i just dont care for it.. i agree wait till i get it in our house. theres alike a blakc metal something behind the glass on the doors.

Re: Need help with what to do with this dining room set

i agree with everyone....see how it looks in your space before you do anything to it....depending on your flooring, paint, light fixture etc. it could really change the whole look....once you add some modern china that matches your decor and change out the seat cushions it could be fabulous....i could totally see it working in a french country/shabby chic setting...

Re: Need help with what to do with this dining room set

Posted by Tine73

It looks just like one of my grandma's set! If you did refinish it, I would take it to a professional. I would be afraid to mess it up.

Re: Need help with what to do with this dining room set

I think it is gorgeous! What I would do is pay someone to refinish it with dark stain. Then I would put a colorful modern fabric on the seats. If you don;t have a lot of money I would leave it as is and just cover the seats. You can just go to a fabric store and recover it yourself-its super easy-just google or youtube search for a video

Another thing you could do is to paint the inside of the cabinets(or even use wallpaper) to pop.

Message edited 4/18/2010 2:06:29 PM.

Re: Need help with what to do with this dining room set

Re: Need help with what to do with this dining room set

I had the same exact issue. Inherited Grandma's Thomasville furniture. Hated the finish. Found a paint color that went GREAT with it - now it looks awesome.

Just change the seats!

Re: Need help with what to do with this dining room set

You could refinish it yourself. It depends on what you want to do though. To stain it would be harder to strip, easy to refinish. Painting would be easier to strip, harder to refinish. Since it's of sentimental value, I agree with others about having it redone professionally if you are worried about ruining it. The hardest part is stripping down and getting in all those crevices. If you wanted to paint it, you could get away with sanding it, priming, painting and sealing without having to strip down to the bare wood. It's not hard at all and holds up pretty well. I only say it's only harder than staining bc it's more time consuming to paint it but it's not really hard. Def not spray paint! It would be an awful mess even if you primed it and if you didn't, it would be ruined. (Not to mention the pain of holding down and spray can nozzle that long!)

Re: Need help with what to do with this dining room set

I agree with the ladies that you should start with new fabric and see if that helps. If you decide you want to refinish it, my mom is a vendor on here and refinishes furniture in addition to doing wall finishes, etc.

http://www.debbieviola.com

Re: Need help with what to do with this dining room set

I am kinda digging it as is. I think all the previous posters are correct in saying to just change the seats and get new fabric.

I also think you can think of new hardware.

Good luck

Re: Need help with what to do with this dining room set

The fabric is the easiest part. Just have it reupholstered. you can even do that yourself.

The finish on the set... you would most likely have to sand it down (either strip it totally or get that top layer off... the seal layer). And then you would paint it. I would suggest using a roller over a paint brush to eliminate brush lines.

Personally I would bring the pics to a hardware store to have them advise you on what types of paints and supplies to use for it.

I just painted my kitchen cabinets and I was able to use steel wool to remove the sealant layer and then I used high gloss enamel oil paint and a foam type of roller. It worked really well... just took a while to dry. I think you might need a bit more than the steel wool (#3 I used) to remove the top layer... but it's hard to tell what finish was used on it originally.

I would see if it's possible to take a door off or a part to bring with you to the hardware store.

Re: Need help with what to do with this dining room set

Re: Need help with what to do with this dining room set

Agree that new fabric and maybe some new hardware would really update the look.

Check out this website for some fun ideas...I love how she styles antique furniture in a modern way:

http://www.inthefunlane.com/


Edited to add that another easy update would be to add some fabric or fun paper to the back of the cabinet.

Message edited 4/20/2010 12:47:13 PM.