Thursday, June 3, 2010

For Here? or To Go?

Two years ago a precious family in our church gifted us a new table and chairs. We were about to expand to a family of 7 and this set had 8 chairs. They wanted us to all be able to sit at the table together as a family *insert ahhhh here* It is solid oak, no veneer or particle board, and a beautiful set.

It's blond or light oak. When originally received it I planned to refinish it somehow to make it match better but once the kitchen redecorating was completed the light stain of the table and chairs actually fit. There's a lot of yellow hues in the design and with the new darker floors I felt comfortable leaving the table and chairs.

Now it's been two years of homeschooling, cards, and kids and the table top needs refinishing. After working on the Coker's Chairs I started thinking about it again.

This is my china hutch. It's a traditional medium oak stain.
Photobucket
This is the kitchen table with 4 (of 8) chairs and the w/o the 2 leaves.
Photobucket
My idea is to paint the base of the table, which consists of two pedestals and a decorative set of rungs in between, black. Then strip and refinish the table top and 2 leaves the same medium oak of the hutch.

In order to make the hutch match I'm planning to paint the upper crown molding, middle molding (where the top and bottom pieces meet) and possible the bottom trim also black.

Then painstakingly sand and paint each chair black to match.

Here's my question...My kitchen and dining space are decent sized but not huge. Will painting these pieces shrink my space due to how dark it will be? There is a lot of natural light due to the large windows in the dining room.

As you can imagine this will be a rather large undertaking and I want to make sure I'll be in LOVE with it before I undergo the process. This is the season to do such a project since a lot of it can be done outside. This table and chairs cost thousands when new. It's a quality set that shouldn't be tossed due to the stain color not being "in" anymore. But is black still "in" enough to warrant such a tedious task?

BTW I just found a company in KC that redoes dining sets and would charge a mere $500 to refinish the table and chairs...YIKES! That doesn't even take the hutch into consideration. See what a little elbow grease and time is worth people?!

I'm super curious what your thoughts are....

8 comments:

Alisa said...

I think when furniture flows together better it opens up a space, regardless of the finish {especially when you have lots of natural light}. If it doesn't flow then it chops up the space and can actually make it look smaller.

I like the black idea and I think it would look great. I have also seen lots of tables done with a creamy white base that is distressed and a dark stained table top.

here are a couple examples

http://infarrantlycreative.blogspot.com/2010/05/stained-and-painted-end-table.html

http://littlebitsofbliss.blogspot.com/2010/03/farmhouse-table.html

Unknown said...

I like the second one with the cream base and black chairs...hmmm. But how could I tie in the hutch, possibly have cream drawer and door fronts?

Anonymous said...

Oh my goodness, yes the second picture.....you have the medium oak, cream and black. :) How about painting the hardware on the hutch?/replacing it (too spendy?!) either black or cream......hmmmmm. :) Cousin Amy!

Unknown said...

I also have a white island not pictured that has wainscoting and it would look super cool if I antiqued it to match as well. My kitchen cabinets are medium oak. Would all that be too matchy matchy? I agree with changing the hardware somehow. It would be nice to have it similar to the hardware on the red dresser but it could get a new finish as well...

Deanna said...

I like the idea of the cream base, it will lighten up the bottom and make your space look larger.

Alisa said...

The hardware could get an easy update with some Rustoleum oil rubbed bronze spray paint. If it were me, I would consider painting the entire hutch a creamy white, but that isn't for everybody and I know some people have a hard time painting nice wood furniture. Such hard decisions to make.

Alisa said...

oh yeah, and mustard seed creations has a furniture friday linky that features all sorts of furniture rehabs. You might find some inspiration there.

http://missmustardseed.blogspot.com/search/label/Furniture%20Feature%20Friday/

Unknown said...

I don't mind painting wood but honestly the idea of painting that whole cabinet with all the glass is intimidating. The glass panels do come out but what about the interior? It's also oak. Wouldn't it need painted too in order not to look 1/2 done? I definitely like the cream idea and think it would open the space and be really pretty but like I said...intimidating. What about the red dresser? Wouldn't it also need to be cream or black?