I think the white one may be worth it. The other looks like it needs reupholstering and has pressed cane (ask for pics of the *back* of the back). The white one may be woven cane (easy to fix if there is a hole). It also has more interesting arms. I would not put either one outside. I used to have one like that (with matching armchair that I was too poor to have springs redone). I couldn't sell them - antique dealer said they were 70's French Provincial even though I knew they were a good 50 yrs older than that knowing the lady (house) my parents bought them from. The wood was dyed, not stained. I ended up giving them to Salvation Army when DD was born and we needed to move (her current) antique bedroom set to the room where we had the caned set. The back of the couch was not comfy, and moved too much. It *was* pretty, though.

Tomatofreak -- thanks for that interesting info on the Stratford Company. And you're right, the fabric probably is cotton velvet not velour. It doesn't have any stretch. The tag says "Body - Blended Cotton Felt 80%" (not sure if that is the upholstery fabric, but the rest of the tag is definitely about the insides). madeyna -- Great tip! I don't have Woolite Oxiclean, but I do have Woolite Dark so I'll try that first, it won't foam too much. It sounds like one issue with velvet is maintaining the fabric nap, so I'll have to clean very meticulously and go with the grain, and maybe brush it too! beth0301 -- I appreciate you sharing your story. Since I'm not certain we'll use this set, I don't want to spend any money on it yet. Also I'm not dealing with any major odors other than a sort of musty smell from it being inside a home that was not lived in very often (grandma's main house is in a different state). The main issues are that it looks like some of the fabric has faded, and a few places have spills or something on them. Our pets have loved having the set on the patio, I covered it w/a sheet for protection for now. And as much as I like the style and find them to be more comfortable than the set we have now...DH is convinced I'm blinded by sentimentality and don't see them for as bad as he seems to think they are *sigh* Just last night, he reminded me that we spent about $1500 on our current set -- 9 years ago -- sofa, chair, ottoman (all too big for the space, a big mistake since our house is small) and why would I want to be so wasteful as to get rid of what WE bought TOGETHER with our OWN MONEY, for something OLD and DIRTY. Hence why I want to try to clean them up as best I can without spending any money ;-)

PAINTERGIRL!!!!! I got my paints in the mail, and gave it a shot today. I am VERY happy with how those hinges turned out!! They were shiny brass plate, but I stripped that off, and underneath they were a sort of cheap tinny silver colored base metal. I found a set of vintage brass pulls, so I wanted them to match. Looky what I did: I used a mix of brown, black, gold, and copper for the base coat, then mixed some black and brown for the edges and recessed areas. I am just so pleased with how it matches the pulls I can't hardly stand it! Here's a peek at the appliques with the glaze: Like I said, it turned out really subtle, but that's ok. I'm afraid if I'd gone darker, it would have been a mess. I got the chandelier back, still need to rehang some sheers and have some mirrors cut. This is a crazy week, but I hope to have pics of the finished room by next week.

I'm back--thanks for all the advice! I decided to skip the dresser (DH just didn't want to mess with something that wasn't well made to begin with) and only brought home the burl/chrome console. Tradewind, I didn't get a chance to read your posts until I got home, but you have me really excited now! This piece is really gorgeous in a room with decent lighting. Very, very heavy and solid. Really well made. Thanks for clueing me in on who the designer may be--if/when I deide to resell it that will be a huge help. I do agree with everyone that something with cabinets/doors would be preferable and I do intend to now take my time looking. The right thing will come along, I know it. But for now, I'm LOVING the look of this. The good thing is that television and console are on a wall that backs up to unfinished basement, so all the wires are fed behind the wall thus minimizing the ugly wire mess. Oh yeah, while I was picking up the console at Salvation, they had just put out a pair of similar vintage rust velvet swivel bucket chairs. These things don't look like they've ever been sat in. They were $20 each! They're going in the room as well, and I love the way they look with the console. I promise to post pics as soon as I can--I'm finishing up staining/painting the dresser that is headed to Boston tomorrow for DDs apartment--that's coming out great and I'll post pics of that as well. Again, thanks for all the advice and encouragement!