I don't think that oak is out. Some of th emost beautiful rooms that I've ever seen have a mix of wood tones that includes something oak or in that range.

I guess it depends on what style of decor appeals to you most and whether or not you are looking for all of your pieces to match stain wise or not. Do you have pics that you could show us?

I love my oak pieces mixed w/ my cherry as well as some of my other darker pieces.

The style of the piece not the wood type would be the determining factor for me.

Hopefully I can figure out how to post the picture of the dining room set. We're planning on putting our house on the market so we're under construction. Please don't mind the mess. Hubby is updating the house, and I'm updating the furniture.
I posted a pic of my living room sofa. I'm in the process of reupholstering it so it's not going to look too pretty. I just wanted you to see the style of it. Should I keep the oak or darken it?
http://s1052.photobucket.com/albums/s442/lauriedeee/

I have no clue how to add pictures here.. arghhh

Very easy - in photobucket, hover over the small image and four links will appear. The 3rd one is html code - click on it and it will 'copy'. Then in your gardenweb message field, do 'paste'.

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The furniture itself is lovely. I don't think the pale gold on the walls is helping it to look lovely though. It washes out in the presence of the stronger gold of the oak and looks jaundiced. Nor is the floral upholstery and drapes helping. I'd repaint a more neutral tan/green color, like Behr Mochachino and take down the drapes in favor of plain sheers. If you would prefer to also change out the chair upholstery for yourself, then I would change it to something also with a bit of a greeney tan. If you don't want to go to the trouble, just leave it alone and set the table using khaki colored placemats and napkins.

Thanks for the instructions on image posting, and thanks for the suggestion on paint color!
The paint that's on the wall now is going,and the fabric on the chairs will be replaced too. I just haven't found a fabric I liked yet. The brass is definitely going too and will be replaced by a dark bronze fixture that I haven't picked out yet.

Can you show me a picture of what you mean by sheers? I'm going to need something light blocking too because that window and the living room window which is even larger get the full sun in the morning and in the summer it gets unbearable. Do you have any suggestions?
thanks, Laurie

I hope I'm not hurting anyone's feelings. I don't care what is in or out, up to a point. However, I have never been a fan of oak. But, who am I? You do whatever you like honey. As in honey Oak. (lol)

Best of luck!

.....Jane

Since you are selling, I wouldn't put too much money into updating. I do think the furniture and draperies/chair material look dated. If you don't want to move that into the new house, why not sell it and buy what you will want now? I should say, though, that I am not a fan of oak, so that could be affecting my opinion.

Most buyers look past the furniture unless the house is way too crowded with it, but that doesn't appear to be the case with your home. A new, neutral paint color that makes everything look fresh and clean will go a long way. Also, when the house is on the market, I would ditch those draperies and buy inexpensive plain panels for a more updated look. You don't have to spend big bucks for ones that will close since they will be for show only. Maybe a cream with the chair material matching it.

I often go to open houses for fun and the ones that appeal the most are clean, clean, clean-even in spaces such as bathrooms, kitchen, and those out of the way storage areas (under stairs for instance). Those are the ones I would (and have) made offers on.

You're not hurting my feelings. I've had the oak dining room set for the last 15yrs and frankly I'm getting tired of oak. I like the set though. I like curvy wood things. I'm just not sure if staining it darker would help it or make it look worse.

One possibility would be painting it if you want to keep it and refresh the look. French Provencial furniture is often painted. Some of this is over the top, but it can give you some ideas. New upholstery and new paint and it's good to go for another 15 years. I would wait until I moved it into the new place to tackle the project though. You have more than enough projects now just to stage the house.

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The drapes are going too. LOL. I"m not that bad at mixing patterns.. I just stuck them up for privacy because we put in new windows.

I actually like the painted look and I did that to a small china cabinet bottom repurposed as a tv stand for my family room but with the main living room/dining room I have no confidence in my abilty to decorate this room. I like the old curvy furniture, but I want it to look updated, fresh, and less grandma-ish.

I have to laugh when people paint furniture to update it - I remember when that was popular to do before, and younger people would strip and refinish!

Just recently my early/mid 30's stylish daughter who normally likes only clean-lined furniture dropped a tidy sum on an old stripped highly ornate mahogany consul that the design shop felt was ready to paint or to use as it; she sent it out to a craftsman who will restore it to it's original mahogany splendor (for another tidy sum!) Moral: do what you love! Lauriedeee; I agree that a more substantial wall color and simpler window treament will update the look. (ps I have an oak bow front quartersawn antique china cab which I bought decades ago and will always love!)

Greendesigns.. I bought a tester of Mochachino from Home Depot the other day. Now I know my computer colors are off but the color on here is very different from what is in the tester. The tester paint is green. A nice green, kinda like a pretty pea soup color. Did my home depot guy mess up? or is Mochachino actually green?

I have Mochachino in my computer room and it is a camouflage color. A lot of tan with a strong hint of green. It's not green enough to call green, but it's greener than any "tan". It will change colors throughout the day depending on the light. GD is right about it looking fabulous with most woods. It really makes my rosewood credenza and teak printer stand look really rich.

I love the white, antiqued look of French Provincial furniture. I think actually just curvy wood, painted furniture. It can be very elegant.

I think your pieces would be lovely stained a bit darker. I think the honey part is what dates a lot of oak. Today's wood stains seem to be a bit richer than a few decades ago.

I'd also wait until you move, though. You have a lot on your hands.

Christine

Yeah, "camouflage" is the perfect description of Mochachino. It's greener under fluorescents, and tanner with incandescents and can look both at the same time. Red woods tend to make it look greener, and gold woods tend to make it look tanner. It's like having 4 colors in the same can all at once and that's one of the reason's it's one of my top colors.

My husband and I are cracking up over this magical paint. It's tan in the container, but the minute we put it on our wall whether it's wet or dry, it's green. I just gave the test patch on our wall another coat to see if changes. I've done test patches in different areas in the living and dining room, sunny areas and shady areas and it's still green.

Christine, I too love that antiqued look. As I was searching around on my computer yesterday I saw MY DINING ROOM set done in that antiqued white and it looked gorgeous! I was so tempted to do that to mine, but it's a big job and I'm afraid I'd get sick of it after a while. I'd like to do an accent piece in the white though.. but first I'd have to find a nice accent piece.
I think I will stain the dining room darker when I have time. We're shooting for spring to put the house on the market but we're only giving it 3mos. If it doesn't sell, we'll stay here. I have a huge house and hubby and I would like to downsize. I don't really want to move though..((cries))

Okay, I'm 50 something, and have also tired of all of my oak. But it's still out there, and people either love it or hate it. Personally, I wouldn't put the time into the furniture. You've used it a lot. I'd sell it and get something I liked better.