I already weighed in on your other post - I like the gold leaf very much, for all the reasons I went on about...

I think you should do everything else first, and then decide if you really want to change it.

Since you've brought some red in with the lamp, how about a subtle dark burnt red?

I always associate these tables with gold leaf(gold powdered paint really, not leaf), so its hard to picture it with flat paint on it.

How about spraying it metallic bronze to darken it while keeping the same vibe?

What about tortoiseshelling over the gold (Some techniques call for a metallic gold undercoat anyway?) I have a mid-century Henredon table treated in this fashion.

These two finishes would respect its origins but change it.

Of course I like it as is, but it's not a piece that would be devalued by altering it either.

I agree with both bronwynsmom and palimpsest. Wait til everything else is in place first. Then, if you do decide to paint, metallic bronze (not ORB) or tortoiseshell would be perfect.

What they said. I like it as it is, would wait to see it as the room comes together, and if you still feel it needs change, think about just darkening it or toning it down as Palimpsest suggested.

I didnt respond to your other thread as yet .. but I love the tortoise shell idea. I would absolutely wait and let the room develop before changing it though.

What a great find!

Waiting is a good idea for a couple reasons:

1) it will help keep me from making a mistake and thinking, "Gee, it would have been better in gold..."
2) it is as cold as a witch's teat and I don't want to have paint fumes in the house.

Thanks!

My grandfather had one like that that was kind of a mixture of a gold and silver color, but it had an acanthus detail on the pedestal, and the top was removable so that you could carry it around as a serving tray. I repainted it and eventually threw it out a couple of years ago because it was no longer really salvageable. My vote is to keep it gold for now because you may like it later. It would also look good if it were ebonized with gold trim on the detailed areas (I had my grandfather's Baker end tables redone several years ago and the guy redid the ebonized part and gold leaf, and they came out great).

You noted a red undercoat. What I remember seeing when I've seen that finish is that it was rather cheap looking. You just don't like it when you say 'not good," it doesn't have a cheap quality about it? I'm thinking if you like the gold color when the room is done, it might look better if you redo a gold leaf on it yourself. It, honestly, looks kind of spray painted from here.

Real gold leaf is traditionally applied over a red ground.
Likewise, silver is laid over blue.
So that's why the red undercoat. Snookums is certainly right that it can look cheap if it's done badly, but when it's real, it's lovely.

I guess I've usually seen it over a dark ground (antiqued type finish) or plain. The red I've seen was not quality furniture ... but I guess that's where they got the idea from.

This post was edited by snookums2 on Fri, Jan 4, 13 at 13:49

It looks flaky right now, the gold isn't sticking too well to the red in some places.

I did some online searching to see if pewter leaf exists and it does not, but aluminum leaf can be treated with either a brown glaze or wax to approximate the effect (aluminum is a cheaper substitute for real silver leaf).

I'm still going to wait and see how everything looks when it's all in the room before I change it. But I pet the marble now and then to let it know that it is loved.