well i'm not sure where to start really. they all appear to occupy space in different rooms in your house and i'm not clear if you're trying to create a certain look and feel within the room or are just looking to surround yourself with random pieces you love, which is perfectly fine in my book too. but the answer to that question would probably shape the responses you get.

i'd probably eliminate the sofas right off the bat because it's very expensive to have them reupholstered, unless you've got money put aside for a rainy day. :)

i love the barley twist table and the rocker. i'd do one or both of those first, and that seems to be a fairly easy upholstery project since they just trimmed out the seams with hot glued welting. unless you're completely DIY challenged, you could totally do either of those projects. personally, i'd paint both rather than trying to restore the stained finish, but that's just personal preference. there are infinite possibilities on colors/styles and it really goes back to what you're trying to do with the rooms and what look you like.

Thank you, maggiepie11! They do live in different rooms throughout the house. I'm going to reupholster the sofas, or I should say, have them reupholstered. I have a very good man that I use who is also affordable. The outside one will be first since it's in such bad shape. The "orange-y" one can wait because it coordinates with two other chairs I have in the same room that won't be changed any time soon.

Since, as you said, there are infinite possibilities of what could be done, what I'm really trying to narrow down is which ones should be painted versus working with the natural wood. I'm not a fan of dark wood so I would change those pieces either way but all of the pictures I've seen of the painted tables are either red, orange, turquoise or white, with a yellow one thrown in for good measure, and none of them tickle my fancy.

The tables need new tops so I might focus on those first and let them inform me on what should be done with the bases.

well, i'm the type to paint the world. someone seriously needs to take my paintbrush away from me. :)

so i'd paint all your pieces, and i think you're overlooking a HUGE trend of the neutral paint world. not sure if you're a fan of chalk paint, but think french linen, coco, country grey, paris grey... and in the more colorful section, i love old violet and duck egg blue. they're not super saturated, but even if you don't like chalk paint, these colors are still achievable in latex paint!

here is some inspiration for you if this is what you need to get you going. :)

{{!gwi}}

Love your pieces! Especially the tables. I am a paint it gal, so Id have no qualms painting any of it. Especially if you didn`t pay much to begin with.

So much furniture I see is overpriced for it`s `antique` value. Theres been a huge glut on the market here for 40`s era furniture, and even earlier 20th century pieces, and the prices are low. However you`ll get the occasional seller who thinks his grannys chest of drawers from the 20`s is worth $1000-when most of the same thing on CL is selling for $100.

So unless its a rare piece, or completely one of a kind, or Sotheby quality- do what you want with it! The tables.wont be harmed by painting.

I have the duplicate of the round table, which I had refinished. It is beautiful. I don't think you should paint yours until you at least polish it up to see what the wood would look like.

I have the duplicate of the round table, which I had refinished. It is beautiful. I don't think you should paint yours until you at least polish it up to see what the wood would look like.

I am a sucker for painted furniture also. That is, if the pieces aren't fine antiques.

I also like old painted pieces with the original paint still in tact. Even if its shabby or faided.

You can read about w and j sloane co on wiki...they are still in business and you can google them for contact info....maybe if you sent pics of your sofa they can tell you more about it...I think there might also be pieces for sale on eBay. If I'm not mistaken, they had a store in DC or perhaps Chevy Chase which closed in the 80's or early 90's.

Thank you so much for the inspiration pics, maggiepie11! I almost licked the screen over that rocking chair!! It was nice to see something more subdued than those really strong colors.

Pesky1, I agree wholeheartedly about the price of some of the furniture out there. Sometimes old pieces are valuable antiques but sometimes, they're just old.

Andee, do you happen to have before and after pics that you wouldn't mind sharing?

I like some of the faded painted pieces also, newdawn1895, but it's not exactly easy to replicate that look. Especially when you hate painting as much as I do!

Joaniepoanie, I hadn't even considered contacting W&J Sloan so thanks for the suggestion! I will be checking out there wiki page to see what it says.

Whatever I end up getting done, I'll be sure to post the "after" pictures!

This thread has inspired me! The finish on the drum table is just an oil finish that I applied after having the piece stripped (which is why I encourage to clean and oil your pieces before deciding to paint). Not very durable (the light spot on the front is a bit of water damage). I've had a piece of glass on it all these years. I'm taking it to the refinisher to have a satin finish put on. The top has a lovely grain pattern that doesn't show well in the photo.

I used to cringe over painted wood...then I moved into a cottage. Now...I paint everything, lol.

I really enjoy a technique I call "dry brushing", and you can use regular latex paint to do it. Basically...you use VERY little paint, and allow the wood below to come through in places. It looks like worn paint in a way. I need to take pics, but I just finished 4 OLD shutters that will be closet doors in this technique, then coated them in tongue oil (they were really dry), then used milkpaint clear coat on them to seal them.

This was before the oil and clearcoat, showing one before paint and one after:

A before and after of a table I did that way:

a closeup

I also love milk paint, although I'd clear coat it or wax it on furniture that might have a glass set on it, or something that might stain.

I have a few videos of dry brushing on my blog post linked below.

Here is a link that might be useful: blog post

Just when I thought I'd decided what to do, I see these two lovely inspiration posts and now I'm as undecided as when I started!!

Andee, what did your table look like before?

Eclecticcottage, I have some shutters just like that and I may have to "borrow" that technique!!

Sapphire,
The table was not in bad shape. As I recall (and this was about 30 years ago!), the piece was old and the finish had darkened considerably and looked "thick" and opaque. Just having it stripped made all the difference. The only thing I did, as you see in the picture, was to oil it.

If you look at the thread about the thrift store dresser, you'll see a very damaged wash stand top that posters are encouraging the PO to refinish. It is in much worse shape than yours, but it will turn out OK. I have furniture from my mother that you would not believe could have been revived.

At any rate, there is nothing to lose. Clean and oil your wood furniture. If it doesn't look like much of an improvement, then paint.