2nd inspiration photo

Can you also post pictures of what you have, and the bedroom?

You are asking for how to get from "A" to "B" ... and we need to see "A".

I don't have a pic of the bedroom. Right now, there's nothing in it.

Her's a pic of the armoire and headboard.

Headboard. Pic not great since it's in the basement.

For me, I would keep everything neutral...that way if you want to change wall color/bedding down the road you won't have to repaint the furniture, especially a big piece like the armoire. If you really want it not so matchy, i would pick the easiest piece to repaint (the headboard?) and just do that.....won't be a major undertaking to repaint it down the road.

I would paint both in a heartbeat. Here is an example from Pinterest that I like

Search Pinterest for "Painted armoire" for other ideas.

The only caution about the headboard is sometimes caning will come out kinda splotchy looking. Do some research on how to avoid that. You may have to prime the caning.

I love the way the armoire above is painted and incorporating all of the colors on it will bring it all together. If you like that look, you could mimic it by painting the frame of the bed one color and the cane another.

This post was edited by olychick on Mon, Sep 1, 14 at 13:30

Another option is to not paint the cane, but leave it natural and just paint the surrounding wood...I have done that for a few clients' pieces. On one, I stripped the dark varnish off the cane to get a lighter color. Google "natural cane headboard" to see some examples of that look..

I think painting the cane gives a Swedish look and the natural cane more French.

I think both the bed and armoire will fit right into that look you are going for with some paint.

Your inspiration pics appear to be pieces with glazes/ finishes, as opposed to being painted solid Is that what you were thinking? I'm not a huge fan of chalk paint, but it's popular and appropriate for achieving that Swedish look, if that's what you are going for.

I know your bed has more modern 70s lines but i think it could still work. I like the tone of natural cane with the icy walls

Check out the web site below. They deal in French and Swedish www.toneontone.com

Below are google images of Swedish cane beds. I love coll's examples, but I wonder whether lightening the cane may be more work than painting

Here is a link that might be useful: Swedish cane beds

I think you should paint the armoire a very soft aqua with a soft cream ala the photo. Then do the headboad in the cream on the perimeter but keep the can the same or lightly white washed. Keep the project as simple as possible unless you've done this before. below is a lovely shade.

Here is a link that might be useful: [pale paint[(https://www.houzz.com/products/at-sea-666-paint-prvw-vr~1535785)

Not if you have it professionally done. They just dip it into a vat of chemicals and then wash it off. I love the look of the natural cane. If you want to paint the cane then spray it to get a uniform finish and age it after if you'd like. All very, very pretty pictures above!

I spray paint cane chairs all of the time. Not the greatest thing for cane but the chairs are a dime a dozen for me. Painting the cane seals it and stops it from 'breathing' and will cause it to dry out and become brittle earlier than if left alone.

nosoccermom, its a little more work to strip the cane but its really not too bad- there are some fantastic non toxic strippers on the market now that are fast and effective. That's what I used on a chair project.... It left the cane lighter, but with a nice patina..it didn't look like brand spanking new cane, which was good. Also, the cane might look fine as it is...hard to really see how dark it is in that pic. The cane in the first pic I posted looks fairly dark.

Cool, didn't know that . What kind of stripper do you use? The orange one?

no, not the citrus ones. I've used a couple from Rock Miracle from their enviro- safe line, and there is a soy based stripper at my paint store that I have not tried but heard works well.

A few years ago I had a project where I had to antique/distress a mirror, which you do by first removing the painted coating on the back. I tried many different strippers, including the non toxic citrus ones and the heavy duty brain cell killers...the Rock Miracle product outperformed everything and was so easy.

But Foxes is right- having someone else dip that sucker into a vat of chemicals will do the trick too, lol

Here is the link to the Rock Miracle..I think I used Allov-it on the mirror and something else on the cane chairs because they were out of Allov-it at the store.

http://www.rockmiracle.com/productlist.asp?cid=4

Hmmm...a lot to think about. Thanks you to everyone for your ideas. Joaniepoanie, I only paid $5 for the headboard at a local auction (I think they were just happy to have someone haul it away, but it was just what I was looking for!) and $175 for the armoire (Kincaid still sells it for $2200; I know the market is dead for armoires but it has drawers for clothing, and the opening is large enough for the size TV we'll use. Also, I don't like seeing TVs in the bedroom). One nightstand I purchased for $30 and another I had. So, I don't have too much invested.

Bbstx, I love that armoire, but I imagined painting the armoire a solid color, with a glaze to give it depth, like coll_123 mentioned. I did a piece DH made for the laundry room, and liked the way it came out.

Olychick and nosoccermom, I love those beds! And Thefoxespad, thanks for the info about cane drying out after painting. That's making me rethink my original plan because I don't want to lose that $5 investment! And, yagaga, that color is scrumptious, but I don't think it will go will the shade of blue walls I have; depending on the time of day, they're alternately blue, gray, and blue-purple.

Coll_123, you are a wealth of information!

I'm thinking now of using the rock miracle to remove the stain from the cane and leaving it natural, then painting the trim. If I do that, would you all suggest painting the armoire and nightstands the same color? Maybe a cream? Or go with the more brown-gray in my 2nd pic?

You scored some great finds for so little and I think they will work well to give you that look. I'm not sure what the gray brown is in that pic...I think I see several different tones...the bed looks gray and the chest next to the bed a warm tan. I do like mixing things up, so maybe just have the nightstands match and use something else for the bed and armoire....I do like the whole palette of your inspiration pic....cream, warm tan, gray, icy blue...I guess I'd tend to mimic that pic- gray on the bed, warm tan on the dressers...maybe another shade of one of those one the armoire? Not sure.

I want to see the end result so be sure to update is.

Yes, please post pictures along the way. Always learn something new here.

Love your pieces and the inspiration photos. Wanted to chime in here regarding Soy Gel stripper which was mentioned in a previous post. I use this exclusively and I can highly recommend it. Strips paint and varnishes - several layers worth - and has no harsh chemicals.
I buy it at my local Woodcraft store but it is also available on Amazon.
Not cheap but works beautifully.

Here is a link that might be useful: Soy gel stripper

I think that's the one I saw at my paint store, Kathy. Rock Miracle wasnt cheap either, but I recently found some at a local discount store so I bought a bunch. I don't know why anyone would choose to work with the harsh stuff when these work so well.

I would paint it all a solid, neutral color like joanie suggested. Will be much easier to update later.