Looks good to me...

I love how the chairs came out. and the wood tones look good to me as well, but I do like black chairs. To get a nice smooth finish - chalk paint!! It's the greatest, easiest, smoothest paint! Try it & practice on something you don't care about (though no practice is required).

tinker, have you ever used the AS Chalk Paint in Graphite? I'm looking for a finish that will look as close to a factory finish as possible.

I have used the graphite many times in my shop.It is not a black it is a charcoal, even with the dark wax. The finish is fine, I use the ASCP for dining room sets all of the time. Its the color that may be a problem. She does not sell a black paint.

Thank you SO MUCH, cooperbailey, for your advice on the ASCP. I'm still trying to work up the courage to paint the chairs and if I do, I think I'd want black, not charcoal.

I think the black would look nice with your new artwork (which looks fabulous) but the chairs are so beautiful and classic looking and look great with the table (at least in the pics). I wonder if black would make them look more trendy and/or kitchen-ey? Do you plan on having a rug? If so, I'd wait to see how they look on it. If not, then I'm afraid I'd be undecided, too. Could you get a craigslist chair and paint it to see how it looks in the room before you commit these to paint?

I'm going to agree with olychick. The table and chairs both look like very nice wood and the color/tone difference is very minimal. Sometimes painted chairs can look like "ugly chairs that needed a coat of paint to freshen them up" which is definitely not the case with yours. I really, really like the chairs stained.

I think dark paint will take the whole look up a style notch. It looks nice now, but honestly, a teeny bit yawn worthy - don't hate me! And you know I am normally off the black paint bandwagon - too predictable, too dust highlighting, so I think charcoal will be tres chic. However..... painting the fan spindles will be a royal PITA unless you spray. You're gonna think I'm nuts, but I'd tape off everything but the fan spindles and spray them - in charcoal if you can find it, but black if not - and then paint the rest of the chair charcoal. Bring them over here on a crisp day and we'll do it together!

i agree that i think i would paint them...not sure if i'd like charcoal tho...i thinl a satin or glossy black would look best. and then recover the seats with a fabric that ties in the black with the wood!

Everyone has brought up some good points for painting and not painting the chairs. I'm still not sure which way to go. I have considered trying my hand at painting a random chair in black to: 1) see whether or not I can achieve the finish I have in mind and 2) see what it looks like to have a black chair at the table. At this point, I do not have plans to use a rug. And thanks, Deb, for your offer!

I JUST remembered I have a picture of my table with black chairs! When I bought the table on CL, the house I went to was on the market and being the 'curious' person I am, I looked at realtor.com to see the listing. On the listing was a picture of the dining room, with the table, but with different chairs from what she had at the time I looked at the table. I saved the picture because even back in July when I bought the table, I was considering black chairs. Altho these are a different style from what I have, I guess it gives an idea of what black chairs would look like.

Those look great. I think what helps them work so well is the rug with the black in it, too.