I would use this: http://www.krudkutter.com/testimonials2.asp It's fabric safe and nothing works better! I use it on greased stained laundry all the time. I've never had any of my clothes discolor where I've sprayed it. The only problem is that if your recliner is dirty all over, you may have to clean it all over because if you use Krud Kutter on the oily spot, it will get it 100% clean. For example, I used on spots on a kitchen runner that my blender exploded on, and the spots where I used it are perfectly clean, but the rest of the runner needs to be cleaned now. I haven't cleaned the runner in years. Anything that will take the oily spot off of your recliner will leave the spot clean, so my guess is that you will have the same problem with any good cleaner....you'll have to clean the whole chair if it's dirty. Try this- the worst that could happen is that you have to do it to the whole back of your chair: Spray it on well and let it sit for a while, then take a clean WHITE terry bath towel and put pressure on the spot, blotting it to get as much out of the chair as possible as you keep turning the towel to a clean dry spot on the towel. Check to see the oil/dirt coming out onto your white towel. You may want to repeat another round of the K.K. or two and blot until you see no more dirt/oil coming out into the white towel. Then spray clean water on the spot and let it sit for a couple of minutes. Repeat the blotting/pressure with clean area of towel. Spray with water again/ blot again, until you think it's rinsed well. Krud Kutter dissolves grease/oil like nothing I've seen. I use it to clean my oily paint brushes after I have cleaned them in mineral spirits first. It's great for all kinds of stuff, indoors and out. I buy it by the gallon at Home Depot.

Stylistically, I think stained definitely works well for Arts & Crafts. People often think white painted when they think Victorian, but I can't imagine why stained would not work. For modern design, I don't think stained vs. painted but rather mitered/five panel vs. slab. I am not sure what you are going for style-wise, but I know price wise, paint will be 20% more than stained, Glaze (which can be applied to painted or stained cabs) will also cost extra. I am sure others will have more to say, but just thought I would get the discussion ball rolling.

Thanks for all your advice. I'm so glad that I didn't just rush in and start this. From the sounds of it, I WOULD HAVE ruined them . . . :^0 . . . OMGosh! I need to run all this by DH. He's been encouraging me to call up and order a set I like that I saw in Phoenix Home & Garden magazine spread. I can't imagine ordering anything that big and expensive sight unseen, though. Hmmmmmm, there may be a weekend trip to Scottsdale in the offing ;^) In the mean time, I need to decide whether I want to paint the set a brown first and them give the Gel Stain a go or just leave it as is until I get a new set. BTW, I haven't looked into having it professionally stripped and redone. I probably should. I can't imagine a red or blue table in our dining room, though. I'll have to think about that one.

I can definitely see the green; it's super-obvious in the living room pics on my monitor. I have no advice how to fix it in terms of product/application, but I do suggest that you choose a dark brown color or, even better, a dark reddish-brown to coordinate with the cabinets. For just brown-browns, have you looked at Provencial, Special Walnut, or Dark Walnut? ETA: BTW, I feel your pain on the orange. All my window frames and some of my interior doors were stained in some sort of orange-ish shade by the previous owner, and I'm in the process of changing things. I have no idea if the painter is going to be able to re-stain; if not, I'm just going to have him paint over them -- dark brown paint is better than orange stain in my book.