Hi lynetta51! I would go for striping and refinishing. By doing that, you're actually preserving the "vintage" chairs. If those were mine, I would never paint it. It's lovely that way!

It looks so good as it is. You could leave it as is and find yellow and black fabric for the seats.

They are pretty chairs. I'm in the "just change the fabric" camp. If the finish is bad, then refinish, but please don't paint.

They would have more value someday as is, but if you need to make a change, stick with fabric, not paint.

Agree, don't paint. They're wonderful chairs, and you're so lucky to have them. Also agree to change the fabric.

If that chair belonged to me, I wouldn't paint it. However, if you do, please use a primer coat of clear shellac, so that the wood is sealed. This preserves the wood, so that if anyone ever does want them unpainted again, they can easily strip off the paint.

I've spent the whole year stripping and refinishing furniture, and oak is one of the woods with large pores that paint will sink into, making it nearly impossible to remove. Unless it's primed with a clear coat, once it's painted, it will always have to be painted.

Do they really need to be refinished? The chair you've shown looks like it has a good finish. Can you just clean, polish and touch up?

I don't see anything wrong with painting the chairs. But it's going to take some time to do it right. If you are DIYing the kitchen construction, I would think carefully before jumping into this at this point.

Are you sure that it's oak? Looks like maple to me.

The chair is beautiful. I would leave it stained and just do the upholstery.

They'll look perfect as is (or with the finish freshened up if needed) with a black and yellow kitchen. I'm with the crowd on this one.

Would a yellow and black tartan work as a seat bottom with your kitchen?

Wow thanks for the feed back! We are lucky to have this set. The table is (was) lovely. It is a square pedestal and round top. For storage we took the top off the pedestal and left it on its side. I hadn't looked at it for a long time and both sides have split in half, so needs to be re glued.
Gracie01 I'm not good identifying wood you are right it might be maple. My father-in law used shellac on everything, even is cane. I can see a drip mark in this chair so I suspect this set has a few coats of something on it. How should I clean it, it looks dirty to me?

That is definitely oak and definitely beautiful! I echo all who said no to paint. That would be a crying shame. A good cleaning and polishing may be all they need, but if that doesn't do it, then refinish. You'll be glad you did.

If you decide to refinish--or even do a deep cleaning--the woodworking forum is helpful. Maybe not helpful if you decide to paint those though!

That looks like quarter-sawn oak, at least up on the top. My favorite wood. Please don't paint it. If you do anything, strip and refinish. It's one of the most satisfying projects I know. But, like others have suggested, why not just do something with the cushions first and see how it looks.

Not seeing them in person makes it impossible to say for sure, but as others have said, you may only need to give them a good cleaning.
I've linked you to a site that will help you determine what type of finish is on the wood to help you in your decision on how to best bring it back to life again.
And by that I'm sure you can guess I'm in the "please don't paint these" camp.

Here is a link that might be useful: What finish is that anyway?

Thanks so much for the help. I'll clean this one up and recover the seat. If it doesn't take me months I'll post the results.

Beautiful. I just recently gave up on my dining chairs that were similar in my log home. Mine were repaired too many times to redo. I love yours as is. Mine, though old (1890-1914) weren't worth much either but boy they looked great in the simple rustic chic cabin:). Look forward to your finished project. I have been looking for a suitable replacement for some time they don't make them like this anymore.

OK, in the close up I can see it's oak. Here is a non-toxic, cost-efficient way to deep clean the wood. Go to a big box store and buy a container of Goop hand cleaner (in the auto section at WM). and get some 0000 steel wool. Dip the steel wool into the Goop and spread it on. Wipe off w/clean rags. repeat until the wood feels smooth and not sticky. I use this on all wood and it won't damge the finish.

I would paint those chairs in a red hot minute. Black, or a charcoal gray. And when they are reupholstered you need to add lots of foam for a three inch cushion with a crown of 3.5 to 4 inches. To be comfortable.

Gracie, I have never heard of using Goop. I'm going to have to try that. My Mom used it in the laundry room for grease on clothing. Worked great, so I can imagine it would work wonderful on wood too.
Thanks so much!