Beautiful pieces for your vintage room!! I can understand why you would want to paint the cabinet a light creamy color, and think that would look great. Yet, I would hate to see you paint the wood on the bed - it really looks to be in perfect condition on my monitor, and is lovely as is! Great comfy chair, too, and it looks as though it should be in a bedroom. This will be a fun project for you!

Paint it all I say! if that is what you had in mind! paint up girl!

Paint it all!

But I do vote for painting the chair and cabinet first --- and then the bed .....

Jan at rosemary Cottage

Very nice finds, pm! Especially love the bed; quite a bargain. No, I sure wouldn't paint that one. The wood looks beautiful, and it's been butterflied (split and fanned out so as to be an essentially symmetrical pattern in the middle) showing with a beautiful grain pattern. I'm thinking it's Cherry, but really not sure. That would truly be a loss of what looks to be a beautiful old piece. I do like painted furniture, but it's usually to disguise and compensate for less than desirable wood.

Did you see the farmhouse hutch installed in your fr? You'd asked to see it last week and it's awaiting!

Oh, please, don't paint the bed. By all means paint the chair legs and the cabinet, but the woodgrain on the bed is just too wonderful to hide. Besides, if you paint everything all the same color, it will look like you are trying too hard to make it all into a matchy-matchy set, which IMO is a mistake, and even more so when the items are SO stylistically different. Embrace their differences. Cream would be fine for the cabinet/hutch since you want the eye to go to the displayed items; since you want to reupholster the chair, paint the legs something that coordinates with the new upholstery (and if that happens to be turquoise blue or buttercup yellow, so be it! have some fun!).

If you decide you absolutely MUST paint over that lovely bed, put down a base layer of two coats of shellac before you paint. The shellac keeps the paint from going into the pores of the wood and makes it somewhat easier to strip off later.

Another vote to not paint the bed...

I'm not getting out the paintbrush just yet ... looks like I better put more consideration into my decision to paint the bed. I will paint the chair and cabinet for sure. The bed is without doubt more valuable and beautiful. Anyone have photos to give me inspiration to have the brown bed and painted furniture?

Squirrel: I checked to see if there were any updates on the thread and then it got buried over the weekend. I am going back to it right now. Thanks for the insight on the design of the bed too, something I didn't really notice.

Well, now that I've spent the last few days telling one member to paint her pine doors & not to worry about covering up the wood's grain, it's time for a change of pace. The big 1940s/1950s cabinet looks nice & sturdy, but the wood itself is nothing special. Maple, unless there's some luster via waves or stripes or bird's-eye figuring, can get pretty boring, so get out the paint. You can have fun with that quilted-looking panel on top (which, in the original set, proabably referred to "pineapple" carved posts on the bed. Ditto on the chair. Nice lines, but the wood that they use for chair legs--especially such dainty ones--is chosen for strength, not beauty, so if that gets painted, it's no loss, either.

But the bookmatched walnut and the delicate inlaid stringing on your 192Os bed is beautiful, and like somebody said above, if you're creating a 'vintage' room, with 30 years of accumulated pieces, that intentionally vague term generally implies a look--not a specific style like Sheraton or Art Deco--and one of the typical things of rooms that were never decorated in a specific period is that there were a lot of different elements with different woods & finishes & fabrics. Most people in the old days--especially during the Depression & WWII--couldn't afford to go buy a whole room full of matching pieces all at once, so they'd hang onto the beautiful walnut bed inherited from Aunt Mabel & fill in with either newer, less elaborate pieces from a department store downtown--remember downtown--or things they picked up cheap in second hand shops. Think of the relaxed, freindly look of the Walton's big living room. No matchymatchy thing going on there. So why try create an overly matched look with paint?

If you want to go for cream or ivory on your other pieces, you can still bring the bed into the scheme with linens in that color, accented with your wall color or maybe one of the colors in the chair's upholstery, and preserve a nice souvenir of between-the-wars American furniture history in the process.

Please don't paint that bed . It is georgeous as it is. Don't find too many pieces like that . The other pieces painted cream or ivory, would be great, but leave the bed as is. It will also contrast nicely and stand out a bit.

I stayed out of another post about painting wood trim. While I'm a big time stained wood lover, I have no problem if someone wats to paint over some builder grade oak.

That bed of yours, however, is a different matter. It's just too special. Rounded frames are gorgeous.

I was cleaning out some old pics on Photobucket, this morning, and came across this.

I think your bed is even nicer because of its simplicity. Paint the rest...leave the bed alone. :)

OH PLEASE don't pait that bed! IMO, there are several ways you could go with the other furniture but please don't paint that bed.

Love the bed, and I would never even consider painting it!

I would not paint either of them. In both cases painting would hide the wood grain and diminish the detailing. I would not use them in the same room unpainted though.

That cabinet looks like solid wood and looks to be European. You got that for FREE? :faints: What a lucky event.

If you do paint the cabinet I would do as another suggested and put a coating under the paint to make stripping easier. You may change your mind about this piece years later.

You can definitely mix painted pieces with the unfinished bed for a collected vintage look. It sounds like the room is going to be beautiful when done.

I'm definitely a stained wood lover, so I'd recommend, at the very least, to decorate the room using each piece as they are and live with them for awhile. You might be very surprised just how wonderful and warm feeling the room is. I envision it looking like a room of beloved family heirlooms lovingly brought together.

Gorgeous stuff. The bed is fantastic. And it needs no paint, just some buffing, maybe with paste wax. The chair is great too. Love it. Can't wait for your room pix.

Red

I LOVE that bed - you CAN'T paint it! If I had room to put one, I'd buy a bed like it - they come up occasionally on CL. You got a steal for $75.

wow, that bed is absolutely gorgeous. I couldnt imagine painting it, it really is so beautiful in it's on right and it would look very ordinary once it's painted. I think magnaverde is right on the money, you can use the bedding to tie it in to the other pieces if you you paint those.

I also agree you should live with the cabinet for a while and then decide if you still want to paint it but you might find you change your mind about that.

I agree, DON'T paint the bed. it is soooo beautiful! the cabinet I can't tell so much in the pic. would have to see it in person. that wouldn't be so bad to paint over I think. the bed - that's different.

those are great finds - lucky you!

Oh I am squealing with delight with all of the reactions you folks are posting about the bed. It is exactly what I thought when I saw it listed and KNEW it had to be mine. thank goodness I didn't hesitate or somebody else would of snapped it up. In order for everyone to sleep tonight soundly, please know that I will not paint the bed! I would never admit it but I guess little sister was right this time ... I was a little crazy to even consider it.

A quick story about the free cabinet and hutch. When I spoke to the lady, which happens to be quite young, I asked why she was giving it away. I know someone would of paid a $$$ amount for it. She said she inherited it from her grandma, but since she was totally modern it would never go with anything and she didn't want the burden of storing it. okay, I'll be right over to take it off your hands, no hesitation there! It will look great in the bdrm.

Any site recommendations for images of vintage rooms?

I am jolted out of my cozy lurkdom. Please don't paint the bed. If you do, at least be kind and lie to us or photoshop the bed in its original glory when you upload the "after" pictures.

Oh my, I'm so glad you've decided not to paint the bed. That bed is gorgeous! I just love it. I really like the other two pieces you got as well and I think they'll all work together to make a fabulous vintage bedroom.

Glad to hear you're not painting it! And good to know what type of wood it is. Just knew it would end up Walnut, lol, but the coloring looked more like Cherry to me.

It really is quite special, pm. Keep the kids at bay so it doesn't get damaged. I'm sure you know what I mean!

That bed is absolutely gorgeous and I'm so glad you decided not to paint it. I would give anything to find a bed like that in a queen size, but I don't think they made them that big back then.

Laurie

Glad your not painting, I think, like others have said, you will find after you get the room done, it is going to be so warm and inviting and comfy, like going to Gramma's house for a sleep over when you were little.

Tehehe .. CB! You bad influance you ;)

Well, I think the wood used for the bed is *wonderful* and if it matches the vision you have for the room, then leave it as is. If not .. I think the bed could fantastic panited also. As far as the other pieces .. paint away, I say :D

Oh how I wish I could find something like that locally! I love that bed and am so glad you're not going to paint it. I'm looking forward to seeing the room all put together.

OMG, that bed is beautiful. IMO, it will never look as good painted. I love painted furniture, but not all pieces benefit from it. Plus it should be the center of attention in your room and painting it will just make blend it with everything else.
Diane

After reading everyone's comments it is obvious that it would be best to put the room together and live with the furniture as is for a while. It is such a shame that I don't have a larger house so it can be a room on our main floor living space. There is nothing like walking past a room, pausing at the door, and loving how it turned out. I know that this will be one of those rooms once it is done. Unfortunately it will be tucked into a basement bdrm. Thankfuly we have 9 ft ceilings down there so I'm hoping it turns out as I see it.

There are so many responses and I appreciate all of them. Your opinions are really important as alot of you have homes that I drool over and only wish to perfect my home. I'm sure I will be posting as I work on it over the next few months.

magnaverde: I reread your post and thank you for the detailed description of the bed. It is so interesting to know more about a piece and then appreciate it even more. I also read some of your other responses to other threads and instantly realized you are very knowledgeable when it comes to decorating. Are you trained professionally in design?

I know many of you have asked where I live to find all the treasures/great deals I've posted. I can't disclose that or I might have some major competition lol. I live in Canada, somewhere on the Prairies. I have an aunt who lives in BC and she said the market for this kind of thing is crazy and expensive. We have dealers around here that tend to scoop things like this up quickly, but I'm pretty certain that they're everywhere.

Squirrel: the bed is downstairs where my dear children don't venture by themselves often. If you saw it you'd know why. The bed is pretty safe for now. (I am going to get around to posting on the other thread in abit...not to sure what you mean about the depth?)

I looked at 100's of photos last night on the internet instead of marking assignments (bad, bad!) and still haven't found the "look".

Anyone have any favorites?

Pam

Just meaning how much space is to the left of that window -- to allow for the depth of built-in cabinetry there. I don't think you'd want it extending out too close to the window. Needs some breathing room. Especially if you do deeper cabinets on the lower portion, which will take up more of whatever space is available.