I am always either far behind or far ahead of the "colors of the year"! I have some black accents in the house (the black wood legs on my 2 club chairs, a black sofa table that is probably gonna be relegated soon to the finished basement, the black surround on the fireplace that was there when I bought the house, black-wood and black-metal picture frames), but the rest of the house is lighter: brushed aluminum and stainless colored furniture, including the TV table, which I had re-powder coated from black (!), the dining room table and chairs, the ceiling fans. And some maple (a TV armoire, a console table in the MBR). I looked into getting some end tables refinished from a denim blue (don't ask!) to maple, but the furniture refinisher just shook his head and said they'd always have a blue cast. Bummer. I just wish retailers would not forget the nice maple finishes when they sell the espresso stuff! (Some of the light alternatives, to me, look ugly. West Elm has a natural finish it calls "blonde," but I think it's way off. But contrast IS nice to see. Check out the dark Parsons-type DR table paired with the very light chairs on the West Elm website I just figure "real" blonde will come back soon, affordably. But by then I'll probably be searching high and low for the espresso! Love the one you're with, I guess!

Well this is totally a work in progress, but it does have a mix of woods so I thought it might help you in some way. The chairs are from our dining set, but I wanted a round table, found this one that I loved the pedestal on. The hutch belonged to a desk I sold, but I liked it better than the hutch that belongs to this buffet. The buffet will be stained to match. Someday. The table will be refinished, but I'm leaving the chairs as they are though I will be slipcovering them like in the following picture so not much of the ligth wood will show and it will also blend somewhat with the fabric. Our whold house is a work in progress.

My grandfather was a carpenter. He was born in the 1880s. I don't know if that had anything to do with his taste or if it was the fact that he was a carpenter, but he did like nice wood finishes. He was of the school of thought that baseboards, door frames, and crown molding should be walnut or mahogany. When I was a little bitty girl, he made me a dresser, using a small washstand as a guide. My dresser had two wide drawers and a mirror. Papa made it out of scraps. The body of the dresser was an old Philco mahogany TV cabinet, the drawer fronts were really nice Walnut, the side pieces were some kind of veneer that eventually bubbled and buckled, and the supports for the mirror were probably fir. I got so excited when I saw it that I threw a fit and I *had* to take it home right away. The mirror frame was not yet finished, it was raw wood. The drawer fronts and side pieces were finished walnut, and the top was mahogany. Papa made my father promise to finish it. When I was 16 years old, it still was in its original condition...except for the small Beatles sticker in the corner of the mirror. I painted the dresser white. My mother shook her head and said, 'I'm glad Papa it's not here to see you painting that bewwwtiful wood." I still have that dresser. It is still white.

The set is solid wood from Kincaid circa 2000. It is in good shape except for some damage from a teething puppy at the base of one of the pedestals. It was part of their PGA collection. The ball under each claw is a golf ball and the chair backs are the same pattern stitched on top of traditional golf shoes. I have loved and used the set for many years. An unexpected divorce has motivated me to unspouse my house and have some design fun. You all have really helped with your brilliant ideas - thank you so much. I posted more pics and am reframing my perspective —- I can take out a leaf to make the table smaller. I still have 8 chairs and nowhere to put any of them —- maybe I can rearrange. I’d like to keep the art because it breaks up the wall and is a nice scale. Maybe add more? Maybe move to the other wall? I made the square acrylic pour paintings. The dining room is just inside the front door and the second story has 4 small square windows so the canvases tie into the outside elevation. A friend mentioned slipcovers and I couldn’t visualize it - thanks for posting. It might be the lowest risk option. The idea of painting it is daunting and if I mess it up then I am worse off. I hope that someday my girls and I will be able to entertain again. We use the space for crafting and spreading out for academics and for casual dinners too. It is wonderful to easily seat 8 in one room. I think the chair covers may really solve a lot of my concerns. I am not as enthusiastic about an area rug. Trying to keep it simple but not a definite no. Thank you all! Please feel free to add more or tell me if I am off track.