Dear Readers, please give Laurie some advice! We are looking forward to your ideas!
I get quite a few readers who ask for a little advice on a decorating or paint project that they are about to embark upon. I thought, why not share on the blog and have my fantastic viewers add their opinions? You all rock whenever I am unsure of what to do and I know you have great advice to share!
This week I am sharing Laurie’s dilemma:
“I have an old dining room set from 1987 that I want to refinish, but I’m not sure where to start. It’s a dark cherry wood and my walls are a light beige, kind of sand color. How would you refinish the set; i.e., paint – what color, finish, etc.? HELP and thank you for any tips, guidance, etc. you can offer. I just want the finished pieces to look like yours!
P.S. When I told my husband that you’re going to get some suggestions on your website, he’s hoping the response will be “Get a new set!” He just doesn’t understand the joy of refinishing furniture!”
Ah, Laurie, the husband’s honestly never get it 🙂
Here are the pics of her very traditional dining room set and the bolt of fabric that she scored at an estate sale for $10 that will be used to reupholster her chairs.
My advice is to go with Annie Sloan chalk paint in Coco and Old White for the table. The Coco on the bottom will tie in nicely with the gray and beige tones in the room and the Old White will lighten the whole space up. The chairs can be in either the Old White or Coco, depending on her preference and the whole set should be waxed in a clear wax. The table top can also have General Finishes High Performance Sealer applied for extra durability.
What do YOU think? Comment below! Laurie and I are looking forward to your ideas!
I agree with your paint colors, but I would suggest leaving the top of the table the wood just to see how the contrast looks first. I always love a wood top with the painted base.
She can always go back and paint the top if it feels too dark, but if she has never painted furniture before, it may be better to get the feel of it first on the base and the chairs before trying to do such a large smooth surface.
i like this lady’s idea! If you decided to chang the seat covers – you could always use textile medium and paint – and paint them!
I would paint the table white and the chairs some other colors like mint or fushia or green. You could also paint the chairs gray and change the seat covers, which is so easy and quick to do, with the seasons.
I LOVE the dining set. Love the simple but delicate lines on the chairs. I think there needs to be a pop of color somewhere. Sand walls. It’s also hard to tell what colors the fabric is? Is it black and a cream? I would match the cream? in the fabric and do the chairs and table legs that color. What about natural dark wood for the table top? How about painting or wallpapering an accent wall in the dining room to get a pop of color? Or paint the walls a totally different color?
Would the high performance go over wax?
Hi Bridget, Yes, I asked my Annie Sloan stockist this question a few months ago. It seems like you would just be putting sealer on top of sealer. However, if you want that lovely, rubbed wax finish but need it to be a little more durable (such as a dining room table top) then applying the GF sealer on top is a great option. Cheers!
How about a soft black, lightly sanded on all the edges. Would look sharp with the black and cream upholstery fabric.
I’d suggest going to Pinterest, create a board, search for “Buffalo Check Fabric” & start Pinning! Once she has the ‘vision’, for the entire room, then start on the project! 🙂 If Laurie has never painted anything before, she should just start with 1 chair…not all 6 and definitely don’t touch the table! If she loves the process and the way the chair turned out, then proceed with the other chairs….My first painting project was a table and 4 chairs and it almost killed me! Never again! 🙂 I hope this helps….xoxo Robin
Thank you all for your great suggestions and a special ‘thank you’ to Suzanne for posting this for me! I’ve refinished smaller pieces of furniture recently, but tackling this project is a little bit more intimidating to me. As soon as I have some pics to share…progress, mistakes (yes, I’m sure there will be some :-)), and the finished product, I’ll let you know. Thanks, again, for all your help!
I love the combination of Annie Sloan Coco as the base and then dry-brushed with Country Grey. I prefer Country Grey as opposed to a white as it is more forgiving and blends in a bit more with the Coco.
I love the idea of the board on Pinterest ~
I love the buffalo black & white check – I think you should figure out what style you are going for – ex: If you like the farmhouse look ~ Paint the chairs light cream,and the legs to the table the same color ~ leave the tabletop what it is.
Look on Pinterest for different styles,
Also check out Houzz.com – its a great place to go to for advise – so many different styles
Contemporary
Eclectic
Modern
Traditional
Asian
Beach Style
Craftsman
Farmhouse
Industrial
Mediterranean
Midcentury
Rustic
Scandinavian
Shabby-Chic Style
Southwestern
Transitional
Tropical
Victorian
Good luck – looking forward to your before & after pictures.
Rose
i guess what i am seeing is an extremely neutral area no color, i hope it isn’t to blah for her xx
I would strip the table top and make it lighter, but keep it wood, maybe put a lighter stain on it with the general finishes acrylic topcoat. Then paint the base and chairs to match with a grayish white or black paint. The black and white check might not be the best choice for the seats because they are a linear pattern that would need to be straight across the front – possibly a little bit of a challenge as your first upholstery. You can cover seats with just 1 to 1-1/2 yards of 54″ fabric – and find that on sale for under $20. It could be the pop of color that you need! The set is really nice and will look great when refinished. Just take it a little bit at a time and you’ll enjoy it.
I like the idea of a ‘greyish white’ as well if she wants to use the black and white checked fabric. She doesn’t have to go with a farmhouse look but this fabric does lend itself in that direction, The chairs have soft elegant lines much like a Queen Anne look. I like the idea of going on Pinterest but I would not succumb to current ‘vogue’ or fashion. The dining room set is classic and being built in 1987 is probably better than she can buy today. Keep to a classic look. One problem I see is that the trim around the window is brown – yet I see a white door frame leading into another room. I would paint out the window frame to match the door frame. Use the white idea on the table but with some sort of red or possibly yellow undertone. She would then have a black, white, and red or yellow combination. The drapes appear to be a green (but could be a blue or grey) and unless she plans on changing those she needs to compliment them: therefore, if they are green: she should be using some red OR yellow which would work beautifully with the black and white fabric. The white or yellow tone table would then tie in with the white wood work. If to her taste, she might remove the wreath between the windows. I have seen some of your work in yellow, Suzanne and that has been stunning – yellow would perk up this otherwise dull room. Just sayin’. 😉
I think it would look great in black especially with the upholstery. Would look great with the walls and could use pops of red, yellow, teal or whatever color she loves. There is not much that would not look gorgeous with the sand walls and black dining suite.
I like your ideas, Debbie!
i love the idea of painting the set but I have recently ran into trouble with painting a cherry toned wood with paint and a friend of mine did too. Maybe you can advise us and keep someone else from having it happen to them. I have spots of ” bleed thru” – I used 2 coats of AS old white and clear wax and the spots looked like water stains sort of but they won’t come off with wiping with a damp cloth- they did not show up until a few months after I was finished – any ideas?
Hi Denise, yes, bleed through can happen with a light color over a dark toned wood (typically one that has old oils on it such as a lot of furniture polish or wax, etc.). My stockist recommends going over any old dark mahogany or cherry piece with a coat of shellac prior to painting in a light chalk paint. Or, if you are using latex, then definitely a good primer is needed. It will prevent the bleed through that we all dread!
Denise, likely a reply from Suzanne is what you are after but did you prime your set with 1-2-3? That will block out most anything. Apart from that – I am not a paint expert.
I think that Sharon and Debbie both have good ideas, the red or yellow would be excellent as would teal. If you like country french then I would bring in toile in the drapes, there are a lot of red and yellow toiles out there. Your dining set is very nice, I am jealous.