To paint or not to paint? Rescuing inherited furniture.
by
Beth
+33
These are the only 2 pieces I was able to save from a house fire we had. Thankfully they were still in the basement because they had been recently shipped to me when my Mom passed away. They were my in my Mom's childhood bedroom and are very good quality. We weren't able to save the matching bedside tables so I'm wondering how to make these work in our bedroom. The darkness of the furniture is not from the fire and I don't know if you can tell from the pictures that the rails up the tall dresser have always looked as though they were stained or painted black. Both pieces have matching lovely mirrors which were still wrapped from shipping and are in perfect condition. I've already polished and cleaned everything and there is no burned smell but I can't think of a way to get matching bedside tables without painting them. I just hate to paint wood furniture that's still in good shape but I've seen so many clever and beautifully painted furniture on this site, I thought someone might have an idea. I guess my main concern is finding bedside tables to match and giving everything a fresh new look since the home has been rebuilt and looks brand new, I think these antiques look a bit out of place. I don't have any particular style (other than a fondness for MCM which I know these won't come close to) so any suggestions would be appreciated!
Tall dresser, notice black staining up the sides rails.
Vanity that I will need to reupholster the bench for.
16 answers
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If the finish is in good shape, I think I would leave them. You can brighten up the room in other ways. Once something is painted, it gets chipped and even more difficult to fix.
Julie Stenske
on Jul 16, 2015
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I'm not averse to painting furniture to give it new life/use, but this looks to be in very good shape and I'd hate to paint it. What about putting a floor-length cloth on mismatched bedside tables? We inherited an old birds-eye maple set that had no tables, so that's what we did, and no one's the wiser.
Penny Stinson
on Jul 16, 2015
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They look great, I only paint if there is no other way to salvage.
Lagree Wyndham
on Jul 16, 2015
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as beautiful as those are I wouldn't hide them under paint. check thrift stores and yard sales/flea markets. you can always stain the smaller pieces to closely match if necessary
Tracy Hudson
on Jul 16, 2015
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The wood is beautiful, I would not do a thing to them. The bedside tables don't have to match, they just have to go with. Find something with similar detail and use the black hi- lights like the dresser's to tie them together.
Mollee Kauzlarich
on Jul 16, 2015
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Not...they're in such awesome condition. Are they wax finish? I can't tell from the photo's they are so beautiful however many of us (me included until last week) don't realized that wax finish furniture should be re-hand buffed 1x a year! Might be something you enjoy the result of given the history. Enjoy!
Fab and Pretty
on Jul 16, 2015
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Find thrift store tables to use bed side............paint them. It isn't necessary for furniture to match........in fact it is often more delightful to have furniture that does NOT match
PainterNoni
on Jul 16, 2015
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@Beth Gorgeous pieces! I personally would not paint them, they are beautiful the way they are! :)
Katrina Warren
on Jul 16, 2015
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They are very nice pieces,, but I think if you painted them, it might ruin their antique-ness. I would just clean them well. You might find that they lighten up a bit after you clean them, and would look entirely different. So sorry about the fire.
Candace Warren
on Jul 17, 2015
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Please do not paint these pieces. They are lovely as they are. I deal in the restoration of antiques. Even when they are in dire condition, and must have repair I do my best to bring them back to their original glory. Every thing matching in a room is boring. On the cushion use a material that enhances the colors of the room. Painting them will definitely devalue them monetarily .
Susan M
on Jul 18, 2015
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I have struggled with the same question. I am old fashioned. I have a table that has gold leafing and hand painted decorations which is from the 50's?. I've come to the conclusion that it was once beautiful and over time it lost its luster factor. It is an inherited piece as well. So I figured that the sentimental value will still be there even if I paint it and bring life back into it. I can appreciate the pice even more. Just take a before picture so u can tell the story of its origins and how u brought back to life and enjoying it even more.
Donna
on Jul 18, 2015
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Beautiful pieces! I would definitely find something not matching! You can do it, be brave!!
Suzanne Graves
on Jul 18, 2015
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These are absolutely beautiful as they are,,,,,,,,,you can't buy pieces like this anymore....I am afraid painting would ruin their value
Land StClair
on Jul 18, 2015
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I paint for a living and I wouldn't paint them. I paint pieces that aren't prefect. If I found anything like this it would set proudly in my house. If something is beautiful I leave it alone. You could find or paint some tables and that would make these pieces pop. I always ad color with smaller pieces anyway.
Sherrie
on Jul 18, 2015
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That "back staining up the side rails" is a faux ebony paint technique. Clean the wood by wiping it down twice w/ Scott's Liquid Gold and old terry cloth. Be careful not to remove the black paint, in case it is vulnerable to the Liquid Gold. The wood will still be dark, but it will glow. Look at the current Ethan Allen website for using dark pieces as accents.
Connie Hoge
on Jul 29, 2015
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just clean it up
Pamela Langone
on Sep 15, 2015
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