would never, ever again attempt my own sanding, staining, etc..not good. But hubby can paint them a rich, dark color...here is a color chart from Benjamin Moore. You can still have those darker colors and a durable finish but the trade-off would be not having natural wood. http://www.benjaminmoore.com/en-us/for-archi...

of beeswax, linseed oil and burnt umber stain. Here is the link to where I got my recipe..cheap, cheap!!

http://www.ericsprojects.com/?page_id=236 Here is another...http://www.thefurnitureconnoisseur.com/Furniture-Paste-Wax-Polish/

After reading the ingredients in CeCe Caldwell's wax, it's basically car wax..carnauba wax, I decided to go to some of the old recipes my grandmother used and they're cheap and durable. I make my own chalk paints too now...but that's another topic...xoxo There are tons of online recipes...you'll do fine. xoxo

furniture is more masculine. The coffee table is one of the feminine pieces with the curves so if it were to be made into an ottoman, I would maintain the curves and cover it in a feminine pattern similiar to the Ikat pattern seen in the chair pillow and tuft it like the chair. This would maintain its feminine nature as well as make the tufted chair not stand alone as much. However, I like the coffee table as a table since you already have an ottoman. I think I would see how it looks to switch the placement of the two chairs to bring brightness to the corner. As for the mantel, it needs to have the green apples grouped if not removed. The mantel needs to have the colors from the pillows brought to it with some height. I hope that this helps.