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I would have no problem either staining or painting furniture I no longer liked. I have restained cabinets before, I am sure a pro could always do a better job then a DIY'er.
first you have to sand the wood to where all varnish is off. I have an electric sander and I still did not do as good a job as I would have liked. if there are any blemishes in the wood, even after sanding when you go to stain it they will show. I re did my oak cabs in the kitchen, I went with a dark stain because I just don't like oak grain. I needed 3 coats of stain as some of the blemishes were still showing thorough and the color just wasn't dark enough. it looks ok, but it really doesn't look like a "stained" cabinet, it almost looks like it was painted a deep brown shade. which is fine as I said I hated the grain. I also painted the opposite cabs a nice green with an antiqued gold around some edging. they on the other hand look fabulous. I will soon resand and repaint the stained cabs to match the painted ones.
I would send your set to a pro if you liked it well enough to justify the cost. but if you don't like the oak grain and want to keep the table the only thing that will make it acceptable to you is if you paint it, which will cover the grain. I think your table would look great with your idea of white with the gold accents. go for it. w/painting you don't have to sand within an inch of your life.
if you want I can pm you some before and after pics
IF I had purchased this second hand, I wouldn't have an issue with painting it at all. But, this was the first set I ever bought, it was incredibly expensive and I bought it with the inheritance from my mom, yada, yada, yada, so I think I have a lot of psychological issues going on with this set.
Plus, we hope to put our house on the market in the spring so I hesitate to buy anything new.
I've seen the dining room sets where the table top and chairs are a different color and I kinda like that look, but the problem is that it's the china cabinet that's so yellowish.
Could I just get away with antiquing the china cabinet or would that look stupid?
and if I do paint and antique the cabinet in a white color, I think I'd have to get something 'white' like that in my living room to balance it out.. but I don't know what I'd get. It's a LR/DR combo so you see both rooms. The living room tables are oak also I think, but they're a darker oak and not yellowy. I bought the tables second hand so I don't what they're made of.
I'm getting away from the florals and I'm currently in search of new material for the dining room chairs but I haven't found a fabric that i like yet that isn't too expensive.
Hotulamaui, I'd love to see the before and after pictures. Please send them. Thanks
I do understand the sentimental and monetary value one has on things and how hard it would be to "paint over" something "good" even if it isn't working for you. if it were me I would redo the whole set, table and hutch in a soft white w/slight gold accents, and recover the seats. it would be a cute set.
for my kitchen cupboards, I balanced the amount of dislike for the cupboards with how I would feel about them painted, even if I didn't like how my paint job came out. I knew I would like the painted effect so much better then how it was then, that I would be able to live with it for years or until I could replace it. for me the value is in how much you enjoy the item and if that means changing it I would. the origins are still the same, and you have recycled/repurposed it giving it a fresh new relevance.
you could start with the hutch, but that project would be a tad more difficult because the hutch has smaller spaces to sand and paint. at lease the table is fairly straight forward.
you may find you like the whole set better if all you did was recover the seats and change out your curtains. something way away from the yellow tones. sending pics now to your pm. photography not great but you get the ieda
Could I just get away with antiquing the china cabinet or would that look stupid?
and if I do paint and antique the cabinet in a white color, I think I'd have to get something 'white' like that in my living room to balance it out.. but I don't know what I'd get. It's a LR/DR combo so you see both rooms. The living room tables are oak also I think, but they're a darker oak and not yellowy. I bought the tables second hand so I don't what they're made of.
Just keep in mind that if you have never refinished anything before yourself, you are prone to making mistakes. I refinished a dresser that has been in my family for over 60 years. It badly needed it, but it also has sentimental value. I did a lot of research before beginning the work, but there were still things that I was unaware of--like the fact that the side panels were a tiger maple veneer and not solid wood. So there are mistakes in the piece now that are visible. I went too deep with the sander on the veneers and they warped slightly. I have a gouge mark on one side from slipping with the sander. These are things that only a seasoned wood worker would understand about.
I did mine myself because, a) the finish was in terrible shape, b) it had very limited monetary value as an antique, and c) I was financially challenged at the time. Your piece is not in bad shape, and appears to be a solidly built piece and probably has good monetary value. Before you begin, ask yourself how you would feel about making an innocent mistake that caused visible damage.
I like the idea of painting the set black, but I am not afraid of color. One suggestion is to paint the legs and chairs black but leave the top the wood stain it is now. That would ease you into it and if you don't like it, paint it a different color. If you do like it, you can chose to paint the hutch or not. I think the black would tone down the "yellow" effect as well. Black ends up being VERY easy to decorate around so keep that in mind too. My dining room set was painted black--unfortunately my set is about 150 years old and whomever painted it should not have but what is done is done. We had it stripped and refinished and I love how it turned out but, we have moved twice since then and both houses the black set would have worked just as well.
I HATE to be the naysayer here, but if this is your very first project, I would not....I repeat, would not take on this project. There is a considerable amount of detail in that furniture and you could be stripping, sanding and picking old varnish/varathane/shellac (whatever the finish is) out of the grooves and details for a week or two. LOL As other posters have said, painting is always an option, but that is still an incredible amount of work, especially if you have no experience doing something like this.
Since you paid a considerable amount of money for this furniture, you might want to consult with a professional, in order to get prices. If I were you, I'd look into recovering the chairs (definitely!!). It would probably blow your mind, just how different they'd look with new fabric. It would look like an entirely new set. If you're having a hard time finding a wall color to go with it, try taking a snapshot of the furniture...crop out and blow up a section, so that you have a "solid color" sample, then take it paint shopping with you. If all else fails, take a small drawer or remove one of the hutch doors and take IT paint shopping with you.
IF I had purchased this second hand, I wouldn't have an issue with painting it at all. But, this was the first set I ever bought, it was incredibly expensive and I bought it with the inheritance from my mom, yada, yada, yada, so I think I have a lot of psychological issues going on with this set.
Oooohhh. Ya, I can see why you are hesitant. Maybe looking into having it professionally finished if someone else hasn't suggested that already.
Awww, yeah, I understand the sentimental value. My cousin recently tried to find someone to take her late mother's D/R set. It was "country country", as in, really old-fashioned. Her in-laws had been using it but they were moving. Cuz posted photos on FB advertising it for *free*, but the wood was covered up with a lot of doilies and basically just made it look even more grandmom-ish. No one wanted it, even for free, until she contacted the people who had bought her parents' house, and they took it off her hands. She did NOT just want to give it to charity or post on Craigslist....too much sentimental value.
If you like the style, just get it refinished and a new pattern on the chairs. It looks like a solid, substantial set.
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go for it. w/painting you don't have to sand within an inch of your life. 
