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Hi Karen. I would say that if its never going to be a $10,000 find for your great grandchildren on some future Antiques Roadshow, then the choice to paint is a personal one.
I painted it with a Zisser primer (hard to use) and a product called Insl-x cabinet coat. The paint went on nicely, but I had to experiment with rollers and brushes a lot. In the end, I really did best with a small 2 inch, super softer brush from Hobby Lobby ($10). See my blog. This took me quite a while to do.
Milk paint has limited colors and is very expensive, but is much easier to use as you can skip the sanding and priming steps. I'm not sure how durable it is, since I haven't tried it on any furniture yet.
You can also make your own milk paint with plaster of paris and water. You must experiment with it a lot before using it on an actual piece. There are a few disaster stories out there about this. The equations must be precise.
Regarding re-staining. If the piece is veneered (and it likely is if under $1000), then you may not be able to sand it back. It all depends on the type of veneer used. Vinyl is impossible and may not even take paint well. A 1/8 wood veneer can be sanded, but its easy to go "too far" and issues like scratching and gouging are difficult to fix.
Don't touch it with paint! I'll hunt you down if you do. Especially not with that nasty chalk or milk paint crap. Whoever came up with that needs to be shot dead.
Pair it with a chair with less formal lines. Surround it with less formal furniture, curtains, etc. Give or sell it to someone who will appreciate it as is, and buy something that's more what you want. But please don't paint it.
Apparently it's not an antique and not ever going to be a valuable antique so the option to paint it is there. That being said, it's a beautiful piece as it is, and the OP says it's well made as well, so while it may never be super valuable, it should hold up well and bring lots of joy to whoever owns it.
I personally would change out the hardware, remove the books (store them elsewhere) and wallpaper the interior with something fun and colorful. I would also add lighting and glass shelves and display something fun in there, like carnival glass or something else blingy. Finally, I would pair it with a cool chair with a funky seat cushion fabric that coordinated with the fun wallpaper (or paint color) in the interior.
The hardware, in particular, makes it look more formal. Start with that and then if, after adding decor that suits your style you feel it still is too much, consider painting it. Personally, I love the look of mixing at least an antique or two into a design plan. Check out really well designed rooms in magazines, etc and time and again, you see a mix of furniture to keep it from becoming too Rooms to Go looking (e.g. all matchy matchy).
Hi Karen. I would say that if its never going to be a $10,000 find for your great grandchildren on some future Antiques Roadshow, then the choice to paint is a personal one.
I painted it with a Zisser primer (hard to use) and a product called Insl-x cabinet coat. The paint went on nicely, but I had to experiment with rollers and brushes a lot. In the end, I really did best with a small 2 inch, super softer brush from Hobby Lobby ($10). See my blog. This took me quite a while to do.
Milk paint has limited colors and is very expensive, but is much easier to use as you can skip the sanding and priming steps. I'm not sure how durable it is, since I haven't tried it on any furniture yet.
You can also make your own milk paint with plaster of paris and water. You must experiment with it a lot before using it on an actual piece. There are a few disaster stories out there about this. The equations must be precise.
Regarding re-staining. If the piece is veneered (and it likely is if under $1000), then you may not be able to sand it back. It all depends on the type of veneer used. Vinyl is impossible and may not even take paint well. A 1/8 wood veneer can be sanded, but its easy to go "too far" and issues like scratching and gouging are difficult to fix.
Milk paint has apparently come a long way. Check out Miss Mustard Seed's blog, which is almost totally about her line of milk paint. There are many colors. General finishes also makes a faux milk paint which can be mixed or used as it. I am thinking of using their paint for an old bench that I have been interested in painting for several years.
I am given to understand that modern veneering is not always adhered to real wood. To me, it sounds as if the OP's piece would be great painted, especially since she thinks it is too formal for her taste.
I had a look at your blue hutch, and I think it looks beautiful. You did a great job.
I kind of hate the trend of painting antique furniture like this, unless it is in poor shape. I wouldn't do anything to it. Transitional rooms can have old and new. I think it is fun to have an old piece among new ones. ETA, seriously? JCP? OK, paint away...
The piece isn't an antique, but it is well made, according to the OP. Apparently it came from JC Penney - and that's OK, but it makes painting it more palatable.
Apparently it's not an antique and not ever going to be a valuable antique so the option to paint it is there. That being said, it's a beautiful piece as it is, and the OP says it's well made as well, so while it may never be super valuable, it should hold up well and bring lots of joy to whoever owns it.
I personally would change out the hardware, remove the books (store them elsewhere) and wallpaper the interior with something fun and colorful. I would also add lighting and glass shelves and display something fun in there, like carnival glass or something else blingy. Finally, I would pair it with a cool chair with a funky seat cushion fabric that coordinated with the fun wallpaper (or paint color) in the interior.
plus one to this. It looks like a lovely piece, why cover it with paint? It doesn't need to be black to match the other furniture and since you already have an eclectic style, I think having different finishes on furniture ties right in to that. I do agree with changing out the very traditional hardware and if you have somewhere else for book storage, use the glass storage for something that is more fun to look at.
OP - if that's a catalog pic of the actual piece, then honestly the piece was made with formal lines to basically be a reproduction of a mahogany secretary from the '40s.
Google "mahogany secretary '40s" or some version thereof - you'll see very similar lines, similar mullins in the glass portion, etc..
So it was intended to be more formal from the beginning. Which doesn't mean you can't change it however you want... but it may never look quite like you want.
i.e. formal Chippendale is never going to look Tuscan - no matter how many cans of paints you use and how many roosters you applique.
Similarly, taking a "primitive" trestle dinner table and sanding it down, then staining and sealing with high gloss --- its not going to look like a piece of "fine" furniture.
So, if you paint that secretary, it will look exactly as it does now -but a different color. The lines, the symmertry (all formal) will not change.
Would hate for you to put in the work to paint it, only to realize its not *just* the color you don't currently like.
(and yes - if it were an actual 40's mahogany piece and you painted it, some of us would cry)
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Especially not with that nasty chalk or milk paint crap. Whoever came up with that needs to be shot dead.
