To paint or not to paint

If you have spent any time at all reading comment sections on the subject of painting furniture (or kitchen cupboards), you know those are fighting words. 

"NO! Don't paint over original woodwork! No one wants that! You will ruin its value! Are you stupid?"

Goodness gracious. Here's a tip: reading comment sections are hard on blood pressure.

My thoughts: if someone thinks "no one wants painted furniture", they have never looked at Pinterest!

Personally, I'd rather not see a "nice" piece of wood furniture painted, but if it has flaws & dings & stains, then why not? (And I also realize it's none of my business what other people do with their furniture or kitchen cupboards)

Anyway, much of the furniture we pick up benefits from an update.

The before. But not totally before. We picked this up at an auction, and when we got it home, we realized the dirt on top was more than just dirt. It was........ well. we're not sure what it was, but it was nasty.

Soap and water didn't touch it. So George took the orbital sander to it, and got rid of all the nastiness. But there were still plenty of areas that didn't look so great. I don't normally paint oak furniture, but....

This time I did, and it went from being drab to fab! And it sold quickly, which is always a good thing.

No before pictures, but I recently painted these pieces......

This table was a very dark brown. You know that old furniture that is very dark? Was that the color of stain and varnish they used back in the day? Or did it darken with time?

The red makes it much, much cheerier.

I've had this table in the shop for a LONG time. Too long. But I liked it so much, I hung onto it. It was a light brown. I finally put it on clearance, but for whatever reason, it didn't even sell at half off. Okay then. I used the same red paint on it. We'll see if that draws more attention.

While I had the paint out, I grabbed this table too. It was a medium brown, but all scratched up and tired looking. Again, I think the paint gave it a new life.

Should antiques be painted? The best advice I ever heard was an antiques expert on a TV show. He said to make the piece something you love, and something that will make you smile every time you look at it. Whether that is leaving it in its original condition, restoring it, or painting it. 

A wise man.