When my parents came to visit for Nanuk's birthday last week they brought piles of candy, toys and clothes for my boys (too much, of course), and this:
It's a secretary, and it's probably 100 years old. my mother's grandparents purchased it at a garage sale and eventually passed it along to her. It stood in the entry way of my parent's colonial for over 20 years. Then they moved and no longer had a suitable "wall" for it. My mother has boo-hoo-ed for months on end about how it must stay in the family and we must cherish it, but nobody else would take it. Now it's mine. More ornate than my preferences, but I like to mix things up a little bit so I think I can make it work eventually.
My issues are thus: I don't care for the finish (why does it still smell like varnish?) and I'm not thrilled with it's current placement in the corner of my front room. Mr. J insists he likes it where it is, but I'm fairly certain that's because he doesn't want to move it downstairs to an alternate location in the guest room.
Do I dare paint it? white? yellow? A major undertaking for sure, but maybe worth it in the end...
6 comments:
Ohh la la! Antiques are hard to paint over since they have meaning, would your mom be sad if it was painted? I am a paint fan so if it were me I would go for it & use a glaze over the paint so it shows all the details. It will also show all the open wood grain, but if that doesn't bother you no worries.
I like the paint, and I think letting the grain show would be nice. And frankly, my mom no longer has a say in the matter. she would die if I painted it. It's kind of a pretty piece, though, don't you think?
I love paint. My mom once gave me an antique dresser, one that had been in our house for a long time, but she had also purchased it a garage sale (so it wasn't a family heirloom), but I painted it white and used it in the nursery -- at first I was worried about how she would respond, but when she saw the finished piece and how it really was so much more my style she was happy I had done something I LOVED rather than just keep it how it was for the sake of it being an antique. Its a very pretty piece though, I'm sure whatever you decide you can make it look good.
Hard question. I am a fan of painting furniture (antique or not)so that you like it and even love it. It's a great piece so do what you need to do to love it.
Just thought I would throw my two cents in...my grandmother left me an antique bedroom set in beautiful oak and cherry inlay... She died when I was 5 1/2 and when I was 15 my mother asked my what color to paint it...I chose purple with antiquing over the top...it stayed that way for years and well after I married Clark. We slept in the purple bed for many years until Clark got the courage to strip that paint off. They are the most beautiful pieces of furniture I own...
I would suggest that you strip the varnish off if you want and then darken the color of stain to match your decor...but paint...I helped strip and I would never like thinking doing it again-HUGE pain & job!
Can't wait to see what you do!
Somebody did want it very much...it was supposed to be mine but I did not have a spare $1000 to ship it to Florida. If you decide you do not want I still very much want it.
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