CHI Good Questions: Stain or Paint this Chair?

Cynthia sent in a good question: "I bought this little blue round-back chair for $45 the other day, and I've already started sanding it in hopes of giving it a complete makeover. This picture definitely makes the chair look better than it does in real life.

Any ideas? I'm especially torn as to whether I should stain the wood or paint it?"

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Great find, Cynthia! The chair is such a good shape and should work really well nearly anywhere due to its nice lines and compact size. We like painted furniture quite a bit, so we'd likely go that route, but we'll open it up to the crowd....

Please share your ideas for redoing the chair with Cynthia in the comments below...

Comments (17)

I think it would look great painted white.

I would paint it with something that POPS and reapulster (sp?) it with something subtle.

I would stain it dark and go for a bright fabric

You should first decide whether you are going to keep the upholstery or not and figure out where the chair is going to be placed. What kind of finishes are in the room, color palette, etc.

Judging by the photo, the frame looks like it would look good with either staining or paint.

I would love to see this painted in a glossy black and reupholstered in a bold print or in something very light and textured. Yum.

It has great simple lines. Great find.

Go dark with a bright, maybe retro looking/design, fabric.

You could even take it in a Gustavian direction, painting the wood a pale silvery neutral, sanding it off a bit at the edges to reveal wood, and re-upholstering in linen. I could see large checked fabric on the outside, with a corresponding solid on the inside (or vice versa.)

wood is always so beautiful, I would say stain it and then re-upholster it in a simple fabric for a nice, classic look.

I would either paint the wood black or stain it a very dark rich brown to pop against the floor. The current fabric makes me think a baby blue and cream graphic print fabric would be nice; or maybe a red and white.

Cynthia....are you completely confused after reading all the responses and getting all these different and great opinions? I would be. Good luck!

I love that chair. Where did you buy it?

I prefer to stain where possible. This would look great with an ebony stain and an off-white chenille fabric with a bit of a reflective quality to it. Or send it to me and let me do it. ~:o)

I'd go for stain, as that would hide any scratches, accentuates the wood, and is timeless.

White paint is a fad, I think.

If you like the fabric:

Pull back fabric trim which is usually tacked on, then PRIME & Paint. (Even the thicker gel stains would be a challenge to prevent dripping, running, & ruining the existing fabric)

If you want to replace fabric:

This style of chair is so classic- it can pull off pretty much anything if you keep color of fabric/wood treatment cohesive. That's why you are getting such a variety of answers.

i am on a white venture, ha ha ha, i am painting it all white. so go white!!!!

The chair looks like fruitwood and if it were mine I'd leave it exactly as it is, it's lovely.