I would stain it.. not paint it.

1 for staining

Hey Katrina...good find! I'd stain it, painting would be twice the work and then if you changed your mind you'd really have work on your hands....

It looks to match your record console perfectly, so why would you change the color? I would leave it the way it is.

yeah I kind of also like it as is...

The color is fine. The thing that needs to change, in my opinion, is the shine. I would strip off that glossy varnish and seal with something more matte.

I'm with amarie. and sand and paint the metal part.

Leave it as is! Maybe brighten up the paint on the metal parts. I think the wood is pretty great.

I agree. If you can strip the varnish without stripping the stain -- is that actually possible? -- and replace it with a more matte finish, that would help. I love the paint the way it is. If you like things pristine, then, yeah, strip the paint on the metal. You might find you like the metal underneath and decide to polish it and put a finish on it -- I have no idea what you "seal" metal with, if you even do.

Great chair, and great next to your console.

Throwing my support to the "leave it as is" camp.

I'm sitting in a very similar chair I also found on the street, except my seat and back had vinyl cushions. I kept all the wood as is with scratches and wear (gives it character) and then recovered the seat and back with black leather (also a score from a sofa on the street!) and my husband sanded off all the paint from the metal with a rotary metal brush for the Dremel. The sanding was no easy feat, but it looks awesome with the bare metal that we finished with a clear coat of spray paint.

Change the metal color, for sure. It's a small enough area that it would make a great accent color without overpowering any space... Red, powder blue, pink, whatever will stand out nicely. The color of the metal would then dictate whether a lighter or darker wood color would be appropriate - I don't think it should go darker than it is now, but I do agree with knocking down the shine a little.

You could probably sand the wood really lightly to rough up the surface, then reseal with a satin finish, all without affecting the wood color if you so chose.

How about powdercoating the metal parts black and staining the wood red, a la Eames LCW (just to offer some variety vs the "don't paint the wood crowd")?

Leave it as it is.

I think your idea is great, but if you wanted to paint it that would be okay, too. In my house I have wood items with great patina, some with not-so-great patina (read: worn and not pretty), and some things are painted because I thought they'd look better that way, especially if the quality of wood wasn't very good. Whatever works for you, but if you stain or paint it I hope you come back and show us how you made out, good luck.

rub-on satin polyurethane (minwax is the most available brand) would be a good choice if you can get it to bare wood. refinishing is tricky as most novices (without, say, a spraybooth) tend to find it hard to get a good finish. using the rub-on poly finished with a light buffing with steel wool and pate wax gives a very good hand-applied finish that won't show brushmarks. another easy, but decent loking tactic would be to try howard's restore-a-finish in a natural (or tinted) formula. it's also a rub-on finish and is easy for the DIYer.

if you can't tell, i'm voting for wood. the natural wood contrasted with the white/ivory metal bits is quite nice.

It looks to me like the varnish on the wood is pretty thick; I would strip that off and re-stain it with a light stain. The white parts look like they are metal and rusting in the back. I would strip the paint off and re-paint those parts white. I would definitely not paint the wood parts of the chair. It looks nice but that it's been through a botched restoration attempt.

Usually I would just leave it alone but I agree with travislessness that it's been through the hands of someone in love with dark varnish. Sinister thought.

I would carefully strip the varnish (though it's a horrible, thankless job) and sand the paint down the the metal.

Only take on this project in a place with excellent ventilation.

OMG LEAVE IT ALONE IT'S BEAUTIFUL!

sand the wood potions down to raw wood. if you need to, use a wood bleach, but I would try to get a really pretty blonde wood (it has a very clean modern look which would be a great foil to this vintage design). matte clear coat and paint the metal (tape off the wood and use an oil based spray).

To the first part of your question, it looks like an old school desk chair, which can often be found in dumpsters in front of schools. Though because of the arms Im thinking maybe it was the teachers chair. Also cuz it doesnt have "Samantha heart Richie" carved into the seat.
But that's just a guess.

Definitely paint it and perhaps have it done professionally spray painted. A color that you and the rest of the room can live with. It would look clean and sharp. Now it looks like a trashed chair. From the photo, it doesn't look like the most elegant wood.

If you like it as is then I would definately leave it alone. Get some Scott's Liquid Gold and clean the wood. It works miracles without ruining the original finish. I used to spend hours refinishing pieces and finally realized a lot of the time they just needed a little cleaning. Why does everything have to be perfect anyway, I think a little wear and tear gives theses peices some character.

It's lovely, just leave it alone!

This is a vintage Hill-Rom chair, originally made for use in hospitals and doctor's offices. I have two similar chairs with the original labels still on the bottom that say, "This furniture is finished with a special material capable of withstanding repeated washings and accidental spillings of alcohol, iodine, ink, and other ordinary chemicals. It will not chip or craze. Exercising reasonable care this furniture will give life time satisfaction."

This chair looks great as is! You could add a brightly coloured cushion with a bold print.