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"What kind of business would I even approach for this task?"

A Furniture Refinisher or an Upholsterer.

If you do get it done, you should have your frame completely stripped of fabric, etc - then sent out for refinishing - then back to the upholstery workroom for completion. Most upholsterers will have refinishers that they work with to complete these types of jobs so that you don't have to schlep the frame hither and yon yourself.

If you want it ebonized, a professional furniture refinisher would be the way to go. They can also refinish with black laquer or highgloss paint. The way to find a good one is to call and upholsterer, or look in the phone book under furniture restoration. If you have the funds, get it done by someone else. IMO, unless you have the tools and the experience, this is a huge task (getting old paint or stain out of all those hand carved details is not easy).

Keep in mind that you're likely to stain the upholstery if you do it yourself and don't pull the fabric off (which means you'll need some upholstery skills, too).

In the end, buying supplies, the right tools, and a book could be money you put towards having a professional do it. I just had two danish modern arm chairs refinished and upholstered for $545. No mess, no stress, and it comes guaranteed.

My recommendation is to put your DIY energy towards easy hanging fruit such as painting, installing pergo, knitting, art collages, or any number of other crafty projects.

If you want to learn how to refinish a piece of furniture, pick up something like an end table from a thrift store and teach yourself on something that you don't love. If you discover that you have the patience and talent for it, then tackle things like your settee.

If you really want black...can't you just paint it?

if you have the space, this isn't that tough to do. perhaps not the most eco-friendly way, but for pieces like this I've found it works best:

get an aerosol stripper that foams and stays, and some small tools/scrapers that will fit the grooves. you also need some hardcore stripping gloves- that stuff will burn if you don't protect your skin and work surface. apply to smaller areas and let the stripper set for a few minutes- then scrape off the old coat of paint (and finish per the cans directions, usually steel wool and a light sanding will do the trick.)

then get an all in one stain/sealant that has a gloss finish- most hardware stores carry these, and it really cuts time instead of staining, rubbing, and then laquering. try two light coats, letting it dry in a not windy space in between layers.

i've used this method on several pieces of furniture and it's really do-able in a weekend or so with great results. hope this helps! :)

I did something similar with a chair that I got second-hand. It wasn't too difficult, but, then again, it was summer and I had a backyard and wasn't too invested in the piece (it was $20 or some such). I'd definitely recommend trying your skills on something easier first just to get the hang of it. Especially since, if it goes well, you'll have two things that you love and beautified yourself.

Also, that first link is broken. Here's the right address:

step-by-step wood staining post

As kimg924 alludes to, in the picture in question the wood has not just been painted, but ebonized or lacquered. The materials required for that kind of a finish are stinky (toxic) and often tricky to work with. Take her advice, and take it to the professionals to deal with safely in their well-equipped work rooms.

We wanted to finish home-built media furniture (which turned out great, by the way) in black, with the kind of seriously black stain used on commercial furniture. Around here it has to be special ordered and costs more than $100 a gallon. For something like the settee, I concur with others that going to a professional would be sensible.

That said, if the settee cost $10, you don't consider it good enough to invest in having the job done right, and you think of it as temporary furniture, then I'd sand, prime, and paint the wood black enamel, at least 2 coats, sand lightly between, then coat with polyurethane. I did this on a couple of little occasional tables years ago and they are holding up to abuse rather well. But be warned -- amateur jobs can be identified as such, so you have to not care about that!

Thank you all so much for your advice and insights.

Although wood staining is something I'd like to try in the future, I think I'll start price shopping for a professional job because I value this piece and would like to keep it for a while. If it were an all-wood piece, I would be more confident, but I don't want to take a chance on ruining the fabric.

Thanks again and I'll be sure to send pictures when it's done.