To Paint or Not to Paint

How do you know when to paint a piece of furniture?

 

It's not always easy to tell if a piece of furniture should be painted

or left in it's original chippy paint state

 

 

 Here is a small desk that looks to be in pretty bad shape. 

We are going to try cleaning it up and then assess if it is too bad and needs

to be painted or if it is just chippy enough to be "charming"

 

This particular piece has been in an attic for over 100 years...

we are really hoping to salvage the original paint...so sweet and delicate

 

 

 

 

 Here are two side tables that we decided looked better

cleanly painted in a soft grey so they match

 We had a little fun with this corner cabinet, painting the inside beadboard a bright aqua

 

 This vanity has the look and feel of original paint

but in fact we painted and then distressed it

 

 

Here, we decided that although this little end table is quite distressed

it was distressed in just the right amount....ha ha

 

Items that are very distressed  or shabby look great

next to very clean items with simple lines

 

 

Sooo..... largely, to paint or not to paint, depends on condition, style and personal choice