advice on bedroom decoration?

[Mandy21]

We inherited some bedroom furniture when we moved into this house about 18 months ago along with built in wardrobes. We therefore ditched our old cheap furniture (save for the bed frame) and use this - its quite old and traditional looking but its very good quality. Its this range. www.harrisonantiquefurniture.co.uk/stag-minstrel-bedroom-furniture-five-piece-bedroom-suite-1742-p.asp

We have two 4 drawer bed side tables and two large sets of drawers (one like one in the photograph) and another tall boy / 7 drawer chest.

Question is this - we're now in a position to consider updating our bedroom and am completely open to ideas. Budget isn't massive (as always) - am considering painting this furniture in a cream / F&B type finish to make it look more modern but still quite traditional, or ebay-ing it all and buying new furniture (solid oak). Am a bit out of touch with current trends for bedrooms so any comments welcome!

[minipie]

If you have the time and patience, I would definitely paint it. The shapes of the pieces are nice (IMO) it's just the dark wood which is outdated. Painting it would give you a sort of French boudoir-y feel. Lots of that kind of thing around, eg this site so you would be "on trend" if you care about that!

I'm also not a huge fan of modern oak furniture so painted would def be my preference.

Repainting properly is quite time consuming though. You would need to either strip, or sand down the furniture to remove the varnish. Then use an eggshell or satin paint. Use a roller for a smoother finish (or even spray paint if you can find some that is right). Bear in mind that the paint on the tops of bedside tables etc could scratch quite easily, so you might want to apply a lacquer or varnish over the top of the paint in those areas (or get a piece of glass cut perhaps).

Lots of work! But I definitely think the result would be good, and would be a whole lot cheaper than buying new. Not sure you'd get much on eBay since it's not in fashion.

[Mammonite]

I think I'd keep it as it is. Our bedroom furniture is pretty oldfashioned wood but I have painted the room in greys/greens which tone it down and have quite contemporary/plain linens and curtains. I like the old and new together. Easier to paint a wall than a piece of furniture.

[Mandy21]

Thank you! minipie am loving that website - definitely saved for inspiration!

[chandellina]

well i would sell it and start anew. seems a shame to paint classic furniture like that. not to my taste but not sure a lick of paint is really going to give you what you're looking for.