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Original poster

Painting this- scandalous?

60 replies

Christmascookiesmmmm · 27/10/2018 20:33

Sorry the photos are not great- it’s in a room that’s not been used for anything other than storage for three years and there’s lots of stuff in the way so I can’t actually get a full image of it, but basically it’s a big antique mirrored wardrobe made of solid mahogany with lots of carving and inlaid bits, it has two wardrobe sections either side, drawers on the bottom and drawers/cupboards in the middle.

I’m buying my first house and my mum has said I can have my grandad’s old wardrobe. I’m very grateful as it’s a beautiful piece of furniture, and I know my Grandad used to love it, and it will suit the house as it’s a period property, however i’d Really love to paint it. I would do it very sensitively and I’d do a lot of research to make sure I didn’t make a mess of it.. I’ve seen photos of Emma bridgewater’s house in magazines and she has loads of painted antique furniture and it looks beautiful. I’m thinking dove grey chalk Annie Sloan paint but again I’d need to do more research. but anyway my mum thinks this is absolutely scandalous and says I’m not allowed it if I plan to paint it.. but I feel like if I didn’t take it, they would just sell it at an auction as they’ve no use for it and need to get rid of it for space reasons and it wouldn’t be in the family anymore (my grandad was passed it down from his mother!). If I did take it and paint it it would absolutely be a new family heirloom and I’d never get rid of it. My grandad and I were extremely close and I know he’d have been super proud to see that I was buying a house after working so hard to save for deposit etc and I think he’d love to have given me something to go in the new house and in my head he wouldn’t mind what I did with it as long as I loved it and kept it forever!

Just want to know if I’m being unreasonable wanting to paint it.. Thanks!

OP posts:

MrsMoastyToasty · 27/10/2018 20:37

Get it valued first. I wouldn't want to find out that it was worth hundreds of pounds after covering it in paint.

Rainbowturkey · 27/10/2018 20:37

I wouldn’t paint that, the natural colour and pattern in the wood are beautiful.

Firemansamismyman · 27/10/2018 20:39

Each to their own RE painting it. . What IS scandalous to me is that your mother would rather sell it than let you enjoy and keep (As you wish) a treasured peice of furniture from your grandad when you were so close. Unless he specifically said it was never to be painted, your mother is unreasonable.

WelshPooch · 27/10/2018 20:39

Please don't paint it. That's a beautiful bit of furniture. I've never see any furniture that has been improved by painting it.

drinkswineoutofamug · 27/10/2018 20:42

Don't paint it . A good clean up and a wax maybe .

WitsEnding · 27/10/2018 20:43

YABU, if it goes to auction someone will appreciate it for the lovely piece of furniture it is. Doesn't matter whether they are family.

Northumberlandlass · 27/10/2018 20:43

Please please don’t paint it. It’s beautiful!

3luckystars · 27/10/2018 20:44

Definitely do not paint it yourself. Annie Sloan paint is for beginners painting over a wreck of an old bench or rocking chair when they don't want to prime. It's thick paint that gets dirty.

Don't do it. Get it valued. Or if you want to keep it and change the colour, get a professional kitchen cabinet painter to do it. He / she will prime it properly.

Honestly you will absolutely destroy every feature of that if you paint it with Annie Sloan paint.

Ohyesiam · 27/10/2018 20:45

Paint it, it would be lovely. Dark wood furniture sucks all the life out of a room.

Bluntness100 · 27/10/2018 20:47

Your mother is a bit odd. So she will sell it and what go check up on thr new owner regularly to check they haven't painted it?

These pieces are worth very little at auction as they are so big and heavy.

I personally woild have no issue painting it, as if it makes it useable and loved to you then that's what's important, loving and cherishing it

However I do get some folks are very strange about painting over wood.

Knittedfairies · 27/10/2018 20:50

I’d leave it as it is; it’s too beautiful to paint. I second not using chalk paint yourself; however much research you do, it’s a bugger to get it right, especially on a large area because it dries very quickly and you can’t over-paint.

Dlux · 27/10/2018 20:53

OP Big-leaf mahogany is a CITES species and it is possible that they can't sell the wardrobe depending on this, do a bit of research as this can work in your favour should they wang to do so

Bluntness100 · 27/10/2018 20:55

I find chalk paint an absolute doddle and have no idea what folks are talking about. The first coat is patchy and second it dries beautifully smooth and even.

Personally I've done an old orange pine bed. Dressing table and bedside cabinets, in thr pale French grey the op names and they are gorgeous if I say so myself. However I used the rustins one. All the detail remained clear as day.

I'd not hesitate to use it on that wardrobe, as a pp said, big heavy dark furniture sucks all the light out the room and only really works in huge rooms. That's why there is so little demand for it now. Even getting it uo your stairs is a bastard,

viccat · 27/10/2018 20:59

We had a piece of furniture similar to that (more of a bookcase than a wardrobe though) in my childhood home that a relative had painted at some point. It didn't look great after a few decades...

If you paint it, just keep in mind the grey chalk paint look will date and you might not like it after 10 or 20 years, and it will be much harder to remove the paint than it is to paint it!

That said, at the end of the day it's a piece of furniture and if it will be more useful to you painted than as it is, then do it.

SputnikBear · 27/10/2018 21:03

That is lovely. What a shame to paint it. If I was your mum I wouldn’t let you ruin it either.

Original poster

Christmascookiesmmmm · 27/10/2018 21:09

Thanks everyone for opinions.. I’ve managed to get a full photo now (again please excuse the horrendous mess!!)

It is big and yes the problem is that I feel dark furniture sucks light out of room! And it’s not in perfect condition (a little bit of wood is missing on one of the corners).. but I don’t want to ruin it if that is the general consensus..!!

OP posts:

FredaNerkk · 27/10/2018 21:09

If you do paint it with chalk paint, get a specialist to do it. (eg the people that run respected Annie Sloan workshops). As a beginner you won't find it easy to do such an intricate, large, and sentimental piece well. The specialists often have examples of their work on show, demonstrating different techniques and colour combinations.

Bluntness100 · 27/10/2018 21:12

I would agree on thr point of once it's painted it's always going to be painted, and the chalk paint will date. However no reason it can't be painted again at some point.

It's fine on a eighties pine bed, and gave it a new lease of life, and we are happy to bin it all at some point, but less so on mahogany. When chalk paint is on, if you wax it, you can't paint over it without sanding it back, Matt varnish is best, I'm not even sure if you can paint over that.

I also agree though as said, if it makes it usable for you that's important.

buckingfrolicks · 27/10/2018 21:13

I think it would look horrible painted!

ShineOnHarvestMoon · 27/10/2018 21:15

That mahogany is beautiful. Why would you want to paint it?

Some people have no eye or taste.

SpamChaudFroid · 27/10/2018 21:16

I'm a big fan of slapping the paint on and giving old heavy dark furniture a new lease of life. People get so emotionally invested and controlling with "stuff" though. I've got an old desk that must have been painted around a hundred years ago - the paint's all rubbed off in places and filthy with ingrained dirt. It looks fab!

SpamChaudFroid · 27/10/2018 21:20

Bluntness, you can remove wax with mineral oil, wash with soapy water then re-paint without having to sand.

drspouse · 27/10/2018 21:26

Don't paint it, work the room round it. Not much furniture, pale walls, mirrors.

3luckystars · 27/10/2018 23:22

There is a ghost reflected in the mirror.

3luckystars · 27/10/2018 23:22

BOO!

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