Four Poster Bed – to Paint or not to Paint?

I’ve finally decided.  For almost two years now I’ve been toying around with the age old ‘to paint or not to paint’ question regarding the traditional four poster bed in our master bedroom, and I’ve finally decided to go for it.  I’m going to have this bed painted black, most likely a high gloss black.  And I can’t wait to see how it looks in the bedroom of our new house!

(art)

This bed is over 14 years old.  It was the first brand new piece of furniture my husband and I ever bought, so it holds so much sentimental value.  That’s why making the decision to paint it has not been an easy one.

It’s easy to decide to paint an old, second hand find or something that’s seen a lot of wear and tear.  But this is a quality piece that also holds such a special place in my heart, and it doesn’t have so much as a scratch on it really, even after being moved across states three different times.  I really didn’t want to rush into making a decision about painting it black.

So I just sat on the idea for good long while, pouring through design books, magazines and of course, Pinterest to help me make up my mind.  And in two years time I still want to paint it black, so I feel like that’s a good sign.  Black is classic enough that I don’t think I’ll tire of it, and I think it will still stand the test of time design wise.  Though I also think black, especially a high gloss black, will up this bed’s chic factor, giving it that slight edge that I’ve been longing after.  So black it is!  But I’m going to have it done professionally because I want this paint job done perfectly!

Since we’ll be moving sometime soon, it won’t be too much of an imposition to send this bed off for a couple of weeks to be painted.

The sun has also faded the stain on a couple of the posts, which was just the finally push I needed to go all in on black.  I’m planning to go with black grasscloth wallpaper in our master bedroom at the new house, and I can’t wait to see how this bed in a glossy black will look against that paper!

I’m still on the fence about having this tall dresser painted.  I think I might just leave it in it’s original mahogany finish and pair it with a different mirror.

What are your thoughts?  Do you think I’m crazy for even thinking about painting these pieces?

How do you decide when it comes to the ‘to paint or not to paint’ question regarding furniture pieces?

This is not an April’s Fools joke.  😉  I’m seriously planning to have this bed painted.