I, for one, LOVE painted furniture- so I say go for it!!!! Do you have other dark accents in the room if you were to do black?

Bloomin,
Is that piece solid wood?
In 2004 Pennsylvania House closed its factory in PA, and now the furniture is cheaply made in China.
You state you have had that piece for a long time. How long is long?
If the piece is solid wood, and really is old, over 30 or 40 years, DON"T PAINT IT.
If it is a newer piece, or you really don't care about saving the piece just in case some day in the future it is worth alot more than you paid for it, I would paint it a nice cream color.
Please don't use chalk paint on a nice piece of furntiure like that.
I like the piece, you have kept it in nice condition.
You can also paint the hardware if you want to, mabey paint it a pewter?

A vote for white to match the trim in the room .... then add creamy white ironstone pieces .... fresh and bright! :)

Agree with butterfly..you have to find out first if it has any value. If it does, don't paint it, unless you really, really want to (ultimately, you can do whatever YOU want with it!).

If you do paint it, I'd paint it a cottage or barn red and glaze it with a brown or black glaze to give it an antique look (VERY easy to do!).

Then yes, new hardware.

Paint it. Don't live with something you don't love. If it was made 40 years ago, it's just '70s furniture.

ML

First- thanks to everyone for the quick responses. The piece was from my husbands grandmother-I took a pic of the tag that was on the back. I'll try to research the age, but looking around on the web, I think it's "only" worth a few hundred.

One more thing- as of now the room is a blank slate, except for this piece which will be in the room as well and the window treatments.

I'd paint it.

If it is indeed worth "a few hundred" dollars, why not sell it and get something you like better? If not and you want to change up the look, I'd start with a carpenter. Have him remove all the scallop trim top and bottom and square up the crown. If you paint it as is, it's still going to look like an old-fashioned hutch. Modernizing the shape and then painting might result in a real jewel. And nothing but white or cream....

I would not paint.

I don't think paint would make it look "old fashioned"..I think you could easily make it look French country if that is a look that appeals to you. It depends on what your personal style is. It wouldn't work for me, painted, or unpainted, because I like cleaner/ more modern lines. But in the right decor, it could work painted.

"Paint it. Don't live with something you don't love. If it was made 40 years ago, it's just '70s furniture."

And Maddielee for the win!!! I am not trying to offend, but I can't stand it when people tell someone not to paint something because it's wood. So what, if it's in her house, and she's trying to decorate to her taste, it really does not matter one bit that someone else is clutching pearls at the thought of covering up 'good' wood with paint.

Do what you want and love what you do, that's my motto.

I love it! It really is a beautiful piece of furniture. My daughter has been on a kick painting furniture. I think that there is a lot of furniture where painting enhances the appearance but if that is PA House it is solid wood. Just the photo of it you can tell it has a lovely glow to it.

If you hate it I would sell it to someone that loves natural wood and use the money to buy something else either painted or unpainted.

When I remodeled my kitchen last year I wanted to paint an antique oak cupboard and several people on the forum talked me out of it. I'm about a year down the road and I am so glad I didn't paint it. WTBS, if you really hate and selling it would be a hassle paint it.

The things about this piece that make it "dated" are not the finish, so painting it isn't really going to change the parts of it that you don't like.

It has the typical heavy, mid-century, colonial revival elements of it's era, and instead of a maple, heavy, mid-century colonial revival hutch, it's going to be a Painted, heavy, mid-century colonial revival hutch. There's no disguising what it is. That's my problem with painting a lot of furniture when it's not really the finish that is the "problem".

Like I said: Get a carpenter if you want a different look. Paint won't do it.

Agree! This afternoon I was looking more closely at my piece vs. the painted pieces I like online, and realized the difference in style (lack of straight lines in molding, etc.) . I think I will leave as is and consider selling it. Thank you ALL for your thoughtful responses- they were truly helpful!!

Ditto what Pal said.

However...if you're just tired of it and want to give it a new look, why don't you change the hardware (keeping the original) and do something with the back? Add a pretty paper, paint, a colorful fabric, etc. You can even do a very temporary fix by using cardboard or thin plywood in the back.

I would remove the scallops, stain it dark, and get new hardware.

Well I like it. You can tell it's not a cheap piece of particle board. It looks solid and very well made. I think it would look great with white dishes. Agree with others that painting it isn't going to change the style. That said, if you don't like how it looks and don't want to replace it, maybe painting is the right choice for you.

Well coll 123, that is absolutely wonderful. Goes to show.....paint CAN be your friend!

I posted that one because it has some similar elements to the OP's hutch. Sure, paint isn't going the change the lines, but it can sometimes freshen things up...or at least change it up. Again, it's about what works or doesnt with one's decor...we all have different styles and tastes.

I am definitely not one that finds painting wood sacrilegious...or brick.

Great example of what it would look like black. Thank you!

Juddgirl's painted hutch transformation is my inspiration piece - gonna do this someday :).

I love, love this piece.

Here is a link that might be useful: Juddgirl's Hutch

Although Early American or Colonial isn't exactly my decor style, I like your hutch a lot. If it's real wood, it appears to be a quality wood. This hutch would shine in the right setting.

Juddgirl's Hutch is a different case. It's made of cheap knotty pine, which is pretty much a paint grade wood. In working people's humble dwellings pieces made of cheap woods like pine or birch were common because, well, the wood was abundant and cheap. In the 19th century even painting a piece of furniture could be a luxury for many.

If you are tired of this hutch and want a different style, perhaps it would be better to sell it and buy something from CL that suits you. I did that way in my home. My DH had a lot of generic Early American style furniture which I didn't like, such as Windsor chairs, Boston rockers, etc. Most of it has been replaced by selling and buying on CL.

I wouldn't decide which color to paint it until I took the balnce of the room into consideration. Will black on one side of the room look heavy? Is white too light?