Repainting and Refinishing Dining Chairs

Q I recently found two old dining room chairs in my attic that I remember using as a child 70 years ago in our dining room. They have an arched back, six turned spindles, and a shaped seat. I remember them as having a shiny black finish but they are very worn. I’m thinking of repainting them but my son suggests that doing so might reduce their value. Can you tell me what their value is and whether repainting would make them more or less valuable?

A Repainting or refinishing will lower the value of a piece of furniture if it is a valuable antique, made by a well-known craftsman, or finished with a hand-painted technique like grain painting. Your chairs are not very old, probably from the early 1900s. They are worth about $50. So, in your case, repainting them might bring them back to life and raise their decorative value.