Photo of the chairs in question.

Thanks Big Reader. I am not sure what the look would be called, maybe modern with a touch of traditional. The house is definitely mid century modern. I tend to like uncluttered simple rooms. Thinking this through, I am really trying to keep the furniture but update the room somewhat. I am no youngster but I can't stand walking into a room that looks & feels old if you know what I mean.

There are so many beautiful fabrics available. Maybe choose a mid century fabric, or your favourite colour fabric, and reupholster your fabulous chairs. This could be the starting point for a complete home refresh.

That's a good idea. Gives me a place to start looking at fabrics. Do you think they would look ok if I recovered them without the piping on the edges or would that not suit the chair?

Thats a pretty basic chair could be dressed up however. If you don't want formal stay away from suedes, velvets or brocades. Personally I'd go for a quirky botanical print. Nothing quite like a bit of the garden indoors to make something seem relaxed and more modern.

I'm not at all a fan of painting wood furniture but if you want it to look more contemporary it's an option.

I would look at using Kilim rug style as it is ageless and would work with your chairs and style of house, definately don't want to walk into an old feeeling.

They are beautiful chairs. Forget the slipcovers I mentioned. For your chairs I would pick a fabric in a colour you love and have them reupholstered. Stay away from shine and stripes and you’ll have a younger vibe.

Picking up on the quirky botanical suggestion above, have a look at utopiagoods.com. They have some amazing Australian botanical fabrics.

Austere Hamlet. I'm with you. Just couldn't paint these chairs. brought from Canada 32 years ago. In some way, they are a nod to my past. I have painted many kitchen chairs in my time, but these will never go under the brush!

They are lovely timber chairs use a fabric that enhances that