As trends come and go and people's tastes in interior decor change, many homeowners take it upon themselves to make 'minor' adjustments to their otherwise flawless antique goods.

And by 'minor', we mean that some people repaint their vintage pieces in bright colours or stark white, hoping they would look more in line with modern interior design trends.

But sadly, in some situations, the furniture ends up looking worse. In rare cases, these DIYers even manage to ruin perfectly fine coffee tables, dressers, and other antique furniture.

That is why there is a growing movement on social media from homeowners and design aficionados who are tired of seeing perfectly fine wooden furniture painted over to fit into Pinterest-inspired homes.

They call the group 'Reverse Pinterest' on the forum site Reddit, and their goal is to showcase beautifully crafted wooden pieces that have been rescued from the depths of renovation hell, restoring them to their former glory.

Here are a few of the images that were posted in the group, and we bet that after seeing them, you'd never consider updating and repainting any furniture again!

Though popular, white minimalist furniture can occasionally lack personality compared to wooden designs. Credit: BoredPanda.​

When compared to the repainted version on the left, the original on the right has such a gorgeous wood grain that we're baffled as to why the owners ever considered painting it. It's nice to see a cabinet like this one returned to its original form.

This user took a blue centre table and turned it back into a beautiful wooden centrepiece. Credit: BoredPanda.​

The transformation on this one looks amazing! Aside from the beautiful wooden finish, the user also decided that the table looks way better when the base is flipped upside down. Now that's creativity at work!

The antique, white-painted fireplace was restored to its original beauty. Credit: BoredPanda.​

Amazingly, people are starting to value ancient fireplaces more because the amount of labour and attention to detail that goes into them is often underestimated. This fireplace, which had been painted white and was beginning to look old and out of date, has been restored to its former wooden glory.

This before and after shot exemplifies how gorgeous the wood panels were below the coat of paint. Credit: BoredPanda.​

It has been said many times before, but it bears repeating: just because you paint the furniture doesn't mean it will look better.

The before and after pictures of the cabinet above are a good example.

It took two months to remove the white paint from this Danish teak desk with floating legs. Credit: BoredPanda.​

Restoring wooden furniture is no easy task, according to the person who restored this beautiful Danish desk. This project reportedly took him two months to complete, and given how gorgeous it came out, we would say the time and effort were well spent.

And according to another user, this teak desk retails for more than a thousand dollars... Why would anybody paint it white and cover up the lovely timber finish?

Aside from white paint, people also used metallic paint to cover wood furniture. Credit: BoredPanda.​

Some time ago, 'metallic' furniture became all the rage, and many people rushed to spray paint their antique wooden furniture in an attempt to keep up with the latest trend.

Nowadays, though, they aren't as popular. It's great that people are rediscovering the joy of bringing old wooden treasures back to life. Just look at the example above—what a massive difference!

We have to admit that just because we 'upgrade' a piece of furniture doesn't always mean it will look better. There are times when a piece's natural beauty is more than enough on its own, and it's best not to cover it up with a new coat of paint.

But of course, it will always be up to you, the owner, to choose which pieces of furniture look best with the style and decorations of your home! So be creative, and whether you like the painted pieces or the original wooden ones, it's your house, so you should decide what works best for it.

This proves that even if painted, it can always be restored to its original look with a bit of time and care.

What do you think about these images, folks? Do you believe that the original is always better, or is it on a case-by-case basis? Let us know in the comments!

 

[Penny4]

I adore good timber. Probably due to growing up with my cabinet maker father making furniture and cabinets etc.
The trend is to paint over furniture these days. Usually, with white wash.

 

[RTS]

There are two types of people, those who like natural wood and those who prefer trendy painted finishes.
I grew up with lovely old wood furniture which my mother replaced with Laminex and steel when she could afford to.
I couldn't afford the beautiful 1970's pieces when setting up house, but as they've been discarded have picked up some lovely solid wood furniture for bargain prices.
I now have what I always wanted.
My mother too has wood furniture again.

 

[Ricci]

I just love the look, feel and originality of wood. Every piece is subtlety different with a warmth of its own. I have always been loudly against painting over a perfectly good piece of wooden furniture. All the furniture in my home is natural wood and only needs an occasional wipe down with oil to keep it in tip top condition.