Furniture painting newbie-would love advice

[happyhomemaker]

I was given a few pieces of furniture.  There isn't anything else in my home that have the same style (I am going to say they are French Provincial-ish), but I do like them and would like to use them.  Sorry for the bad pictures.  The desk is in the basement and it is not too pretty or well lit down there. They have already been painted in the past.  Here they are.





I will use the table for our computer tower and printer and the monitor, mouse and keyboard should fit nicely on the desk.  I am not sure whether I want to paint the furniture white or very light gray.  I thought I read somewhere that this style of furniture looks juvenile if it's white.  The room I want to put it in is painted BM Annapolis Gray, so I am not sure gray would look right or not.  I don't really know what steps I need to follow to paint the pieces either.  How do I go about refreshing them?

I removed a some of the hardware to get the right size, but I found these pulls that I adore and I think I will need to fill in the current holes and start new.  I think I will need 7 (I think I can get away with only one pull in the center drawer, right?)!  Centsational Girl used them on one of her projects and that's how I found them (as a side note, I love her blog!  She is so crafty and good at what she does!  I am jealous! .  I was inspired by this transformation.  I also like the custom Anne Overlays she used.  How do you think they would look on this piece-too much, out of place, or good? 

I would love all thoughts and suggestions to assist me in my undertaking.  Thanks!

[downtoearth]

If you are putting them in a gray room, I'm thinking maybe a different color. Can yoy do a fresh white with silver or brass accents like the blog post? That would look good on the desk. I think I'd do the table something fun - maybe yellow or blue like these:


www.designsponge.com/2009/10/before-after-yellow-love-2.html

or
www.centsationalgirl.com/tag/printables/

Are they going next to each other or you'll use one or the other? I think as separate pieces, they are good accents, but I don't think I'd put them side/by/side and paint them the same pop of color. I would try to use just one or the other in a room and not both.

[happyhomemaker]

Thank you for the helpful response. I will be putting them side by side, so that the printer and computer tower will be right next to the desk. I am leaning toward white and doing the silver accents. I love the idea of a pop of color, but am not sure what color I would do. We have red/cranberry accents in the room, but I don't want to paint them red. I have a chair that I am going to use to sit at the desk and want to reupholster the seat with fabric that has red accents or designs on it. I was thinking some kind of geometric shaped pattern.

[pitterwoo]

how about a very dark grey, or I like the dark navy idea also. I think a dark color would avoid the kids room look.

[happyhomemaker]

I hadn't thought of darker colors for some reason, but I like the dark grey idea. Would that still look good with the hardware I chose? I would think so, but thought I would ask.