To paint or not to paint

Alot of the pieces I have inherited and they are looking a bit tired.  The finishes are really starting to look bad and after looking at http://www.centsationalgirl.com/ I am really tempted to paint.

The Ballard Bench

Holiday vacation and so many things I want to do and too little time.

I made the bench using directions from http://221vision.com/2010/10/21/diy-ballard-designs-bench/

I had a few problems....like the dowel screws were already in the legs when I bought and it took Mr. WMMH to figure out you could back those screws out and have more to be able to attach to. ????

I was trying to come up with something to go in front of our office/desk.  It's an open room at the end of our family room.  The bowling alley open concept???

Next on the list is build a coffee table for the family room and also want to try to make some slipcovers for a couple of my dining room chairs that double as office chairs.