Bergere Chairs - painted with Autentico Chalk Paint

I picked up some VERY old carved and woven Bergere chairs last week.  Here's a peek before any painting took place.  I have no idea what the wood is, maybe mahogany...

Four of the chairs are in good condition.  One needs some work and one is done in... I think someone must have picked it up by the legs, thrown it at the wall and then tried to glue it together again.  Well that Humpty Dumpty is too far gone - so I'll use it in the ChouChou painting classes.

The chairs are wonderfully carved all over, there are two different central images.  One's male and one female.  The seats are woven reed and pegged into place - and in great condition.

So to date, I've dry-brushed one with Autentico's Foggy Venice - I know, I know, there's 130 colours in Autentico's palette and I keep defaulting to that grey lately.  But  in my defence, it's such a soft grey, it looks wonderful against dark wood.

Here's how it looks when the chair's been softly dry-brushed all over.  I've been careful to ensure all the carving is highlighted.

The carved portrait is stunning now. All the paintwork has been sealed and protected with a clear wax.

Lovely legs :-)

I'm thinking of painting each one a different colour - any suggestions?  I think light colours; plummy, blues, yellows????

I looooove the before and after.

Here's another chair which has been dry-brushed in Autentico's Crete Blue.