DIY DEBATE: painted chairs

I recently inherited a set of 4 dining chairs from my Granny - they're beautifully made and nice and compact for our small eating space, but they're very 'wooden'. I'm not a fan of lots of mismatched wood tones, and with our solid kitchen counters and distressed schoolhouse table that we have, I think it would just be overkill. I've seen so many painted versions around and I love the idea of a pretty DIY makeover.

The two-tone effect is really fun and would still keep some of the integrity of the wood. I have also been toying with the idea of just painting the middle set of dowels on the back. That's my chair in its natural state, by the way. At first I thought it would be irreverent to paint my Granny's furniture, but then I remembered that the pastel blue chairs we currently have were painted by her, over the bright yellow that my Great Granny had chosen before! {top (via), right}

I'm loving the idea of dipped legs - what do you think? {left, right}

Now I'm wondering if we should paint the whole set one colour, or have them mismatched. I'd love to hear what you guys like best? Watch this space! {top left, top right, bottom right}