Will painting an antique piece of furniture lower its value?

depends on the item of furniture , if its a very rare and interesting piece well leave well enough alone but if its a cheap mass produced item well shabby chic is in and i say chic it baby , get the item valued if its not worth alot and you really must paint it go for girl ,, comming from a antiques dealer thats bad but i am sick of all my brown furniture and some items of furniture will never become extreamly valuable in our life time , just have it appraised first if you have any doubts ,, best wishes with the painting farrow and ball do lovely period colours ,,, regards jaime  more