[Arran]

Since it was a "Philcote" finished set with the faux wood grain, you could redo it with either a Dinoc decal, which is a 3M product, or you could use a fabric or a wood dye to colour the blond wood for a base. Then add a grain to it with thinned out dark brown or black paint and a feather, and then coat over it with the sanding sealer and Mohawk perfect brown lacquer. As far as I'm concerned anything is an improvement once the original faux wood grain is shot.
Regards
Arran