The Hutch

This is my treasure. I am absolutely obsessed with this hutch. I spotted it on Craigslist for $75 and drove out to a thrift store about 45 minutes away to pick it up. I had to borrow a friend's truck (and her daughter) to help me haul it back. The transformation took almost a year and a half, because I was only able to work on the hutch while I was on break from school.

Summer 2012: Buy it and start sanding

Christmas break 2012: sand (and sand and sand and sand...)

Spring break 2013: prime (and seek physical therapy for repetitive stress injuries caused by sanding)

Summer 2013: paint and seal

Fall 2013: move into new house and put this baby into action!

Here's what she looked like when I first picked her up:

I love the beautiful curves and the carved details, but the stained wood look isn't really my style. Oh, and the hardware...

Isn't that just precious? Barf. Time for an upgrade. 

I've seen several beautiful buffet and hutch re-dos on Pinterest, and was particularly inspired by this one from Pottery Barn:

But ain't nobody got $3,000 to spend on a hutch! So my mom and I armed ourselves with a hand sander and a vacuum, (and this excellent tutorial from Jamie at Southern Revivals) and stripped the hutch down to the bare wood. Here we are in action:

Don't let these glamour shots fool you. Getting through (what I can only assume was several layers of) the stain and down to the pine below was excruciating. I cannot stress this enough. Horrific. And once you strip it down to bare wood with an 80 grit sandpaper, you have to go over it all again with a finer sandpaper (I used 120 grit) to make it smooth. My arms hurt just thinking about it.

Here's the hutch with just bare wood. Isn't it pretty?! I love the carved details!

I used Kilz original primer and did one coat over the whole thing.

Then it was time to paint. I used exactly what Jamie recommended in her tutorial, Valspar's Carribbean Walk. I used about a quart and a half for the entire project, coating the entire hutch three times (I think. It's been a while.) I also added two layers of Minwax Polycrylic protective finish to all the top surfaces: the top of the base piece, and each shelf on the top piece. (I didn't feel that it was necessary to do it on all the surfaces. I used up maybe a third of the quart I bought, and have plenty left over for future projects.) The polycrylic helps protect the wood and paint from any chips or scrapes, and it doesn't yellow with time the way polyurethane does.

Then, FINALLY, the fun part! Reassembling everything, and adding new hardware! I bought cup pulls (similar to these) for the handles, in oil-rubbed bronze, and matching knobs for the doors below.

I couldn't find hinges that would work for the way the doors are cut, so I ended up just spray-painting the ones that came with it. I used Krylon's flat black, and they look just fine.

Here she is in all her glory:

I absolutely LOVE it! The paint color is just slightly more of a cream color than the white trim I have throughout my house, and I really like the subtle contrast. It also looks great decorating with bright white dishes and other decor.

I just think it's fantastic! It's definitely the centerpiece of the room, and my favorite part is telling people that I did it myself! Yay, me! *Brushes dirt off shoulder*

(Want to make your own sparkly ampersand? Read how I did it here.)

Estimated cost break-down:
Hutch: $75
Sand paper: $18
Primer: $15 (with plenty left over)
Paint: $36 (with about half a quart left over)
Sealer: $15 (with 2/3 of the quart left over)
Two cup pulls: $10
Two knobs: $4

Total cost: $173
Plus my right arm was super-toned (and tingly) for a while there, after all the sanding.

Let's look at that before and after one more time:

Woo hoo!

Thanks for visiting!
<3 Cara