For this DIY project I wanted to work on a larger piece of furniture which could have some real value $$$ by the time I was done. I decided on a hutch. The pictures below are my inspiration. My goal was to take an inexpensive hutch from Craigslist "A Frugal Find"... give it a facelift and transform its style.
This is the hutch I found (See below). Sadly I had already removed the doors and glass before I remembered to take my "BEFORE" photo but it give you a general idea.
This hutch is made of solid oak, it had a natural finish with a nice gloss. The wood was in mint condition with only minor wear spots on the surface of the buffet underneath where the hutch rested. I found a lady in my local neighbourhood giving this hutch away for FREE. It was moving day and since she was downsizing the hutch was no longer needed.
My only expense was borrowing a friends truck to move it. $30 I think.
The small picture at the top right was my vision for how I would restore this hutch. The style was almost identical so I knew I could pull it off. However, instead of baby blue I wanted to add a more neutral colour, especially if I wanted to appeal to a larger market for selling it later. I decided to go with a white matte look with black hardware and a burlap backing.
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This hutch is made of solid oak, it had a natural finish with a nice gloss. The wood was in mint condition with only minor wear spots on the surface of the buffet underneath where the hutch rested. I found a lady in my local neighbourhood giving this hutch away for FREE. It was moving day and since she was downsizing the hutch was no longer needed.
My only expense was borrowing a friends truck to move it. $30 I think.
The small picture at the top right was my vision for how I would restore this hutch. The style was almost identical so I knew I could pull it off. However, instead of baby blue I wanted to add a more neutral colour, especially if I wanted to appeal to a larger market for selling it later. I decided to go with a white matte look with black hardware and a burlap backing.
CHECK IT OUT
I started with Rust-oleum primer and flat paint. My goal was to do as little work as possible. I wanted to see if these DIY projects without sanding were really possible. Especially since sanding has always been my least favourite part. The priming process was a pain! I worked on just the buffet portion of the hutch and unfortunately I found the process so frustrating, I put the hutch part on hold for almost a year. The trouble with the primer was "cracking or bubbling" the paint in certain areas would not stick to the surface. I figured this was my fault for not sanding or possibly due to the weather. Apparently the crackling can happen when the weather is colder than 15 degrees and since I was working on this outside in my garage I was worried that may have been the case.
Take a look at the finished product
For the hardware I used a flat black spray paint specifically for metal. I kept the existing hardware. The durability of the paint on the hinges is not as great as I would have hoped so I wont recommend that product to you. The whole process of painting the existing hardware was much easier than I expected thought. And cost effective too.
Click the picture to see it on the Home Depot website To complete my restoration I decided to add a fabric to the panels at the back. I thought burlap would give the hutch uniqueness and add to the shabby chic style. I got the burlap from Arlenes in Langley for less than $15.00. I used Elemer's spray adhesive ($7 at Home Depot) to secure the burlap to the backing - a definite two person job. I quickly realized that the vertical wood piece down the centre of the hutch which holds the two panels was not designed to hold the panels with their new thickness so my husband increased the groove using a table saw. Thank heavens the wood did not crack! Finally I used my staple gun and finishing nails to fix the burlap panels to the back of the hutch, cleaned all the glass, fastened the hardware, hung the doors, replaced the light bulbs and voilà!