Hutch Redo

I have been so overwhelmed to the response to my Mud Room makeover.  Thank you! Thank you! Thank you.! I thought I would show you the step-by-step process of taking a piece of furniture from dated to updated. 

before

after

In full disclosure, I am not an expert painter.  In fact I have only painted a few pieces of furniture around my home.  In the past I have bought a can of paint, and brushed it on.  Whenever I am unsure about a project I  search the blog world for advice; in my search I came across this blog post by allthingsthrifty.com  about spray painting furniture, and I thought I would give it a try.

http://www.allthingsthrifty.com/2010/08/everything-i-know-about-spray-paint.html

A couple of things I learned along the way. 

1.  You do need to prime, I used Kilz, and it does leave a grit on the wood that needs to be sanded
2. Wear a mask, spray paint goes everywhere!
3.  Your fingers and arms will hurt
4.  It takes about twice as many cans of paint as you estimate
5.  It is worth it!  Most professional look you can achieve at home.
6.  On my Christmas list....a professional sprayer and a warehouse so I can work year-round

paints used on this project

prepping hutch for paint

take off all doors and hardware

look at this awful hardware.  Don't be afraid to buy new knobs/pulls....

 Finished hutch....with simple knobs

A note about styling a piece of furniture.  I am currently working with a client to accessorize her home.  This can be an overwhelming process.  Here are a few pointers I like to keep in mind when I am accessorizing a piece of furniture. 

1.  Think about the overall feel of your home, and stick with it....if you are a minimalist, stay true to who you are, if you like collections, keep them grouped so they look like works of art.

2.  I like to stay with only a few colors that flow from one side of the piece to the other....notice in my styling of the hutch I kept to my green/blue antique glass collection, old books and metal (both silver and bronze).  Notice the balancing of the books, and the other "brown" items like the antique cow bell, and baskets.  From a distance the eye sees all the weight of the "brown" items as the same.  So at a quick glance you take in the browns and blues and move on.  Nothing is jarring. 

3.  I don't like to mix ultra modern with rustic country.  In my world it just does not look right.

4.  Don't be afraid to move things around until you get the right look.

I love fresh flowers so I placed a couple of bud vases on the book shelf. (behind the dog, and the picture frame)

Rebekah

P.S. I have been working on a paper heart garland I will share with you on Thursday.

Here is where we link up!