New look for and old hutch

A few months ago I decided I wanted a very bright conversation piece in my dining room and had the desire to paint my mahogany china hutch bright turquoise. Since the hutch was a hand-me-down from my mom, I had to understand when she nearly fainted at the thought. So out with the old and in with the new. I started my hunt for just the right piece last spring and it wasn't until a few weeks ago that I stumbled upon it. For me, the thrill of the hunt is as much fun as getting a new pretty thing to look at in my home! I found a hutch that had all the right proportions, lots of great details like beveled edges and carvings, and had the option for open chicken wire doors or glass! Now we're talkin'!! And I tried not to burst into a toothy grin when the shop owner told me she'd give it to me for $200 if I would just get it out of there!



A week later, we arranged for the piece to be delivered and we tucked into a corner in the dining room next to the old china cabinet that needs to be delivered back to my mom. Seeing them side by side was interesting because I hadn't noticed in the store that the waist line of my new hutch was much lower than the one I currently had in my house. To me a larger top on a cabinet just feels a bit more European while the other one feels very Colonial. I couldn't be more pleased with my purchase. Now, I just needed to get it refinished without screwing it up!!

As I mentioned in this post, one of the things that makes using Annie Sloan's Chalk Paint so much fun is that you do not need to prep your surface before painting. Just a quick wipe down to clean it up and you are ready to go. So if you are like me and always want to skip the prep and dive right in for a little instant gratification, you'll adore this chalk paint! The paint went on really easily and I only put a second coat on about 50% of this piece. Just where it really needed it. I used a box sander to give it the patina I was looking for and then used Fiddles and Sons wax to add a protective coat. Chalk paint can feel, well, chalky to the touch and waxing it just gives it a good feel and a bit of a sheen.
I frequent two blogs that helped me get going on this project. Centsational Girl is a fantastic time suck that will render you unproductive all day because you can't stop trolling through her projects  blog full of inspiration and beauty. I love it because she transforms thrifty or otherwise cheap finds into masterpieces. Loads of fun. Miss Mustard Seed has a great Wax Tutorial here which will help you enormously if you've never waxed furniture. She also has a link to an online vendor who is offering discounts on Fiddles and Sons wax to Miss Mustard Seed's readers.

 I used nearly all of 1 quart of Annie Sloan's chalk paint for my mirror project and this entire hutch. Please note, I also painted the inside of both the top and the bottom cabinets. I used about 2/3 of the can of wax and I applied the wax using both a brush and rags, the latter of which ends up using more wax.



In the end I decided not to make the hutch the bright color pop piece I've been craving and instead created a comforting piece of furniture that conjures up visions of Paris or the French country for me. It has become the start to a dining room redo which will cull design elements from farm house French and Chinoiserie styles. The back of the interior of the hutch is lined with a navy and cream Asian Toile. Blues, creams, whites, and grays will become the predominant colors in the new dining room. I have one spot left in the room for a color pop so until I find the right piece, it will have to wait.