Mid-Century Hutch Refinish

Do you ever have one of those projects that takes infinitely longer than you think it will? For me, those are usually because I either don’t know what I’m doing and mess things up, or I procrastinate because it’s a big project and I think it will take a ton of time. When in reality, if I’d just dive in, it would be done!

Well this mid-century hutch refinish was a mix of both those things. I started painting this hutch two summers ago. (hangs head in shame). And I really didn’t know what I was doing. I hadn’t done much furniture refinishing before, and like everything else, you get better with more time and practice. Thank heavens I’ve had both since then and I have finished it up – I absolutely love it now!

I purchased this beauty off craigslist – I just fell in love with her. I knew she’d be perfect for my craft room. All that storage! And open shelves! And mid-century prettiness! It was a match made on craigslist. The good kind.

I dived in with an excessive amount of painters tape, a paint I wasn’t familiar with, and some questionable color choices. Always a good combination. Fortunately I came to my senses, but not without almost doubling the amount of work that went into the piece. I taped off the top section of the hutch (not very accurately) and that had to be repainted twice. I did a bit better on the bottom section but it was still quite a process.

The before was kind of a scratched, chippy mess. It’s a little hard to see in the photos. I knew I wanted it to be two-tone, and I love how the white paint sets off the stain!

Repainting the Hutch

Once I came to my senses and decided to really finish the piece, I switched to a paint that I’ve come to know really well – and love. It’s the FolkArt Chalk finish paint and wax. I recovered all the sad painted areas and it worked perfectly! And it was actually much faster than I expected. Once I started repainting, it only took a few days to finish it!

For the wood portion, I used a minwax polyfinish in a cherry color and just applied that over the stain. It did a great job covering up all the scuff marks and dings!

For the photos I set it up in the family room and staged it all cute, but it’s going in my sewing room and will be filled to the brim with yarn, jewelry supplies and paints! It holds soooo much. I adore it. I’ll have a photo of it soon for you in there – that room is verrrrry close to being finished! (hall-le-lu-ja)

I love how the white chalky paint looks with the stained sides!

Ooh – I have to show you a closeup of my vintage matryoshka set. It’s a 10 piece set and the littlest doll is the tiniest thing I’ve seen – it’s so wee!! It rolls around on my fingertip. I am dying over the cuteness.

Despite the disaster it almost was, I’m so happy with the finished hutch. I need to maybe do a few more touch ups on the white sections  – but that is a job that I could do for months I think, getting all those little stained separator pieces straight. For now, I’ll just fill it up with craft supplies and be very happy it’s all finished!!

I’d love to know if you’ve ever had a similar experience!

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