Painted Hutch

Can you believe I tried to give this away?!

First I posted it on Craigslist, and when I didn't get any bites I offered it to a few friends, none of whom had a spot for it. So we proceeded to move up the coast, and took this humble piece of furniture with us where it landed a spot...in the basement. Upon setting up the living room, we mounted our TV to the wall and the stand we had previously been using was too low to go underneath (and it was also kind of falling apart so I was happy to say adieu). We needed something of medium height that preferably had some storage inside, so I started shopping around, until I realized the solution was sitting...in the basement!

I  immediately apologized to my former hutch for being so insensitive, and then I gave it a makeover.

There are a whole lot of great furniture painting tutorials floating around, I glanced at few myself to paint this bad boy. But, here is a quick run down of the process:

-remove doors and hardware
-lightly sand

-apply two coats of primer (I used a small roller for this part which was helpful in getting the primer to "stick")

-paint away! I made the mistake of buying cheap paint for this project. As a result I ended up having to do three coats of paint, and I've already had some chipping. Next time, I'll get a higher quality paint. Also of note, I was given the advice to lightly sand between each coat of paint. This allowed for the smoothest finish possible (I did not sand after the final coat).

This project was not difficult, but it was time consuming. Allowing each coat to dry, and cleaning the brushes properly each time (meanwhile unpacking, organizing, settling into a new routine, and making sure my family was fed) caused this project to take a good week.

It was worth it though.  I don't think I'll ever try to give it away again, or sell it for that matter. And you wouldn't believe how many toys, games and legos are hiding inside!

P.S. I know, I know, one of the drawer pulls is upside down. I didn't notice that until recently. I'll let you guess if I'm the type that won't be able to relax until it's fixed, or if I'll get to it someday, maybe...