Shabby Chic Hutch Makeover

Today I wanted to share with you my latest and definitely my most favorite furniture redo to date! I originally bought this hutch off Craigslist for $40! My husband claimed it was a piece of shit but as always, I see the potential in beat up pieces. So I made him go back and pick it up and bring it home to me.

Here’s the before. If you notice, above the drawers, there was a huge piece of wood missing.

I love the shabby chic antique style but this was not the look I was going for. After researching I decided to try Bondo All Purpose Putty to fill it. In order for this to work you have to work with a small amount at a time and mix it with a cream hardener in order for it to set up correctly. I tried my best to apply the Bondo as flat as possible and then sanded with an 80 grit sanding block once it was hard. It was much easier to do this with an orbital sander though since I was working on such a large area. I then used a 220 grit sanding block to get the surface as smooth as possible and blend it to look like the original wood. It’s still not perfect but you can’t notice it unless you are starting right at it. I don’t think there was any technique that was going to fix this perfectly.

I also sanded down a few deep scratches and dings so that once this hutch was painted they wouldn’t be noticeable.

The next thing I did was choose my paint. I went with Behr Antique White and mixed it with BB Frosch Chalk Paint Powder.

This powder is supposed to turn any flat latex paint into chalk paint. I have mixed feelings about it. It didn’t thicken up the paint like I had hoped or like I have experienced with a premixed chalk paint like Annie Sloan, so I had drips everywhere. I also used more paint that I have previously used in these type of projects when using premixed chalk paint. Instead of using one quart, I used two. Thinking I was going to save money on this hutch, to my surprise I spent more. A quart of Annie Sloan chalk paint is $37. For this project, two quarts of Behr paint was $28 plus I used half a container of the BB Frosch chalk paint powder equaling $16. So altogether my paint cost $44.

The one thing I did like about BB Frosch was it did end up drying fast and felt like chalk paint (a thicker paint). It also distressed even better than Annie Sloan. The distressing was almost that of milk paint, more pieces chipped away giving my hutch a more antique feel which is exactly what I was going for.

Here is an inbetween shot of the hutch. I took all the doors and drawers off to make it easier to paint, as well as the hardware. I also used a dark wax in spots to add to that antique look.

Side Note: Check out these awesome drawers! Sears & Roebuck Co. were known for putting newspaper linings in their drawers to make their furniture look like an antique and I LOVE this simple touch!

For the hardware, I debated on leaving it original but then decided I wanted it to blend in with the rest of our kitchen. I bought a can of the Rustoleum Oil Rubbed Bronze spray paint and did a quick coat on either side of the pulls, knobs, and hinges. I barely used any of the can for this so I have lots left over for other projects!

Here’s the before..it looked like the hinges may have been stained over so they had a lot of different hues going on.

And for the finished product! I also took the wooden slats out of the glass doors so that I can decorate the inside and it can be seen more visibly. I debated between altogether replacing the glass and putting chicken wire but the hubby disagreed so glass it is! Before I had a smaller china cabinet in this spot. This hutch fits this space so much better and also adds way more functional storage to our kitchen! Sources are down below for all the products I used as well as links, enjoy!