How do you transform an old china cabinet? See how we took what was a broken, unwanted piece headed for the dumpster and gave this china cabinet a modern makeover with paint.

 

 

This old Duncan Phyfe style hutch, or old china cabinet, was actually headed for the dumpster when a good friend pulled it aside and thought we may be able to do something with it. The back of the cabinet was coming apart, the wood was discolored and the glass doors were not in the best shape (one door was broken beyond repair). Other than that, it was a solid piece of furniture and had “good bones”.

I also love the fluting on the sides and the the fact that the shelves are adjustable. I could easily picture it without the doors but the ornate scrolly piece at the top was just not working with what I was thinking for a more modern clean look. 

So how do you modernize an old hutch?

If it were in great shape, I wouldn’t dream of altering it, but because it was damaged and broken, we thought we would give it a shot. Some people would argue that you need to save and restore but sometimes it’s beyond that and, let’s also be honest, this style hutch is not something many people look for any longer but what if we removed the scrolly piece and gave it some clean lines???

Supplies needed for a hutch makeover: 

• Palm Sander
• Sandpaper
• Primer
• Paint brushes
• Paint of your choice
• putty knife or pry bar
• metal or hardware cleaner

The first step was to remove the scrolly piece on the top of the china cabinet.  I took a putty knife and gently worked it under the back corner of the decorative piece on the top and began to pry it off. It was already lose on one corner so it popped right out. Then I was able to easily slide the putty knife along the edges from corner to corner as it popped off along the way.

What a difference already?!?

 

 

Now for the real prep work. The wood was a bit shiny and it definitely needed to be roughed up before I primed it so I used a 220 sandpaper with my palm sander over the entire thing. I wiped it down twice with a tack cloth and then it was on to the primer. Since it was such a dark wood, it needed two coats.

Here it is after the first coat of primer – you can see it bleeding through a little.

 

 

Here is the second coat of primer. Much better and ready for paint. 

I painted right over the hinges because I wanted a clean look and didn’t want them to stick out. 

 

 

Tip! For a much faster project, I should have used a roller for the paint on the flat surfaces but for some reason still not known to me, I used a brush but was lucky to have no brush strokes. The roller can make it much more smooth and take half the time as long as you make sure there are no bubbles. You can also sand lightly between coats. 

If you really want to speed the process up. you can use a paint sprayer. Again, the trick is to not shake the paint and gently stir it when mixing so you don’t get bubbles. 

There was a bit of a problem with the spaces where the hinges for the upper doors were. Kevin cut some small wooden filler strips to fill them in. We need to fix where the door hinges were originally so you didn’t see those spaces. 

 

 

Then I covered the rest with spackle. Once it dried, I sanded it down smooth. 

 

How do you update an old wooden hutch?

With paint, of course! I thought about painting it with white paint but, instead, wanted to give this china cabinet makeover a pop of color. I did a survey on my Life on Kaydeross Creek Facebook page and almost everyone voted for Mountain Laurel which is a blue green by Benjamin Moore.

 

 

I do like a distressed look but wanted this one to be more of a statement piece with clean lines. This is totally a personal preference.  There are a number of different furniture paints but I like to make my own. I mixed my paint with plaster of Paris to make some DIY chalk paint and got to work. It’s way cheaper than Annie Sloan chalk paint. I realized part way through that I mixed up the cans of paint and ended up using using Garden Oasis by Benjamin Moore instead but it still looks really pretty.    I also added a clear wax for a top coat to the shelves to keep it from scratching. 

 

 

Other antique hutch makeover ideas:

7 Lessons I Learned from a Craigslist Hutch Makeover

Antique Cabinet Makeover

Antique Wooden Hutch Makeover

I kept original hardware with the drawer pulls the same. I could have used spray paint to update them but I like the original finish. I had given our vintage china hutch in our dining room a makeover a few years ago and was able to keep the inside of the hutch wood while painting the outside of it. I was hoping to do that with this piece of furniture as well, but the shelves where not cooperating and I ended up painting the entire cabinet because it was just a better look. 

Here’s the painted hutch makeover before and after:

 

 

 

If you feel like taking on a project like this, you can probably find these types of cabinets at a thrift store or even flea markets. These types of projects are great, too because they are not large pieces to take on and can usually fit in a smaller space. 

I think the only thing I would do differently on the next dining room hutch makeover is to use peel and stick wallpaper on the back panel. That’s a great place to add some personality to the piece and it’s not a huge commitment because you can remove it if you change your mind or color scheme. 

 

 

This project took a lot of time and was a lot of work but was definitely one of my favorite furniture makeovers! So if you are wondering how to redo a china hutch, it depends on the shape the piece is in and what you’re willing to do. Paint is always my go to for giving an old piece of furniture new life. My thought is this; if it’s going to end up in the trash OR you can make the choice to save it with a little work and paint a piece that you know some others would not, at least it will end up in a home where it is loved and not a landfill. 

You can see more of our flipped furniture ideas here: https://mylifeonkayderosscreek.com/category/furniture-makeovers/

*Update – Since posting this blog post, this modern vintage china cabinet sold at the shop in no time and now has new home! 

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Just one girls opinion. 🙂 

I hope you have been inspired to breath some new life into a piece that would otherwise go unused. 

Happy DIY’ing, friend! 

Col

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