the painted hutch

It’s no lie that I skim Craig’s list just about every day. It’s interesting and fun looking through what other people are getting rid of, and I don’t have to drive from thrift store to thrift store. I have been typing in the key word ” hutch” for awhile now. I usually end up only seeing huge glass buffet hutches, until the day ( night staying up way past my bed time) I found this small 33 wide hutch for $30.00.

As soon as I found the listing I quickly emailed the seller in hopes I was the first one. With Craig’s list you never know if someone is ahead of you in line or if the posting is old. The next day I was in my car driving an hour to pick her up.

I always get asked ” how do you get so lucky and so cheap” ?  There is no special tricks ( that I am aware of)  except keep looking!!!! I am not afraid to barter and  keep within my budget. The worst thing that can happen is the seller says no. I have never bought anything off Craig’s list for the asking price.

I am so glad I remembered to take a before photo.  I am usually so excited to start painting that I totally forget. The hutch was in great shape. There was a small crack at the bottom of the door, but other then that it was in great condition.

A few painting tips:

• Sanding: I usually never sand unless it is extremely rough surface, or there is a scuff.  Sanding of course is always good.
• Priming: I usually only prime if I am panting white, but I don’t find it is needed.
• Brushes: My favorite brushes are angled and in the price range of $5-7. Lowe’s carries a really nice brand in this price range with a wood handle. When painting in smaller area’s I tend to use brushes for kids and for art painting. I love the smaller brush size for the smaller area’s. Occasionally I will use a foam roller to even out  brush strokes.
• Paint: My favorite brand is Behr at Home Depot and Annies’s Chalk paint.  Because this hutch had glass doors, I didn’t want to use spray paint. And lets be honest, I was to lazy to remove the glass doors otherwise I could have.

Just last week my friend Katie introduced me to her secret of making her own chalk paint!!!! It was a life changing. I was having a really hard time getting the white paint to look fully covered. White in general can be tricky. After mixing in plaster of paris ( mixed with water) into a small cup with the paint, I was blown away !!!! If your interested in learning more about making your own chalk paint, you can join us at our BE CRAFTY workshop in just a few weeks on Katie’s farm where we will be learning more about paint.

When repainting furniture I usually end up replacing the hardware. Changing the knobs can completely change the over all look. Sometimes I will just paint over the metal hardware, but for this project I was needing to find something new.

These knobs were from Hobby Lobby for 50%  for about $3 . Anthropologie has super cute knobs as well, but with a higher price tag.

I think this is one of my favorite flips to date, but I might say that on tomorrow’s vintage scale.