Ballard Design Inspired Shutter Gray Hutch

In this post I’m going to show you how I took this dated old hutch and brought it back to life.  It was a time consuming sometimes tear provoking task.  But in the end it was worth all the effort.

This hutch was BIG and in my opinion ugly.  It had all the wrong things going for it….brass lattice stuff in front of thin glass, medieval looking hardware and even a dirt dobber nest.  However what it did have going for it was that it was wood, solid, two pieces and full of storage.

I knew I wanted to paint it with milk paint.  I had decided that I would use it in my friends store to hold my Miss Mustard Seed Milk Paint when I found out I had been approved to become a retailer.  The room that it would be going into is mustard yellow with red trim so for some unknown reason I had the bright idea that it would look good to paint it Tricycle and Mustard Seed Yellow.  Well as you can see in the photo above after just one coat of paint I knew it was an…EPIC FAIL.  Right now is about the time with I’m thinking you know what, Beth this might look better in the landfill.  GRRRRRR!

So now I figure what do I have to loose.  I’m ready to trash this thing anyway.  Maybe I can just tone it down with Typewriter (black) and then a little Shutter Gray?

Ahhhh, now we’re getting somewhere.  But at this point these panels and that hardware, oh my word the hardware!!!!  It’s got to go!

But as I look at the hardware I discover that if I remove it I’m going to have to replace it with something pretty large.  Hmmmm what if I take the panels off too and just put one back?  Nope that’s not it either.

If I leave it plain you’ll always be able to see the holes where the hardware was even if I fill them with wood filler.  Wait!  I’ve got an idea….don’t I have a Ballard Design catalog around here somewhere?  Wasn’t there a big gray cabinet in it?  That’s it!

I love everything Ballard but my budget, well let’s just say it doesn’t.  The handles on this cabinet caught my eye first and then I started thinking about how I could add them to my cabinet.  I thought about just cutting plain plywood and covering all the holes but then, then my friends I remembered that I had some bead board left over from another project and that’s when this thing FINALLY stated coming together.

 Now we’re getting somewhere.  First we measured the inside of the panel.

 Then we marked the bead board.

 Then using my rockin awesome Ryobi circ saw I carefully cut the bead board.

 After all three pieces were cut I glued them in place and then used finish nails to make sure they’d stay on.

Then I began the process of painting them.  Since I wanted everything to match and I’d really started digging this layered paint look I painted each color on the fronts and then added the fabulous Miss Mustard Seed Antiquing Wax.

 No more landfill for this piece!

I found this hardware on Ebay after searching and searching.  It is brass so I put a thin coat of Typewriter on it to age it a bit.

Now for the top of the hutch.  I painted the entire thing in Shutter Gray and then waxed it with MMSMP Antiquing wax.

 

I also removed all the brass panels and thin glass and replaced it with chicken wire.  I apologize for not having pictures of that process but you need 6 hands to staple chicken wire and being that I only have two it would’ve been impossible to hold my camera also.  Plus it got a little messy (I’m not really a fan of gloves) you get the idea.

And then I put it all back together, did a little distressing to reveal all those paint colors……

stepped back…and low and behold I had this lovely piece of beautifulness.  I am THRILLED with the outcome and the fact that it is finally finished and moved into its new (hopefully temporary) home in the store.

What do you think of how it turned out?

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