Extreme Hutch Makeover

I don't know about you but it takes a party for us to get home projects done around here.  We started this hutch 2 1/2 years ago, then I guess something else took priority and there it sat with 1 coat of paint and no knobs on half the doors. We still used it though. I even decorated it and photographed it at Christmas. In pics it looked great - and was repinned on Pinterest.

So we are having our daughter's grad party at the house soon and I felt the need to finish the piece.

Here it is before:

Typical colonial style. I needed to cover up those details, so my husband added some moulding to cover up the cutouts. By adding the base moulding, we also make the piece go straight to the floor which helps cut down on the dust bunnies from my shedding lab.  Ah, so much better! He also added a piece of lauan (thin plywood) to the back of the piece. He used a router to cut horizontal grooves into the panel.  I was going for the weathered barn wood look for the back.

I painted the entire piece with 2 coats of Annie Sloan Old White. I used sandpaper to lightly distress some of the edges of the piece.  I clear waxed everything. Then I made a mixture of half Coco and half Paris Grey to use as a glaze and give the crevices a little dimension. I added a little water to the mixture and brushed it in and wiped off the excess. A little more clear wax and that was it.

The top of the hutch base had a nice hunk of oak which we sanded down. I wanted to create a weathered oak finish and I love the result. I first applied a coat of Minwax stain in Provincial. Then I brushed on some Old White (thinned with water) and wiped it off. I added a coat of clear wax but it wasn't quite the look I was looking for. It looked too pickled to me. So I added a coat of Annie Sloan antique wax and it was perfect!

I'm loving my "new" finally finished piece of furniture and I'm having fun decorating it with all of my favorite things. Boxwood wreaths hang on each door, and a little vintage monogrammed seafood fork from The White Weathered Barn on the North Fork of Long Island hangs from a knob.  My favorite Sunday morning latte mugs are on display along with one of my preserved floral designs in a vintage silver goblet.

I can't say it was a simple job, it does take a lot of hours and a lot of wax on, wax off! I am hoping to work off some of the ice cream I've been eating too much of this summer!