Git ‘er Done #1 – The Corner Hutch

Remember when I posted a list of all the little projects I wanted to get done around my house? The ones that would take no time at all to complete, that I didn’t need any special tools for, and that would make me feel so much better about my ability to actually follow through on something?

Well, here’s my first and only project completed in the TEN weeks since I published that post…

We have a corner hutch we inherited from the sellers of the first place we owned (a condo) in DC. I’m pretty sure it was handmade by the husband. It’s kind of Traditional American style, which isn’t the style I would choose, but it’s not bad. The inside was painted a bright teal when we got it. Then, my sister-in-law brilliantly painted over the teal with a beige color. The hutch stayed that way for the past twelve years.

I’ve never really loved the hutch, but it’s been useful for extra storage of decor and serving pieces. I’d like to get something else to replace it, but I don’t want to buy a new piece if we’ll be moving sometime soon. Plus, the hutch is serving its function just fine. I’ve learned to just accept it and try not to look at it too much.

THEN, I ran across a picture of a similar corner hutch on a Design Sponge home tour. Emily from The Sweet Beast painted the inside of her corner hutch a deep grey color (see the picture above.) The wood tone of her hutch is similar to mine. It was a eureka moment. I could make the hutch look a bit more modern, show off my stuff even better, and spend less than $10 to make it happen.

So, I went out the next day to our local Ace Hardware and got a sample of the exact color Emily used in her hutch. Benjamin Moore Raccoon Fur. I put a first coat on that afternoon during nap time. Obviously, the first coat didn’t completely cover the lighter base color, so I put things on hold to dry before I painted on the second coat. My serving pieces just lived on that little shelf for a while.

Ten weeks later (yesterday) I got around to painting on the second coat. In my opinion, it turned out great. The color is so deep and rich. I was concerned I’d chosen the wrong color after the first coat, but once the second coat filled everything in, it looked exactly like I hoped it would.

While I was at it, I decided to see if I could pop off the top scrolled accent piece to make the lines a bit more clean. It worked! I just used a hammer and it came right off. Seth’s going to rework the piece I removed, cutting off the scrolled detail. We’ll reattach it so the hutch is more balance, but for now I like the simple lines so much better than before.

To try to match the hardware on our coffee table, I took a risk and used a white paint pen to color the middle parts of the nobs. Risk didn’t pan out. The white looked ridiculous. Luckily, I was able to scrub most of the white off before it dried. I’ll just live with the original hardware for now.

My serving pieces really pop against the dark color. And, I feel so much better about myself now that I’ve proven I can complete simple tasks. Lol. 

I just threw my serving pieces in without thinking much about styling. I’ll play around with it some more, but it’s SO much better than before. (Who am I kidding? It took me forever to get here. Who knows when I’ll ever update the styling…BAD design blogger!) 😉 Getting things done is addictive…what’s next???

How about you? Have you finished any simple projects lately that have been hanging over your head? Doesn’t it feel great to put a big ol’ check in that box?