As many of you probably already know, I LOVE saving old hutch and buffet tops! They are my favorite pieces to repurpose because they always get overlooked and thrown away. Most of the time, you can find these for dirt cheap and even free because others do not see the potential these pieces have. Which is a plus if you’re a furniture flipper! Keep reading to see the hutch top flipped upside down makeover.
A few months ago, I recently completed one, and by my surprise, the pin went viral on Pinterest! (See it here). I was so excited!
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Hutch Top Flipped Upside Down Makeover
I decided with this top to flip it upside down as well because it’s what I do! I did not have to worry about the door trim, because both doors were the same. Let me explain why I like to flip them upside down. It places the molding on the bottom and allows for an open shelf on top. Here is the top before I flipped it upside down:
Here is it flipped upside down:
The back was a mirror and part wood. I decided to remove the back and replace the entire piece. I could repurpose the mirrors which were a plus. There were two mirrors total and the length would make a (Look for a blog post about this soon)! Remember waste not, want not! ?
I decided to use Dixie Belle Barn Red (the color I used on my dining room chairs you can see here) with Cotton as the base color. I saw this gorgeous piece on Pinterest which gave me my inspiration for the red and white colors.
Choosing Back
For the back, we visited our local Lowe’s. I found several paneling pieces, but they were just too plain. Then the nice salesman asked me if I needed help, so I explained my project and what I was looking for. He took me and showed me the perfect wood panel piece! It cost around $18 bucks. It’s like he read my mind! He even cut it to the size I needed, which saved the Hub’s time.
With the back purchased, it was time to head home and get started.
Prep Work
The first step was to remove all the doors and hardware. The middle door was not actually a door. It was part of the top so I left that in place and just removed its glass. I removed the glass from the door fronts because I wanted to use chicken wire. I felt the piece needed some height, so I found four bunt feet that I salvaged off another project in my stash.
New Wood Top
The Hubs then added the top. We purchased a 6’ spruce pine board. These come already cut and with a smooth, sanded finish. They also stain very well too. The Hubs cut the board down to a 4’ piece which is what we needed for the top.
I sanded the entire hutch top very lightly, just enough to “rough up” so the paint would adhere. It was then cleaned with TSP cleaner.
Paint Process
I applied Dixie Belle Cotton in two coats to the entire piece inside and out as well as the doors and the new top. After the first coat was completely dry, about two hours, I then applied the second.
After allowing the piece dry overnight, I then started adding the Barn Red. It took two coats of the Barn Red. Note: I applied the Barn Red to the doors first, so they would be ready to add the chicken wire.
I painted my furniture feet using the same technique as well. I used mason jars to hold the feet while I painted them. See how they fit nicely on top of the jars? This allowed me to spin the jar.
The next day, I distressed heavily, on the corners and around the beautiful wood carvings using 220 grit sandpaper. I sanded by hand because this gives me more control of how much of the finish I remove. You can see the white peeking through!
After distressing, I used my tacky paper and removed all the sanding dust. I decided to add some antique wax to the piece. (Note: Normally I add Polycrylic before applying glaze to keep it from soaking into the paint color, but in this case, I wanted it to look worn. The glaze was applied lightly, working in small areas and removing any access glaze. I did not use a topcoat on top of the glaze because it is not necessary.
I had three white hardware pulls. All I did to these was paint them with the Barn Red because they were already white. I got these pulls at Hobby Lobby for 50% off.
Lastly, we added the back, the feet, and the wire to the doors. Here is the finished hutch top! It’s absolutely perfect and the great thing is it can be used just about in any room of your home ?
“It’s not about what it is, it’s about what it will be.”
Christina
