Love my Vintage Hutch...

Hey guys! So I scored this vintage hutch for free about a week ago on Craigslist and knew it had major potential! Its solid wood and a great size and I wanted it for my entry way. It had some damage to the sliding doors but nothing that my sander couldn't fix. Here's the before...

 

Please pardon the lack of quality in the picture...I couldn't find my camera at the moment so I used my phone. You can see its potential but definatly not digging the wood or the chewed up doors. So I knew I wanted to paint this Heirloom White because it would be going on the same wall as This and I wanted it to match. So after a TON of sanding, 3 cans (thats right I said CANS) of Heirloom White, and about 2 coats of Wipe on Poly to protect my handywork...it turned into this...

You guys can probably tell that I'm a little excited about it! Its so perfect in that spot and I had planned to put a lamp on top of it but then I realized that there is NO PLUG IN ON THE WALL! Not fair! I even had a lampshade all picked out....oh well its a great place for a vase and a cute bowl for keys and another cute shabby planter that I picked up for a buck at the thrift that we'll use for mail! 

Thrift store "almost full length" mirror Re-Beautified!

This post is made possible because of a love affair with mirrors...specifically that HUGE and expensive FULL length one at Ikea http://www.ikea.com/us/en/catalog/products/00081591
Now as much as I wanted one of these (or 3) to lean against the walls of my living room and bounce around the light and just generally make it look fab...I couldn't afford it. So on one of my many trips to the Red White and Blue thrift store in Portland I spied this....

 

Definatly not as big or grand as the Ikea one but its was a good size and heck it was only 4.00...what do I have to lose? I took this baby home with dreams of putting it in the hallway at our house....perfect for my toddler to stand at and make funny faces!

So here's how I transformed this ugly duckling into shabby chic swan....

I put newspaper over the mirror and taped it in place with painters tape. Then I sanded the frame lightly making sure to rough up the nooks and crannies so the paint would stick better. I then sprayed it with two coats of spray primer and let it dry. The next day (during a windstorm I might add), I spray painted it with about 3 coats of the cheapest white spray paint I could find. This was before I discovered the perfection that is Heirloom White. After all the coats were dry I removed the paper from the mirror and distressed it with a block sander. I then applied a couple coats of lacquer (because I knew it was gonna take a beating from my kid) and let those dry too. I love how this came out...What do you think?

I cleaned off the glass special for Ya'll...its normally covered with finger prints. lol. 

Thrift Store table...redone...and then redone AGAIN

Word to the wise....when you find an AMAZING deal at a flea market on an adorable round table with gorgeous scroll looking feet and its only 4.00 and you buy it and bring it home... and go AGAINST YOUR BETTER JUDGMENT when you decide to stain it black-ish brown instead of painting it Heirloom White (which you know is the color it belongs). YOU WILL END UP REFINISHING IT! Phew....ok now that I got that off my chest. This table was my love...I spotted it across the thrift store and it was love at first sight! It quickly became obsession at first sight when I spotted the 4.00 price tag on it. Well needless to say that I bought it...(as well as an awesome almost-full-length mirror that was only 3.00 but that's another post.)
                                               

                                        Before: Dowdy and weathered

This table is oak and super solid but it is an ugly color and is super weathered. Don't get me wrong...I love the look of wood but I love the look of painted wood even more. I think everything looks better painted! The first time I refinished this thing I wasn't doing this blog and I wasn't documenting my steps but here's how I did it...try and get a mental picture...
I sanded the heck out of the top (by hand...those were the days before my trusty hand sander) and then wiped off the dust. I used Minwax liquid stain in Ebony and applied (no joke) about 10 coats of stain. When it still wasn't the color that I was after I read something online that said you could mix a little bit of stain in with polyeurethane and that you would get that dark color and seal it all at the same time! Well sweet! I applied the stain/poly mix and it totally worked. Plus it gave it this marbled finish that showed off those adorable legs perfectly!
                                                             After: Dark and Lovely!

 Now your all probably thinking "That looks fine...leave well enough alone!" and you would be right...but in my house this thing took a beating super fast. My toddler was banging blocks and toy cars on it regularly...as well as smearing whatever sticky substance he could find on its pretty shiny top. And once it was sticky the dust loved to settle on it and get stuck (and who has the time to dust regularly?) So sadly...I knew it was time that this table got what it truly deserved from the beginning....Heirloom White to the rescue! I sanded this with the hand sander to get it nice and smooth and remove as much stain as I could. I was out of primer and my son was napping so I just applied an extra coat of Heirloom White...total of about 3 coats. It was super sunny and gorgeous today so I let it dry in the sun in between coats. I then distressed it quite a bit on the legs and sides and ridges and then applied two coats of Wipe On Poly to it for protection.
                                       AFTER X2: TA DAAAAAAAA!!!! 

I couldn't be more in Loooove with this table!
This was its destiny from the start...it just took me a bit to wise up. Now she is sitting in my living room/dog bed/dog toy area and she is gorgeous!

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DIY Day