From Blue to Beautiful

Red Wind Studio
by Red Wind Studio
This was a piece that came to me from a client wanting a makeover. She wanted an old distressed look and a dark wood top on the bottom section of the unit. I thought at first due to the different colours and it being partially stripped I would just paint the entire hutch brown and then white so that distressing would allow the brown to show through. I changed my mind.
Due to the fact my studio is a store front and I also share the space with other ladies I don't do much that requires chemicals or heat guns that can stink up the place. Since we have construction going on out front I am usually the only one there lately and not an awful lot of people realize I am still open during this chaotic time. So out came the stripper and heat gun.
Once I got the majority of the old paint off I stained the top of the base in Chocolate Varathane. I only needed one application. Once dry I applied 5 coats of Varathane Satin clear coat. I always wet sand with 600 grit sand paper after the second coat is dry. This gives a beautiful smooth finish without burrs.
Warm White FAT Paint was the best option to coordinate with the client's decor. I chose this over the new Chalk White as this is a very old hutch with some charming old hardware. I needed to keep in mind this needed to look old not freshly painted and bright and gleaming white. Some of the hardware was hand hammered and I had to show it off once uncovered from all the layers of paint. I carefully painted around the hinges but not too carefully.
No surprise colours on the inside of this beauty. I thought I would throw some colour into the interior of the base but decided against it. I can't explain exactly why other than it didn't feel right. I also usually paint old handles but in this case I opted against it. I needed to keep the authentic aged look. The only thing I did was scrub the handles with coarse steel wool to clean them and remove any loose black paint.
The next step was to distress with 220 grit sand paper along the edges to enhance details and places natural wear would occur. After a thorough cleaning to remove dust I then applied one coat of Natural FAT Wax and gave it a light buffing.
The hutch is now completed with a finish more suited to her age and charm.
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