Asked on Jul 03, 2015

Looking for ideas for repurposing a hutch

Laurie Brennan
by Laurie Brennan
I am looking for ideas for repurposing the hutch from my triple dresser. I recently refinished the dresser portion and currently use it in my bedroom. I have thought the top portion would make a nice shelf or mantle piece, however I don't have room for another shelf nor a fireplace. It is solid pine except for the back wall. We are planning to make a basement bar in the future and I thought the hutch might provide good bones for that project, however it is about 2 feet shorter than the bar we want to build and would probably require some custom millwork to make it fit our needs for that. Any suggestions?
This is the hutch portion of the triple dresser
The triple dresser before and after
  9 answers
  • Fab and Pretty Fab and Pretty on Jul 03, 2015
    love your dresser redo! Hey could you remove those smaller shelves and run shelves straight across for a bar? You would have to notch out for the moulding around the mirror. But that could work and offer nice storage and display on top of cabinets. You could even decorate those wooden inlays by the mirror to suit your rooms style!
    • Laurie Brennan Laurie Brennan on Jul 03, 2015
      @Fab and Pretty That's a great idea Donna. I never thought of it as behind the bar liquor and glass storage. I was thinking of it as the actual bar itself with some modification. Thanks for giving me a new idea.
  • Molly Evans Molly Evans on Jul 03, 2015
    What she said. ;-) Great idea, Donna Larsen! Bravo.
  • T karr T karr on Jul 03, 2015
    I took the top of a hutch and sectioned it for chicken nest, using weathered pallet wood. One hutch top is black and the other was from a little girls room, it is white with decal roses. i thought it made the chicken house more homey.
  • Mary Staat Coomer Mary Staat Coomer on Jul 03, 2015
    I always thought they would make a great back to a bar
  • Bobbie Bobbie on Jul 03, 2015
    Great entry way mirror with hooks for hats scarves etc.
  • Christina Dorrego Christina Dorrego on Jul 03, 2015
    Turn it upside down, refinish in a great color like you did the bottom part, which I love btw, and then create shelves that extend to either side, using those original ones. Top with whatever strikes your fancy, rustic with pallet boards, smooth with glass (wood under to support) or a redwood burl maybe? (those are exPENSIVE) This dresser looks almost like my mother's old one she got a Brueners back in the 70's I loved it!
    • See 2 previous
    • Laurie Brennan Laurie Brennan on Jul 04, 2015
      @Christina Dorrego So sorry for your loss Christina. Although it is a lot of work caring for my dad, I am enjoying this time I have with him..it is a gift that many don't get to experience.
  • Sue Crow Sue Crow on Jul 04, 2015
    hang the hutch over your fireplace, if you have one
    • Laurie Brennan Laurie Brennan on Jul 04, 2015
      @Sue Crow We don't have a fireplace Sue…I thought it would make a great mantle piece too
  • Carol Carol on Jul 04, 2015
    I have always wanted to use one of these in a mud room. You could paint it and hang it on the wall and add hooks below for jackets. You could use small containers for storage of items in the openings and sit a bench below. It is a lovely piece.
    • Laurie Brennan Laurie Brennan on Jul 04, 2015
      @Carol Great idea as well Carol….however we don't have a mudroom either and have a very narrow front entrance
  • Dee Dee on Aug 18, 2023

    Use the middle part for a medicine chest in the bathroom above the toilet.