Never leave an old piece behind – especially if it’s a China Cabinet!

Good afternoon Hello I Live Here readers.  Let’s talk old china hutches today.  Would you pass up a chance to transform an old china hutch?  The other day I was in a thrift store (Red Racks Thrift Store –  DAV Thrift Store) and came across an old china hutch.

As others were walking past her with a sour expression, Hello I Lived Here saw the potential and swooped in to purchase this little gem for $40 (that’s right both pieces).

Living in a smaller home, space is necessary, so for us at Hello I Live Here this older jewel was the right size and would allow us to display our unopened dishes still stored. Below is a picture of the 1970’s jewel Hello I Live Here found and started transforming.  Here’s how we updated the old china hutch.

We started by taking off the old trim.  Don’t worry, we will save this for our recycle pile for another project! :-).

Hubby was not so sure, but he humored me anyway and started the destruction.  The screws were hard to get to with our regular drill, so Curt removed the trim and piece needing to be cut with the Ryobi 18V Right Angle Drill which was terrific to fit in tight spaces.

Once the old trim was removed, we scribed a line and cut off the rounded edge you see at the top in the photo with a craftsman circular saw, giving the china hutch a new square appearance.

Once the cut was complete, we screwed the cut piece back to the china hutch top.  Now the square, craftsman style we love over here at Hello I Live Here, helped to shape rest of the design for the china hutch.

Using our Ryobi 18V ONE+ 18GA CORDLESS 2″ BRAD NAILER, we trimmed out the sides with 1×2 into a craftsman type feel purchased from our favorite store, The Home Depot.

Once set, we added 1/4 round moldings American Wood Moulding WM108 1/2 in. x 1/2 in. x 96 in. Wood Pine Quarter Round Moulding to finish the look.

Making sure the 1×2 did not stand over the bottom frame, I took the 1/4 round molding and turned it into the opening and nailed upside down. This provided a square edge for the 1×2 to sit without overhang.

Moving on to the top, we trimmed out the top using a 1 x 4 x 8 Select White Pine Board and Focal Point DWT3144-16 1-1/8 in. 3-1/2 in. x 192 in. Primed Polyurethane Window/Door trim.

To finish the look we added a small matching WM 984 3/8 in. x 1-3/8 in. Pine Mullion Moulding to the bottom of the 1×4 and then added the original trim piece back over top of the doors (I try to use the old pieces in a new way).  We love using the Ryobi brad nailer.  Its airstrike technology truly helps wood from splitting by to large of force.   Below is what it looks like trimmed out – Not bad for an old 1970’s piece!

After Hello I Live Here changed up the 1970’s China Cabinet, we primed the piece with a grey Rust-Oleum ultra cover latex primer.

Because the piece was older, a primer was necessary to provide a tight bond for the top coat, and provide a long lasting finish.  So what better choice than the trusted quality of Rust-Oleum 🙂

Once dry, we applied a thin coat of Annie Sloan Chalk Paint in Old Ochre purchased from our friends at Wood Icing in the Chesterfield Mall.

This unique decorative paint provided the piece the quality look we at Hello I Live Here are used to seeing.  We will be following the Old Ochre color up with a light coat of Annie Sloan brown wax once we complete Part II of our post.  This will give the china hutch a consistent antique look for this old piece that is new again.

It is our suggestion that you use the Annie Sloan brush with the paint and wax (purchased at Wood Icing).

I know they are pricey, but my last piece I used a regular bush, but noticed I used more paint, lesson learned!  This wonderful brush allowed me to buff the piece just right the first time, conserving both the paint and the wax.  Well, that’s part I of the China Hutch make over.  Hope you enjoyed the first half of Hello I Live Here’s China Hutch make over. Join at our site in a couple days for Part II and the full reveal of the China Hutch!

Happy start to October Y’all!

-Linda C