Saturday, August 6, 2011

China Hutch Turned Linen Closet

A few days ago, in my "organizing my tablecloths" post, I told you about the crappy piece of furniture I was painting.  Well I spent the entire day, and part of the next in the garage working on it. Boy was it hot too! Why do I choose to revamp big pieces of furniture in the middle of summer? Crazy? Yes, I agree. Here is what I was painting.
You may remember it from my dining room makeover. An ugly little thing isnt it. It was my moms, who gave it to my oldest sister, who gave it to my youngest sister, who didnt really want it. Uhh... thanks sisters. Mom said it was about 35 years old (said it was a piece of crap). Not an heirloom quality piece of furniture, for sure. The bottom doors and that middle panel between them are plastic that was very well painted to look like wood.
 See there?
Just a beat up, ugly piece of crap. It did a good enough job holding my china, but my dining room is only  10x10 and much too small for this thing. 
I think the only real pieces of wood are the molding around the top and bottom, and the support shelved. Needless to say, I didnt have any concerns about painting over all that fake wood and plastic. Actually I was scared of sanding it and getting lead poisoning, so I just used a rub on, liquid sander stuff. Seems to have worked. 
One day I decided that it would look great in my guest bathroom. I measured it out and it seemed like it would fit perfectly in this little  nook.
Since it was going in my (mostly) black and white bathroom I decided to paint it black. So I did, and here you go. The following pictures were taken with a different camera and settings. The diamonds on the wall aren't really that bold. Its more like the above picture.
My husband has some issues with it. He says he doesnt like the glass on it. Says you can see yourself in the reflection when you are "taking a deuce".. hahah.. a deuce...ummm ew! I said I didnt care because it was the guest bath. Use our own stinkin bathroom if you dont like it.
Lets get back to the pictures shall we? mkay
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 Convenient Bathroom Readers (I personally think reading on the toilet is disgusting), wet wipes, and extra potty paper are within easy reach.
What do you think? Do you love it? I do... I say that about all of my projects, but this is right up there with my burlap pegboard lovin it!
I have been collecting and gathering up glass containers for all the fun stuff in the hutch.
I tried to add some lavender scented water to that atomizer to act a s a room spray. Not too sure if its going to work or not. Either way it looks cool in here. 
The clock was hanging in my bathroom, but went so well in here that I moved it. 
I want to get a basket or something for those toilet paper rolls. I could hide them, but I think I like them out.
The mirrors in the hutch really brighten things up in there. The big mirror used to hang on the mirror over the sink, The one with the writing on it had a hook on it that I pulled off.
I might rearrange and add stuff, but I like it for now.
Oh this piece had brass handles and hinges. I never really realized it was a shiny brass at one time. Here are the pieces before. This is what I always remembered it looking like growing up.
And after I cleaned it up a bit. Just this little bit look a lot of elbow grease and that Brasso junk smells so bad! I decided that lots of people have payed big bucks for their knobs and pulls to look like antiqued brass, so I left it at this.
Looks good with the black paint. Oh, by the way, I used a Rustoleum Painters Touch latex in Flat Black. I was going to use a wipe on poly, but it had solidified and so I decided to use a beeswax, feed and wax goop that you rub on your wood to polish and protect it. Smelled like oranges. mmmm.
So now, dear readers, I part with one last picture. The ugly flooring just screams out at you now. If this were my forever house I would so rip that mess right up. If we had concrete floors I still might, but our house is on a crawl space. sigh.

Thanks for visiting.

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15 comments:

Anonymous said...

WOW!!!! LOOOOOVVVVVEEE IT!!!

Jeanette said...

Wow! I love it! Nice job.

Unknown said...

Wow Lizzy it's awesome. So elegant with the harlequin wall paint. I love that it was a "family heirloom." Ha Ha. I bet your mom and sisters want it back now.

Anonymous said...

Lizzy,

This is my first time reading your blog ... saw your post on Clean & Scentsible.

Your are too funny and a very talented (re)styler! How great is it that you had a nook in the bathroom that could accommodate that large piece of furniture!

I need to browse around your blog for more inspiration! Thanks for sharing your work.

Robin
happilyhomeafter.blogspot.com

Unknown said...

Thanks so much Robin, and thanks for dropping by!

Rachael said...

Love It! We don't have a linen closet in our home and I want to do something like this in our guest bathroom. Loved how yours turned out!

Unknown said...

I love seeing alternate uses for china cabinets! (ours is a bookcase) I love it in black and that you kept the original hardware. It looks beautiful as a 'closet'!

Jenn said...

Such an AMAZING transformation!! It looks like it should be on display in a store! Thanks so much for linking up to The Creative Spark. I'll be featuring this on Sunday. Hope to see you back again on Tuesday!
Jenn :)

Anonymous said...

We use the same kind of cabinet for our baby girls clothes! (ours however is antique so I'm scared to paint it) Love how yours turned out.

Carrie said...

Wonderfully done! Such a dramatic difference!

Jan said...

I believe a china hutch can be used in ANY room. My hubby does NOT believe that. I totally love this. You bathroom is absolutely beautiful!!

Ramblings of a Southern Girl ~ Rhonda G said...

LOVE it!!! Think it's an ingenious idea and turned out great painted black! Loving your diamond wall, too!

New to your blog, came through Amaze Me Monday! Newest follower! :)

Jenny @ Simcoe Street said...

LOVE THIS! It is gorgeous. Your blog is awesome. I'm your newest follower. If you'd like, come on by and, if you want, follow me as well.

Pinned this too :)

Jenny
www.simcoestreet.blogspot.com

Christine (iDreamofClean) said...

That is so creative! It's like something you'd see in a fancy hotel or restaurant....love it!

Comeca Jones said...

Honey this is perfectly fantastic!!!!

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