a bright new hutch.

Yet another piece of furniture I've had since I was little (dresser makeover posted here). This hutch (from This Ends Up) was great on storage but light on style. The combination of the simple shape and natural wood made this piece boring, dull and an eyesore.

It took me forever to make up my mind, but I finally ended up painting it with Ace Hardware's Fast Fortune. This turquoise hue added some character to the piece, brightened up the space and created some much needed drama to an otherwise boring, narrow workspace. 

Unfortunately, the rest of the space is still under major construction so I'm a little confined as to what shots I can take of it at the moment. Better photos should be coming soon.

To be honest, I didn't even bother sanded or priming the piece. I chose a flat finish, added two coats and sanded the edges and corners for natural-looking wear and tear. To accomplish this, I simply took a sanding block, gave the entire hutch a sand to bring out the raised wood grain and added more pressure while sanding over the corners and edges in certain places. Every so often, I would step back, assess the "wear and tear" and then sand wherever I felt needed more distressing. My hope is that over time, the piece will continue to age and distress organically. 

Because of the new desk, I was able to stick the printer inside the closed doors, leaving plenty of room for my interior design books, box of interior magazine clippings and the gazillion magazines I collect each year. I organized the books by color and stacked the magazines vertically and horizontally to create a composition that's both functional and pretty. A jar of seashells from my beach vacations finish the look.