Our first blog post! Exciting, right? As promised, our blog posts won't carry along with them a gazillion extra words. Rather, we'll only include just what you need to be inspired. Having said that, here's the skinny on how to turn any relatively hideous golden oak hutch into a gleaming white upscale coffee bar like the one right above.
Here's how the hutch looked before we gave it a makeover:
WHAT YOU'LL NEED:
Zinsser BIN Primer
Benjamin Moore Advance Paint (White Dove)
Aluminum Foil
Paint Can Opener
4" Paint Roller & Handle
Small Paint Brush
Small Paint Tray
150 & 220 Grit Sandpapers & Scissors
Screwdriver or Drill
1-2 Drop Cloths & Small Rag(s)
NOTE: My coffee maker was too tall to fit between the bottom shelf of the upper part of the hutch and the lower piece. My fab hubby built an extension made from a couple of 2x4s cut, drilled together and placed under the top half. All painted up, you don't even notice it!
HOW YOU'LL DO IT:
Separate pieces of hutch and place each piece on a drop cloth.
Remove any hardware, and DO NOT SKIMP. Take the hinges off. Take those thingers off that hold the doors shut. As I said DO NOT SKIMP. You'll be so glad later.
Clean the surface of the hutch. A rag dipped in hot soapy water should do the trick. However, if you know of any apparent grease on the surface, you'll want to use a degreaser such as Krud Kutter to get rid of that nonsense.
If your piece shows scratches, nicks or gouges you'll want to smoothly sand out those spots if they're not very deep. If they are deep, grab a little wood filler and fill in the spots until the surface is smooth.
Wipe dust away, then wipe dry.
Using a brush/roller combo (brush into crevices, then roll over entire surface to hide brush strokes) apply primer to all surfaces. BIN Primer requires 45 minutes between coats, so go have a hot cup of coffee or a beer (if it's after noon) while you wait. Then coat it again.
After the second coat of primer has dried, apply your first coat of paint. Note that this paint is relatively thick, so be careful to avoid overcoating in spots and watch closely for drips. NOTE: This paint has a 16 hour recoat time! DO NOT RUSH THIS.
Please be patient and wait to apply the second coat of paint until the next day. It will not end your world if you have a hutch that looks like this for a couple of days in your home:
After the second (final) coat, allow paint to once again dry overnight then reassemble hutch. For optimal results, place small felt bumper pads all along the bottom of the hutch top to prevent sticking and scratching.
This paint requires NO top coat. Have I mentioned how fantastic this paint is?
Decorate your coffee bar however you like.
ENJOY! <3
ADDITIONAL NOTES:
We gave our hinges and hardware a coat of oil rubbed bronze spray paint, then sealed it all and allowed it to dry overnight. You can choose to do this too, or simply replace with new. Just be sure if you do purchase new that you take the old to Menards with you for proper sizing.
This paint is miraculous stuff. It does take up to 30 days to fully cure, however after 48 hours of proper dry time you should be able to wipe away any coffee spills with a warm wet rag easily.
BIN Primer smells like ass. Well, actually it smells like nail polish remover, but in any case it will make your lungs hurt if you use it for any length of time without proper ventilation. Turn on a ventilation fan and open a window when using it. It also dries very fast, so don't dilly dally while using it.