Brown Hutch Turned White - Furniture Redo Tutorial

This is the story of a sad and old brown hutch that deserved a makeover. She was just waiting for someone to make her pretty and wanted again. I found her on Craigslist, which is the BEST place to find furniture in need of a redo. The bigger the city you live in or near the more furniture possibilities you will find. I knew she would look pretty and fresh in white. This is how I made her over. I didn't get a total before photo. You get the idea here though.




Supplies: Gallon of oil based Kilz, 3 cans of Rust-Oleum gloss white spray paint, 100 grit piece of sand paper, paint brush, damp cloth, paper and blue painter's tape to cover glass up. You will also need a screw driver if you want to remove the hardware. You can get all of these supplies at your local Lowe's or Home Depot.


Step one: Clean off piece with a damp cloth to remove cob webs, dirt and dust.
Step two: Cover up the windows with paper and blue painters tape to adhere paper to the glass. If you are removing hardware do so now.
Step three: Remove drawers and set aside.
Step four: Lightly sand all pieces including drawer fronts. You don't have to go crazy here. The Kilz will do a lot of work for you.
Step five: Rewipe everywhere you sanded to get the dust off again. You could also use a shop vac to blow off the dust or a regular vacuum with the brush attachment if you'd like.
Step six: Time for Kilz! Apply a light coat of Kilz to all the surfaces that you want to put paint on. This will seal the piece and cover up the dark so that whatever paint color you choose looks much nicer. Kilz dries really fast so do not put thick coats on. You don't want it to be globby. That is a word, right?
Step seven: After the first coat of Kilz has dried apply another thin coat. I was going for a shabby chic look so I didn't worry about perfection. You could use a foam roller instead of a brush if you want the final look to be smooth instead of having brush strokes. You could even use Kilz spray primer instead of what we used.
Step eight: Time to spray! You want to spray everything that you applied primer to. I also sprayed the hardware. Make sure you know what you are doing with a spray can so that you don't get drips and puddles on your piece. Read directions on the can and practice on a piece of cardboard if this is your first time spraying. If you mess it up a little don't worry. You can always sand it after it dries and start again.
Step nine: After all the paint has dried you can reattach the hardware and remove all the tape and paper from the glass.
Step ten for those who want to distress: Take your sand paper and lightly sand any edges you want to remove paint from. You could do a little or a lot of distressing. Don't worry about perfection on this step. There is no such thing!

It is now time to enjoy your beautiful new piece of furniture. She is so lovely! She even stands taller and more proud now doesn't she?