Upcycled furniture ideas $15 Thrift Store Hutch

Well hello! So I’ve been slowly furnishing my house. It’s been fun to do a mix of new items, thrifted items, and DIYs. While I was at the thrift store, I found a $15 hutch! I desperately need storage in my living room and the height is great so I grabbed it. I thought I’d share how I redid it with some uprecycled furniture ideas. 

Here’s the before. I know it looks great, but it was crazy dirty! With wax spilled on it and stickers stuck to it. It needed some love! I did think about keeping it the natural color, but after deciding what to do on the shelves, I decided that going white with the paint was best.

Upcycled furniture ideas $15 Thrift Store Hutch

Let’s start with the video tutorial so you get an overview on what I did. Then, I’ll dive in with more details below:

If the video doesn’t work here, you can watch it on YouTube here. I’d be over the moon happy if you subscribed to my YouTube channel! Videos are actually released on YouTube first (usually the night before they’re published on the blog). Thank you!

SUPPLIES

• White Lightning Cleaner
• Slick Stick Primer
• Cotton White Chalk Paint
• Paint Brush
• Mister
• Easy Peasy Wax
• Applicator Pad
• Spray paint- I used French Blue, Ocean Mist, Candy Pink, and Lemongrass

step 1

Start by cleaning the furniture well I use this mixed in hot water with a rag. Be prepared for some dirty water! It is a bit satisfying to see how clean it is! If the furniture has a shiny of slick finish at all, make sure to prime.

step 2

Next, paint for 100 years. J/K, but really, I’ve usually only done smaller pieces so painting this big hutch was a sloooow process! For the white, I used Dixie Belle chalk paint in the Cotton color. I like to do nice and thin coats of paint. I follow these tips to get a smooth finish. The biggest trick is to mist the furniture with water so the paint glides on.

step 3

Once I’d done three coats of paint everywhere, I reassembled the doors on the base. Next, I finished the piece with wax. The wax keeps the chalk paint matte finish that I love. But adds some protection so it cleans easily. Plus it’s easy to apply- just spray it on a pad and rub it on the furniture.

diy color blocked shelves

My idea- which I am really excited about! Is to buy thrifted decor and then spray paint it in rainbow colors and put them on the shelves! So I popped by the thrift shop and bought about $60 in decor- frames, greenery, books, ceramics, and glass.

Next, I put the decor on the shelves so I’d know what color to paint each item. This was pretty fun- I could see how cute it would look!

 

I didn’t end up using everything I bought at the thrift shop- probably $14 worth. But I’ll save it for a future project.

Next, I put the items together with the spray paint for each group of decor. Then I pulled off the tags, washed the ceramics, and removed off the book covers.

Also for the books, I added painter’s tape over the pages. I wanted the cover to be a different color, but the pages to still be usable.

Then I brought them outside to be painted. Each color got their own cardboard box and I applied thin coats of spray paint to the accessories.

The paint totally transformed everything and it was really fun to see everything become one color! The spray painting does take some time since it needs 4-5 thin coats plus drying time. Make sure to watch the video to see the best way to paint the books.

Here’s all the accessories together after they were painted and dry. Aren’t they fun?!

after

wake up and be awesome pink print / flower pink print / blue abstract print (all other prints were gifts or I made them)

With the accessories all painted, I put them back on the hutch. This time they had a colorful punch! Aren’t they fun up there?! They definitely add a graphic punch! Also, now that I know I can successfully paint books and not ruin them, I feel like it opens a world of styling possibilities!

Alright, I know that my spray painting all the things (like the palm tree) is a little crazy. BUT! It’s so fun try something new. What I LOVE about this project is that anyone can go to the thrift store and buy frames, books, greenery, and some tchotchkes and just paint them. I guarantee that every thrift store will have shelf decor. With spray paint, it’s customizable! And so fun!

So tell me, what’s your favorite part of the shelves? I love that they’re colorful and fun! I really appreciate how well the hutch adds height to the room. Plus it really helps that big wall feel special and defined. I can’t wait to hear your thoughts!

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