Let's look at this piece a bit closer.
I scored this 1950's solid wood hutch, buffet, or sideboard if you will, from a lady on marketplace who was selling it for $50. Amazing price for a large piece of vintage furniture, however, I did get her down to $40! It doesn't hurt to ask, amirite?
I envisioned this piece to be a stellar mid-century modern bar cabinet with functionality and storage. This piece of furniture upon looking at it as well as struggling to haul it up into the box of my truck, was extremely heavy and dense, so I knew it was a solid wood score! I was torn both ways on whether I should use paint to accent the piece, or keep it in it's wooden glory as I tend to shy away from painting over solid wood pieces. In the end, I did chose to use paint for this makeover for a few reasons:
One: I was aiming for a wow factor for this piece, something to help it stand out. Keeping it all wood I don't think would have helped it stand out as uniquely as I wanted it to.
Two: The unique accents I planned to add to this bar had a sort of modern, fun flair to them and I just didn't think they would suit the piece if it was left all over wood.
Three: I wanted it to be attractive to all kinds of different decor style needs. I imagine an all over warm reddish toned wood cabinet to be in a room such as a cigar smoking room your dad hid in after a long day at work and that's just not what I was going for. Do you kind of get the picture I'm painting?
There are times when I refuse to paint over and when I love to paint over vintage furniture, and I have full explanations as to why I believe it's okay, and why you should feel it's okay for your DIY furniture makeovers as well!
Check out my blog on "to paint or not to paint" vintage furniture by clicking the button or the image!
How to makeover this old hutch into a bar
This cabinet had some questionable materials dressing it up, and unfortunately the cupboard interiors were rather trashed. The walls inside of the open nook were lined in a white leather feeling material and the corners were hidden by a gold rope piping which was falling off in areas as is. The cupboard shelves were mismatched, different woods and thicknesses, as well as warped and just not functional. The frame was very scratched, warn down and quite discolored. The wood top was the same, however showed much potential to be beautiful again!
Step 1: Demo-clean-assess
After a good vacuum, wipe down and clean, I started by pulling out the very obviously not original shelves, took the hardware and doors off, peeled off the piping material and old leathery peel and stick walls and began to assess what needed to be repaired.
The most evident repairs were the shelves, but I really wanted to reuse as much material that I could, so I opted out to repurpose the boards even though they were mismatched, plus they were already cut to fit the space.
Once I took the shelves out of place, I saw right away what was making them lay all jenky and warped. It was a simple fix where I just had to add new support strips onto the walls and level them out. They sat in MUCH better than before and I was stoked to reuse the material!
Step 2: Sanding and prep
First, so they had time to dry, I sanded and stained the shelves to be a darker color, as well as the walls inside the cupboards bringing them back to an even tone. The entire frame, doors, sides and top got a good sanding next. The frame and the sides where I would later be painting, got more of a scuff sand to allow the primer and paint to adhere the best it can. The top and the doors got a full sand down back to bare wood (I'm sorry I missed getting progress photos here) with 80 grit sandpaper, then 120 then 400 to smooth over.
Quick tip: Apply your painted areas first before your stained areas! Why? Read ahead.
Step 3: Primer and painting
I chose to prime and paint before I refinished the wood sections, this is because if I got paint over my newly stained and sealed wood, I would have to sand it off therefore re-stain and seal the one area, which is plain silly. I used painters tape to protect all the areas of my cabinet that I didn't want to get paint on, and started my first later of primer.
Quick tip: Between each coat of product, once dry, give a quick sand over with 400 grit sandpaper to knock down any roughness or particles that may have landed in your coats.
Step 4: Stain and seal wood surfaces
I used an old rag and patience to stain the wood surfaces making sure to apply WITH the grain always. I believe I needed 2 coats to achieve full saturation. Once dry, I gave the stain a good wipe down with a microfiber cloth to make sure no dust or hair particles were sitting on it before sealing.
I followed stain with 3 coats of satin polyurethane for the top surface, and 2 coats for the cupboard doors.
Side note: I did not tape off my painted areas while staining, however, if your paint has been drying for over a week or so, go ahead and do that. I worry that taping over fresh paint and topcoat could result in it lifting off with that tape.
Quick overview:
9 steps to paint vintage furniture
Step 1: Clean well, fix issues, sand smooth.
Step 2: Tape off areas that won't be painted.
Step 3: Apply 1 or 2 coats of a primer to insure good paint adhesion.
Step 4: Lightly sand primer. Apply first coat of desired paint, allow to dry.
Step 5: Lightly sand again. Apply second coat of paint and repeat step if a third coat is needed.
Step 6: Lightly sand and wipe dust down very thoroughly to insure no dust will get trapped on the surface underneath your top coat VERY IMPORTANT.
Step 7: Apply first coat of chosen top coat or polyurethane, allow to cure fully.
Step 8: You guessed it, lightly sand and apply your second coat. Repeat if a third coat is needed.
Step 9: I do one final light sand just to knock down the slight roughness of the finish, and will apply a furniture oil to make it shine again.
What products did I use for this piece?
To makeover this old hutch into a bar, I figured it needed some dark contrast and rich wood tones to almost match the feeling of an actual bar. I knew I wanted black as an accent and I knew the finish of the wood was naturally going to come out a rich warm color, so this really was a perfect piece for this makeover!
I adore Dixie Belle paint products and I think they are a great brand to get started furniture flipping with. They have a lot of information online about how to properly use their products in order to achieve the best finish by their recommendations, so definitely do your research.
I chose a soft black paint color called "Caviar" to update this vintage bar cabinet. I applied this paint using one of Dixie Belle's brushes called the "scarlet". This brush insures a smooth high coverage finish and easily pushes the paint around your piece to get the most stretch out of your product, very worth purchasing. But before the pain goes down, I make sure to prime the piece using Dixie Belle's BOSS primer which will provide a better surface for the paint to adhere to as well as block out stains or uneven texture on your piece. DO NOT SKIP THIS STEP. I proceeded to apply 2 full coats of Caviar making sure to lightly sand in between coats, then finished the piece with a layer of "Gator Hide" also by Dixie Belle paints.
Quick tip: Don't cheap out on your paint brushes. Brush strokes and lines are going to ruin the finish of your paint and will result in wasted time and product.
What about the wood details?
Refinishing the bare wood surfaces on this vintage cabinet was a bit different than the painting steps. I sanded the doors and the top piece with 80-120-400 grit to get all old finish and scratches off the wood surfaces. The old finish sanded off beautifully, and all the tiny nicks and scratches buffed out immediately, what a win! I stained the wood with Varathane "Early American" which brought out more of it's already warm, rich tones and finished with two coats of their polyurethane in satin. Just be aware that this is not a true swatch of what Early American looks like as it is being applied on an already very red toned wood.
Quick tip: I always give my top coats a quick light sand after fully cured and apply a nice wood oil or wax to give the wood a healthy shine.
Accessories and dressing up
Gilding wax is my absolute favorite product for a quick almost magical way to transform old hardware and it is so easy to use. The knobs that came with this vintage cabinet I think suit it perfectly, however they had a shiny off brown, coppery hue to them which wasn't giving them justice. One coat of Dixie Belle's gilding wax in gold was the perfect upgrade to give these unique knobs a fresh look.
Being a bar display cabinet, obviously I HAD to add this simple wine glass rack from IKEA to the ceiling for easy storage (I actually thrifted this one for $1). This little rack comes in white, so to give a matching vibe, I gave it a quick coat of my favorite gold spray paint. I didn't stop there, the walls inside were screaming for this art deco looking geometric peel and stick material I found on Amazon which really completed the look of this 1950's mid-century modern bar cabinet DIY project.
How much did this DIY project cost?
50's cabinet $40.00
BOSS primer $35.00 ($8 used)
Caviar paint $35.00 ($10 used)
Gator Hide $50.00 ($12 used)
Stain & poly $5.00 used
IKEA glass rack $6.99 ($1 thrifted)
Amazon peel n' stick $32.99 ($16.50 u
Thank you for checking out my DIY blog page! Explore more projects by browsing olbettiediy.com there's more to see and more to come!
