I have had this china hutch in my booth at Midtown for several months.

Sadly, I probably paid WAY to much for it...first auction of the season and everything was going for WAY more than what they normally do. I bought it because I think it is beautiful, but truth be told, it really isn't the "style" people look for these days, as is.

I have debated for some time whether I should bring it home and paint it. I just wasn't sure that would be the answer.

Just this weekend I decided to go ahead and bite the bullet but I was still uncertain. Until I saw this....

Marian at MissMustardSeed featured this beautiful piece she painted. You can see the "before and after" on her site!

Sometimes when we see what others do, it is all we need to find our own inspiration and relieve any fears we might have of doing what needs to be done to enhance a piece!

I love the grey against the mahogany, but right now everyone around here seems drawn to the "whites" so that is what I went with!

I used my favorite off-white, Swiss Coffee, for the "plaster paint." I did not sand or prime before painting it with the plaster paint...no need unless the piece you are working on is really rough! I distressed it just a bit (220 grit sand paper) to bring out the detailing and sprayed the exterior with poly to seal it!

I had originally planned to leave the inside stained...but it still seemed a bit dark so I removed the shelves and painted the inside a soft "teal." I taped and papered off the exterior and primed the interior with Kilz, sanded, tacked and then applied two coats of spray paint! I left the shelving the original stain finish.

I absolutely adore the original hardware so I left it!

One thing Marian does is beautifully style her pieces for photos. I rarely have the energy (or back!) to haul a piece inside and "pretty it up" before I take pictures. As I have said before I am more about the process than the pretty. HOPEFULLY someone else can envision the piece in their home and can find their own inspiration for staging it! Someday I may have the energy and space to make a pretty "backdrop" in my shop (okay, so it is really my garage!) Until then, the best you are going to get is a halfway decent "before and after" shot and maybe a little bit of instruction.

The two top shelves are a little "bowed." They are thin enough that I think I can lay them out with some weights on them to flatten them!

The debate raging right now is whether to reinstall the door (I did not paint it!) or leave it open.

Hum....