Distressing Our "New" China Hutch

I have been checking Craigslist periodically for a China hutch for our dining room but just couldn't bring myself to pull the trigger on any of them mainly because of cost.  Well did I luck out one day when this one popped up.  I immediately contacted the guy and he said he had someone trying to find a truck to get it but would keep me posted.  The other deal fell through and it was ours!  He had it listed for $75 OBO.  I offered $60 and walked away with one heck of a deal!!! 

I knew I wanted to paint it but wasn't sure on color or technique.  We bought it right about the time we were choosing our cabinet color so I decided there would be no better color than to match our new cabinets.  I took our cabinet sample to our paint guy, he lasered the color to match, and we now have what will be a perfect match to our new kitchen cabinets. 

Please ignore the current dining room color (that doesn't match the new hutch).  It will also be changing along with the kitchen reno!

I love the distressed look and after seeing my friend's awesome dining room table that she did I wanted to try my hand at the look but I was nervous about doing it to such a big piece for my first try. 

I started by removing the glass, doors, and hardware.  Then, I lightly sanded the hutch and doors with an electric sander (probably not necessary especially if you use a primer but I think it helps the paint grip the surface better), wiped it all down very well to clean it and then began with a layer a paint.  (Some distressing techniques recommend applying wax (candle) or Vaseline to the edges before painting to make distressing easier.  I opted not to do the wax and for me it work out just fine not waxing before painting). 

Ok so reality check here... this was NOT a fun piece to paint!  There were a lot of corners, edges, and weird angles that required me to literally stick my head and half my body inside of the cabinet.  Not even halfway through I was kicking myself but kept telling myself the end result would be worth it!  I took it all in steps and worked on it each night after the kids went to sleep.  

Halfway done!

After the painting was finished before I was set to distress the piece, I'll be honest... it was a bit tough to bring myself to take the sander to it.  I had worked so hard already and liked the clean look but I went for it anyway.  I started out a bit timid, sanding by hand but soon pulled out the electric sander and started slowly.  After I got the hang of how much pressure I needed and the rotary speed needed, it went quickly.  And here is the end result with a couple close up pictures!

The final touch was new hardware (not pictured) to match our new kitchen hardware

A closer look at some of the distressed edges

A closer look at some of the distressed edges

I am so happy with the end result and still stop to look at it and do a double take.  It absolutely does not look like the same piece and I am looking forward to the when the renovation is over and I can finally put some of the China I have on display!