The shelves were missing, the door hinges needed replacing/new screws, one lower door needed reattaching, the glass on a top door was broken out, there were large and small sections of veneer repair and the bottom inner shelves needed to be nailed back in place. An emblem had been painted on one side. The handles on the bottom were missing part of the bakelite pieces, and given the owner wanted to keep them, the missing sections needed to be filled. The poor thing had booboos everywhere, smack, knicks, dings and dents. I sanded, wood filled, glued and smoothed the essentials then played up the rest as part of its history by distressing the entire piece keeping its story authentic.
Structurally, it was still sound. It was a unique looking antique cabinet with a mirror striping the front which had a floral design showing through.
The client chose a deep rich green chalk paint for the outside with a soft gray shall paint for the upper inside. For the lower cabinet, I re-stained the shelving. I replaced the glass in the doors with chicken wire and installed new shelveson the top. I light coated the upper hardware with satin nickel which blended the tarnished handles beautifully with the chicken wire and gray interior. The bottom door pulls I filled in and the client wanted those to be the same color as the piece itself so they were painted in the green.
Four coats of interior paint and four coats of polycrylic slathered the top interior for storage durability. A spray of shellac went on first to prevent that pesky yellowish brown bleed through which tends to happen with the old Art Deco finishes. Clear wax and light distressing finished it off.
I couldn't get a full on front view because I was nervous to shift it due to the original mirror glass. It had miraculously survived through the years so no way was I going to risk it smashing on my watch. In fact, I kept it wrapped in foam the entire time it wa with me.
This heirloom hutch was not at all trash, but a true beloved treasure. It is ready for generations to come for this family.
From bugly brown to gorgeous green and gray - Here it is all perty and waiting to go home:
And here it was before its lovely transformation: