Dining Room Hutch Makeover: Painting Furniture with No Sanding, No Priming, No Sealer
This post has been created in partnership with Beyond Paint. All opinions are my own.
When we moved into our home my very favorite thing, and the reason I fell in love with this home were all the built-ins. Who doesn’t love a good built in?
This built-in hutch in the dining room particularly sealed the deal.
The saddest day was when we realized, it would have to go… The built-in in the dining room made the space too small for an actual dining table, and we ended up removing three walls of built-ins to capture a little bit of extra space. It was a sad day for Remodelaholic-kind.
The best news was that we were able to remove the built in in one piece.
Heavenly hosts were singing above!
So, we transferred it to the opposite wall in the kitchen… While it isn’t technically “built-in” anymore, it is very much still alive and kicking in our house.
A few years ago I saw a built-in hutch that had been painted orange, and for about 4 years, I’ve been planning on painting our built in orange. (Design by Lucy Interior Design)
I know some of you are cringing.
I realize some of you might hate that I am painting wood, but truly, it’s my house and it brings me joy, and the haters don’t have anything to do with it…
Stepping off the soap box…. backing away slowly.
Wondering about paint options for painting wood furniture? See pros and cons for different types of paint here.
Painted Dining Room Hutch Makeover
No Sanding, No Priming, No Sealer
So, recently I was contacted by Beyond Paint to see if I wanted to try out their product. They happen to have an all in one product that has primer, finisher and sealer in one! No sanding required!
Also according to the packaging, it should bond to almost any surface, (wood, granite, tile, Plastic, metal, glass laminate varnish, Polyurethane and linoleum…- I’ve only tried sealed wood personally)
The paint has more pigment for better coverage and it is GREEN- well, it comes in several colors, but green as in Non-Toxic, or Hazardous air pollutants free!!
They also had a pretty red-orange color called Poppy, and I thought, well, maybe it is the hutch’s day at last?!
I tested the red. (on a little piece of cardboard and hung it on the hutch- forgot to take a picture and I looked at it for a few days to see how it would look…)
It matched really well with our vintage 60 year old tribal rug and the curtains in our front rooms, and works with our bright orange chairs in the dining room… (did I mention I like color?)
And so I decided to try it out.
The product kit came with very detailed instructions and a kit of tools.
The first and one of the most important steps is cleaning and prepping the wood. The surface must be oil, wax, grease and dirt free! So I disassembled it all and cleaned each door drawer and faceframe individually really well. I also had to remove the glass shelves and ALL my dishes on said glass shelves… my kitchen went from clean to way messed up in about 3 minutes flat!
For cleaning, I used Simple Green and scrubbed really thoroughly. The hutch itself was actually pretty clean – because when I first moved into the house I cleaned this hutch within an inch of it’s life! But I wanted to make sure the paint adhered really well, so I scrubbed again! For your info, other cleaner options are mineral spirits, or a vinegar water solution. By cleaning this will give the surface “tooth” for the paint to bond to. (SIDE NOTE: TSP will leave a phosphate residue unless it is rinsed very well, so you have been warned!)
Next I taped the mirror for easier clean up.
I stacked the drawers up on my counter to paint them with boards in between… I didn’t even empty the drawers. #slackerorgenius you decide!
I started painting by testing the paint on the back of one door. I fooled around with how to get the paint on the door and what worked best.
I started using the provided and brand recommenced 1/2 or 1/4 inch woven fabric nap roller. But for my personal taste, I like my furniture finishes to be as smooth as possible. So I tried out my foam roller. Which I liked better. Because I didn’t follow the exact rules of the brand and did thinner coats, I did have to add a third coat – BUT if I had followed the rules I really wouldn’t have needed to, so that is all on me!
Drying time for each coat is about 2-4 hours on average, (unless your area is humid and you might need a bit more time) So, I let it dry and did a second coat to be sure I would really like what I was doing before really committing… Remember this hutch is my baby.
I got into all the cracks with the paintbrush the kit provides, then I used my own foam roller to smooth out any lines and get as clean of a finish as possible.
I chose to go with 3 very thin paint layers rather than 2 thicker layers- which you can do by all means, but I like the smooth feel (and can I admit I sort of like the look of the wood grain showing through the paint…anyone else with me on that?)
While going through the process we did decide that we would leave the top 4 doors off… somehow it updated the look of the hutch to me SO much! I’ll show you the afters and you can decide for yourself. And yes, I didn’t even take the lower dishes out to paint the frame, I’m a rebel at heart!
When you are done painting, just remember that while the beyond paint will be dry in about 2-4 hours, it is sometimes still sensitive to chipping until is has undergone an initial sure period of 2-3 days. Additionally, allow it to fully cure for 30 days before scrubbing it down for any reason! If you have any remaining paint, store it in a cool dry place. I used 1 full bottle/container on my hutch.
Once you’ve allowed for curing time, you can put everything back on there!
The one kind of controversial decision I made in this makeover … was to keep the original hardware.
I wasn’t ready to commit to anything else. It did take me 4 years to commit to even painting the hutch, so I’m just trying to take baby steps. And I KNOW when I do end up picking new hardware it will be expensive, because I want really cool brushed gold hardware…
BUT I LOVE how it turned out. And as much as I have been gunned for bright orange, I am glad I went a little safer with this gorgeous red.
What do you think with the doors off on top? Better or worse?
Thanks to Beyond Paint for partnering with me on this project. All opinions are my own. To purchase Beyond Paint, you can shop at a participating Ace Hardware store or visit AceHardware.com. To learn more about Beyond Paint products, visit BeyondPaint.com.
More tips for painting wood furniture:
- Painting Furniture: What Type of Paint? Comparison of 5 Paint Types
- Must-Know Tips for Prepping Refinished Furniture
- Color Files: Helping You Pick The Right Paint Color
Cassity Kmetzsch started Remodelaholic after graduating from Utah State University with a degree in Interior Design. Remodelaholic is the place to share her love for knocking out walls, and building everything back up again to not only add function but beauty to her home. Together with her husband Justin, they have remodeled 6 homes and are working on a seventh. She is a mother of four amazing girls. Making a house a home is her favorite hobby.
This is amazing! I’ve tried foam rollers before but don’t get as smooth a finish as I would like. It looks like you did.
I feel like with foam rollers you just have to be really careful with the amount of paint on the roller. Often I will brush it on with a brush and then take us pretty dry roller and roll over it to spread out the paint and remove the brush marks… hopefully that helps on your next project thanks for your comment !!
Looks fantastic! Removing the upper doors updates it nicely and I actually love the hardware too, so please don’t rush to change it!
I love this! Although I’m not a fan of orange LOL it looks fantastic! The Beyond paint looks like an interesting product, but your link to their website needs to be modified. It is trying to go to a link on your site. Thought I’d give you a heads up because you may or may not be getting credit for sending people over there.
Thanks for a very interesting and informative website I love your creativity!
Thanks for the heads up (and the love!) We’ve fixed the link 🙂
Hi! I commented on June 25th and as of today, July 25th, it says that my comment is “awaiting moderation.” ????
Sorry for the delayed response, but it is bolted to the wall with heavy duty lagbolts. We are still deciding on what to with the legs.
Thanks so much!
I love all of it, I think you did a brilliant job.
Thank you so much!!
I think it looks great w/o the doors.
I had never heard of this product and thought it sounded too good to be true – so no sanding b/t coats? And no topcoat? How is it holding up at this point?
Thank you for the thorough post. It looks amazing. I am definitely researching this product.
June,
So far it’s holding up great! I got one small scratch on a shelf because I put everything back a little too early but I haven’t had any scratches anywhere else!
It’s not a piece we use heavily so I can’t tell you from experience how it would hold up to daily heavy use – but for what we have it’s working and we’re really happy!
Looks amazing! Love the color! The gold hardware will be the jewels of the design. Good job. I didn’t know tsp left a residue. Did you know they make a ” no rinse” formula? Does the paint come in different sheens?
I totally agree about the jewels of the piece I need to really look out for good hardware !!
Had to look up your question about the sheen because I wasn’t sure – but for now it looks like they only have a matte finish.
As far as TSP goes I know they have a no rinsing kind but according to the instructions on the packages they recommend not using it so I just follow those rules! I figure they know more about what works for their product than I do!
That looks awesome, I love the idea of the in wall hutch, especially since the top is through and through. I like that the wood grain pops out with the paint.
Thanks I’m glad I’m not the only one that likes the woodgrain showing through !!!
You said you used one container. Was it a gallon or quart?
It was a quart!
Hello, I would like to start by saying you did a fantastic job, love the pop of color also! I do have a question, I love painting furniture but I have to admit I always end up with furniture that looks great but still remains a bit tacky if you leave things on it. I just picked up a free desk I want to redo for my daughter’s room but I’m a bit scared to tackle this job since this is something she will be writing on. I’m wondering if maybe I just didn’t leave it cure long enough? as I didn’t know it took 30 days to cure! I assumed a few days. I also always use TSP, so maybe Ill try washing with something else this time.
Lisa- it could be a problem with the original finish of the piece, softening under your paint? If the finish is soft and you can scratch it really easily with your fingernail- I personally would stand at least the top! But the other option if this is going to be a desk is to paint it and then have a piece of glass cut to fit the top of the desk, at a local window place. Then it can protect the top paint finish but it can be easily used as a writing service to and heck! It might be fun with Some dry erase markers!!
LOVE it. Looks like the upper cabinet doors changed to have framed glass, what did you do? did you make them, order glass?
oh I just saw that was your inspiration photo.. whoops!
..and doors on–for dust and just looks finished. Also nice touch with the glass knobs.
Wow I love this color!
Thanks, Corey!
Smashing. Much better than orange, I think.
Thank you!
I love everything about this! But you may rethink the door option because of the amount of dusting you’ll have to do if you keep them off. I’m so glad I saw this because the paint and color is just what I’ve been looking for to do a really old cabinet in my kitchen as well lol!
I love how smooth your final product is. All of the tutorials I have seen of this product have a pretty rough finish. I know you explained how you got this finish but I was wondering, could you please provide a video tutorial on how to get a smooth finish with this product? Thanks!