When my youngest ray of sunshine began to show signs of mobility, my mind went to the mother bear child preservation realm and returned with one glaring area that needed mending: the kitchen. The baker’s rack I was using was most certainly going to turn into a baby’s playground and discovery museum if I didn’t set plans for something new (ie old) soon. This is when it pays to be a recreational craigslist peruser. Maybe because I am always a sucker for a great deal on old things, maybe because I like to keep tabs on local prices for things being sold, but most definitely because I like to laugh at the way people spell “armoire” or “cabinet” and other furniture words, I happened upon a craigslist gem. The ad stated something to the effect of “I am moving and can’t take my hutch. 100.00 OBO. If it doesn’t sell today I am going to donate it.” When my eyes landed on this hutch, which was almost identical to my grandma’s, a million nostalgic thoughts came rushing into my mind. Thoughts of waking up to a hot breakfast, my grandpa whistling, and a warm fire. Thoughts of all the times I had admired my grandma’s eclectic vintage goblet collection and tried with all my might to pick a favorite. Thoughts of watching old movies while eating peeled apple slices or sundaes with homemade fudge sauce. You get the picture. I knew I had to have this hutch. I waited until late in the day to offer the lady 40.00, since I figured she would take whatever she could get for it. Boom, deal done!
My grandma’s goblet collection
When I got her home, I knew I had to paint her yellow. Maybe because I love bright colors in a kitchen, but probably because it is grandma’s favorite color, she was yellow in my mind from the time I unloaded her into my garage. I began to dust her off and get her all ready for the transformation when I discovered an added bonus: the piece was made by Ethan Allen. Any buyers guilt I had (which let’s face it, I probably had none to begin with) was banished at that point. $40.00 for an Ethan Allen hutch was a steal by anyone’s standards.
Normally, I can pick a paint color and love it in a second. Yellows, however, are a different animal altogether. I didn’t want the school bus color, nor the Easter egg color, nor the 70’s brownish color. It took me three trips to the paint store to get this yellow where I wanted it. If you are in Santa Rosa and need some paint, I would highly recommend Peterson’s Paint. The only guy I have ever seen working there is extremely helpful and patient. He adjusted my color without any hint of annoyance, which I was impressed with (at that point, I was annoyed with myself). Even after I promised I wouldn’t be back again for the same paint color, only to return because I ran out of paint and lost the dye card he wrote on, he happily made more and matched it perfectly!
I could not be happier with the look of my Carla Bee Hutch! She is the perfect solution to my lack of storage I have in the kitchen, the perfect guardian to all things kitchen I don’t want a curious baby riffling through, and of course, the perfect amount of cheer for the place we spend most of our time.
Original batwing pulls
love the Jacobean stain, it is super rich and gives an updated feel to older pieces.
The start of my very own goblet collection and also some other assorted vintage thrift store finds.
White interior of the cabinets allows more flexibility with what can be displayed. It also brightens those places where the light can be limited making it a better display place.
Distressing is the best way to show off all of the details on older pieces. Love me some tiny spindles.