The Hutchity Hutch...

I was hoping to spend some time this weekend refinishing our new, albeit antique, china hutch that we picked up in Cockeysville last weekend. We have spent a lot of time and money on rennovations... two reasons that a lot of our rooms have very little furniture in them (literally have rooms that are nearly empty - or only have tools in them). We decided recently that with all our old dishes and wedding china that the kitchen cabinets were getting a bit overcrowded, and we really need a china hutch for the dining room. But, as with so many others out of my past, this particular story starts at Wegmans.

All two of you who will ever read this blog know that I (like most people who have lived in upstate New York) am a Wegman's freak. Somewhere along the line I have managed to convert Leah, and on my last trip to Moorestown I think I opened the door for some guys I work with. For the uninformed, Wegmans is a grocery store - but not just any grocery store. I can't do it justice here so I will have revisit the topic in a post completely devoted to Wegman's greatness. While Wegmans is planning to build a new store in Gambrills (only 7 miles from our house!), there is so much drama revolving around that project we're not sure when it's going to open. So, whenever we get the itch we drive 45 minutes to nearest Wegman's in Hunt Valley, MD.

Anyway, the day after Ragnar I was feeling I like owed myself a treat, so I made the suggestion to Leah that we go up to Hunt Valley since we hadn't been there in a while. She agreed - but didn't tell me until I got in the car her REAL motive was to also hit a bunch of antique stores that are up and down York Road in Cockeysville. Well, sure enough at the second store we visited we found this small hutch that was in relatively good condition. Best of all, it was CHEAP!



But of course, the color is all wrong for our dining room table, where my work is about to begin.

We did some research on the internet and discovered this post about a guy who uses a technique of stripping old furniture, spraying self sealing lacquer onto it, then spray painting it to give it a "distressed" look. Unfortunately, this guy is VERY specific about the types of lacquer and spray paint to use, which in my tour of the Annapolis area paint stores I have discovered both products are discontinued and hard to find. On the flip side, I now know the location of every single paint store in the Greater Annapolis area...

Unfortunately, my weekend plans got waylaid by the lawn and the piano (see upcoming post), and it looks like I'll be on travel for the better part of the next few weeks. Refinishing the hutch may have to wait...