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Hutch Makeover: How to modernize old furniture with decorative paper

Byamaryllis Hours Categories DIY Tutorials, furniture

Easy furniture makeover before

A hutch makeover can transform an old, outdated piece of furniture into a stylish and functional addition to your home.

I bought this piece of furniture on a garage sale a year ago and have left it all this time in the game room without knowing exactly what I wanted to do with it.

Until, a few weeks ago, I realized it would be perfect hutch for our dining room … it was about time! So I rolled up my sleeves to give this hutch a much needed makeover.

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Buying new furniture requires a certain budget. You can make serious savings by upgrading the furniture you already have or by modernizing furniture that you buy second-hand.
I show you what I did with a shelving unit that I bought for next to nothing in a garage sale.

How to choose the right furniture to modernize?

Before starting, there are a few things to consider when buying furniture you want to upcycle:

1.Take into consideration the dimensions of the furniture. Is it suitable for the space where you want to place it? Does it have the right proportions for your room?

2. Look at the general condition of the piece. Do all the drawers/doors open and close properly? Is the furniture structure strong? Check that there is no trace of moisture or mold.

3. Does the general shape of the furniture suit your decor? We can always adapt the style of the furniture when doing a makeover, but it’s easier to start on a basis that suits you. Example, if you like modern, favor furniture with a simple shape. If baroque is your style, do not hesitate to look for rounded furniture with carved wood details.

Back at my shelving unit. I liked the simple shape of it but as you can see in the pictures below, it needs some work to upgrade it to something modern.

I will explain what I did and give you the products I used.
I also give you a great tip to change the back of any piece of furniture, shelf unit, or cabinet without damaging it.

Easy furniture makeover before pics

 As I said, I like the general shape of the cabinet, the size, and the the sliding doors which gives it a nice touch.

What I do not like at all is that it’s veneer and not wood (I realized that after purchase it of course!).

I think the handles and the moldings are weird and do not match with the shape of this piece. There are many scratches and blows. So a lot of work to do to make it look nice!

The Hutch Makeover Step-by-step

Here is what I did to give the hutch a makeover.

1. I removed all the moldings, those above and also those glued on the right door.
I simply used a carpenter hammer, the moldings went up very quickly.

2. I sanded with 120 grid paper to remove small imperfections. I insisted on where the moldings were to remove the glue.

3. Once the light sanding was finished, I clean with a damp cloth and then with this product mixed with water to remove all traces of grease.

4. I cut and placed a new door to hide part of the shelves on the left side. The door is made of plywood and is fixed with hinges on the side of the cabinet.

5. I removed the base and build new feets out of a plywood piece.

6. I stained the furniture with a dark wood stain. The starting color of the furniture was similar to the one I chose, so it was easy to do and I only needed two coats to have a nice result.

7. I added a nice paper to decorate the back of the shelves. I explain how you can do it below.

Easy furniture makeover after

Here is the hutch makeover finished! What do you think?

The new handles and the pretty background with the polka dots give a completely different aspect to the furniture.

DIY shelving unit makeover

How to modernize a piece of furniture with decorative paper

Changing the back of a display cabinet or a shelving unit is a super simple and inexpensive way to refresh a piece of furniture.

To give your furniture a facelift you will need:

Measure the back area where you want to add the new paper. You can remove the shelves if it’s easy to do or leave them in place and work with differente pieces of paper.

Cut a thin cardboard piece to fill the back area you want to cover.

Glue the wallpaper on one side of the cardboard piece. Use spray adhesive so the bonding is uniform and without bubbles.

Cut or fold the extra paper length to fit the cardboard size.

Add some double sided tape on the back of the cardboard and stick it on the furniture back.

Repeat as many time as needed until the furniture is finished.

If you work with a large pattern paper, pay attention to the continuity of the design between the different pieces.

How to modernize furniture

And done! Enjoy your new furniture.

Changing the back of a piece of furniture is one of my favorite makeovers because it’s super easy to do and requires very few tools and supplies.
In addition, it does not damage the furniture and is easy to remove when you want to change your decor again.

I love to see your creations, so don’t hesitate to let a comment or tag me on Instagram ohoh.deco and show me your flea market furniture flips.

RELATED: How to make DIY cardboard table

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how to modernize old furniture

Want to remember it? Save this Hutch Makeover in you favorite pinterest board.

hutch makeover before and after

How to modernize furniture

You will find all the tutorials featured in the video on my “Best DIY” page.

Amaryllis

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32 Comments

  1. Mais tu vas nous rendre jaloux et complètement dingue avec tes réalisations! On se sent mal!
    Je ne montrerai plus ton blog à Nannette. Elle va vouloir tout changer ma parole.
    Que dire d'autre si ce n'est "bravo" pour ces récupération et transformations. Et nous qui sommes obliger de "jeter" tant de chose avant de déménager, je suis certain que tu pourrais redonner une 2ème vie à tous ces objets… 🙁
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  6. You made such a fantastic design and its look very attractive and the thing in these box look so much wonderfull. I will try to made my house furniture like your furniture. here Thank you so much for the share i will try my best i hope my furniture will be look like your one.

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