The Hutch!

So as I said in my last post, I was finally able to get my hutch open. It was the paint that had stuck together on the door & frame. Silly me! Here's a recap of the history of my hutch:

• It started out as two pieces, starting with a buffet that Vino got for me second hand for my birthday. 
• I painted it black. 
• It sat in storage for almost 3 years while we were living overseas. 
• It came back out of storage and the doors didn't close anymore. 
• I looked high & low for a hutch to put on top because I had no place to display my good dishes.
• I found the second piece, a hutch that was FREE.
• It was not pretty.
• I painted it white, using leftover paint from our trim. I painted the inside back aqua, using leftover paint from our porch ceiling (it's paper & not perfect, but it works for now).
• Back to the buffet: I peeled off the poorly done paint job on the top only. I sanded, stained & sealed the top then painted the rest the same white as the hutch.
• I put the hutch on top of the buffet in our dining room. Finally.
• I couldn't open the hutch door. It sat that way for a couple of months.
• My mom suggested that I use a saw to get the door open.

Now that you're caught up, we move on to the present! I couldn't imagine using a saw to get the door open and not damaging the piece, until I found this pumpkin carving tool in storage:

It worked. And the only damage done was to the paint. I'm thinking about leaving it the way it is. It goes well with the rest of the distressing!

Oh, I also used a couple of pieces of wood and some braces in the back to attach the hutch to the buffet. Our house is rather flexible (you may have noticed the shims under just one foot of the buffet) and moves when people walk heavily. I didn't want to worry about the hutch falling over filled with dishes. But that's boring so I'm not going to show pictures.

And speaking of the dishes, these came from my Aunt Jean and Uncle Ken. Uncle Ken bought them for my grandmother when he was stationed in Korea and visited Japan. Aunt Jean gave them to me, and they came in the original boxes (including all the stamps!) that Ken shipped them in from Korea. I grew up eating Thanksgiving dinner on these dishes and I'm so thankful to be able to display them. They really are an heirloom for me!

I will add more stuff to the hutch over time - I have a set of good all white dishes that are still packed. Some of those will go in the hutch but the rest will be stored in the buffet.

The buffet was $60, but I'm not sure I should include the price of that since we've had it for several years & it was a gift from the man. So I won't count it. The glass for the shelves in the hutch were $26. The stain, seal & paint I already had from other projects. The hutch was free.
Total cost: $26

Things happen in our house gradually. After so many months of picturing our dining room like this in my head, I'm really thankful for one more thing completed! Well, mostly completed. Is anything really ever fully finished in an old house??