{ChicByTab}: restoration hardware

Hello. I have a Restoration Hardware DIY to share with you today.

This hutch came to me from a neighbour, it was a wedding gift from her mother. So precious. My neighbour is doing this insane reno in their house, and she is getting a new office. Since she runs a fabulous little business, she wanted a matching office. Sounds right to me. Here's the hutches humble beginnings.

Now, this was a tricky piece. We had decided on making the back of the hutch Dark Walnut. The wood panelling was not real wood, but kinda like a sticker. So, typical stain wouldn't work. I love using gel stain by Minwax. It covers anything and really changes the tone of any surface. Check out their site, for a ton of info and inspiration. I started by taping off the panel board section, and laid down my first coat of gel stain. The key to using this product is dry time. Depending on the surface, anywhere from 1-3 days. Make sure it is nice a dry before adding the next coat. It took me 4 coats to cover up the yellow pine. Next I mixed up some Miss Mustard Seed Milk paint in Linen, with bonding agent (no chipping). Again, I found the yellow hard to cover, it took me 4 coats to get a solid coverage. Now hindsight, I think I was mixing the paint a little too thin. When using lighter colors, be sure to mix a bit thicker.

I love everything about this piece. The curvature on the top, right down to the flower embellishment. The hardware was picked by my neighbor. A great splurge on the hutch!

Don't forget to link up any of your projects at my chic-by-you-wednesday-linky-party! Hope to see you there.