Drumroll Please

I moved out on my own in January, 2001. My aunt gave me her old dining room table and matching dish hutch at that time. When Michael and I got married in December, 2001 it became our dining room set. We moved the set to Colorado in August, 2002. We moved them back to Tempe in December, 2003. We moved them to Maricopa in May, 2006 where the table became our outdoor patio table and the hutch stored overflow and seasonal dishes in the garage. The hutch was once again put in the garage when we moved to our current house last year. I have been looking at it with a critical eye for the last 6 months thinking I could do something with it. I could make it prettier. I could make it more functional. I could bring it inside and actually use it for dishes. Gasp.

So, I sanded the entire thing with 50 grit sandpaper, then 80 grit sandpaper, then 220 grit sandpaper. We spent hours cleaning up dust after I was done sanding, including vacuuming and scrubbing the walls and ceiling. I used heavy duty varnish stripper on parts that couldn't be sanded. I used heavy duty varnish stripper cleaner to clean the varnish stripper off. I took off the doors of the top and used wood filler to fill cracks and holes. I conditioned and stained the whole thing. I waited for it to dry. I stained it a second time. I waited for it to dry. I sealed the whole thing. I waited for it to dry. I bought all new hardware for the doors and drawers. I visited 8 different craft stores to find the perfect paper and then Michael and I decoupaged 2 different types of paper on the back and sides of the open shelving. I stayed up late working on it. I ate a lot of sawdust. We choked on the fumes for days. I checked Spencer's breathing in the middle of the night, certain that he was slowly dying from fume intoxication. I spent hours on the internet to find out why our gas dryer and gas stove top smelled like kerosene when we turned them on (it was from the fumes burning off in the air). We spent hours air fluffing all of our laundry so it wouldn't smell like kerosene until all the fumes cleared. I cursed at myself for ever taking on such a project. And then, suddenly, it was done.

Before

(circa 2002 in our Colorado apartment)

After
(circa 2 days ago) This is just a sample of what it will look like with my polish pottery displayed on the open shelving. These are not the actual pieces that I will be using. That is still a work in progress.
I still need to buy some little things, like plants and such, to pretty it up and fill the top. Do you remember when my favorite piece of pottery broke last year?

My dad is going to glue it back together and it will go on display on the hutch.

I'm also getting these 2 bad boys as birthday presents from my mom and dad and Michael and myself. I won't feel like it's really done until I have these 3 pieces up there.

When I got started on this whole thing I was thinking it would be fun to refinish Spencer's dresser. I no longer feel that way.