Remember when I told you that painting a vintage mid-century dresser was on my DIY bucket list? I love how that first project turned out. And then! When I was moving and definitely should not have been accumulating more stuff, I found something I couldn’t resist: a Thomasville faux bamboo bedroom set for free on Craigslist! This included a twin bed frame and a little desk and dresser. The desk had a bookcase hutch, which I put on top of the dresser to make a hutch/ bar for our dining room.

Here’s what you’ll need:

• Rags
• gloves
• TSP or other deglossing solution
• Sandpaper – fine grit
• Bonding primer designed for slick surfaces
• Amy Howard Spray Lacquer. I previously used this to lacquer a small entry cabinet, and I’m really impressed with how it looks and holds up
• As needed, new hardware or metallic spray paint for your old hardware
• If you need new holes for your hardware, some filler material for the old holes
• Wallpaper for the back of your hutch. This Cherry Blossom Peel and Stick wallpaper had everything I wanted – a pretty design that was subtle enough to not be too busy when the shelves were filled, and a little bit of sheen.
• Hardware to attach the hutch and anti-tip hardware, especially if you live in earthquake country, like we do

Here’s how to do it:

• Clean off dirt and dust
• Remove hardware
• If you are changing hardware, fill in the old holes and drill the new ones
• Sand the surface lightly with fine grit sandpaper
• Wipe with surface with deglosser such as Gloss-off or TSP
• Apply the primer and let it dry thoroughly overnight
• Sand lightly with 400 grit sandpaper and wipe off dust with a lint-free rag
• Apply the spray lacquer – Amy Howard has some videos on YouTube with details on how to use this product. Overall, I really like it, but it is a bit finicky. Luckily, the little imperfections aren’t noticeable now that it is inside and decorated.
• I let the lacquer cure for a week in the garage, and then I applied the wallpaper to the back of the bookcase
• The last steps were to put the hardware back on, secure the hutch to the dresser and add anti-tip hardware to the top of the whole thing

This new dining room bar is the perfect place to display our collection of vintage bar glasses. I collected them back when we threw a Mad Men party, and I still love them all!

The days off for New Year’s allowed me to finish this project, so of course, I decorated for our at-home countdown to the New Year!

There is still the bed frame, a little corner desk, and some mirrors that came with the bedroom set. It was a silly indulgence to bring them all home, but I still hope to find a home for them some day somewhere!

Julie aka “Jewels”