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November 20th, 2008
before and after: laura’s hutch


last week d*s reader laura jean sent in her first ever “trash-to-treasure” creation- a hutch makeover. she found this top part of a hutch in the trash on a streetcorner in her brooklyn neighborhood. so she picked up some sandpaper, a can of paint and some toile wallpaper from ebay ($15) and created a “new” piece of furniture for around $32 all together. you can’t beat an affordable makeover. click here for more information on laura jean’s project.


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16 comments
jamie said:
November 20th, 2008 - 9:31 am

AND…she has a pug. It all works together!

Kristan said:
November 20th, 2008 - 9:32 am

Nice work. Is this last shot the back? If so, I wonder if anyone will ever see it… still I like when people care enough to put the finishing details on things that will never be seen.

I do find it interesting that they kept the darker color inside…

Kristan said:
November 20th, 2008 - 9:32 am

Omg I didn’t see the pug!!

May said:
November 20th, 2008 - 9:37 am

LOVE the Pug, the armoire, not so much.

Rosa said:
November 20th, 2008 - 9:52 am

should have painted all white (inside & out) and no toile!

November 20th, 2008 - 9:57 am

The armoire looks great. Would it even better if it was lifted off the floor a couple of inches with orante legs at each corner? Something about the way it sits on the floor makes it look heavy and not as delicate as it could be.

Jen O said:
November 20th, 2008 - 10:05 am

If that’s a pug, then the makeover isn’t an armoire (unless that’s a new breed of super-pug).
I’m guessing it’s the top to a china cabinet, and would normally rest on top of a buffet bottom, right?

Camila said:
November 20th, 2008 - 10:11 am

I look taking something from the trash and making it into something that will work in your home. It just goes to show that a little bit of paint goes a long way. I love toile so I love the look of this piece.

Good job.

the.mediatrix said:
November 20th, 2008 - 11:49 am

I think this looks great!! But it’s my pet peeve to use the wrong names for furnishings. It drives me crazy on Craig’s List; I can’t BELIEVE d*s –which is actually about furniture and design — would make the same mistake. This isn’t an armoire. It’s a HUTCH. (It’s the top part of a china cabinet.) So while this is a very cute treatment, the fact remains that a hutch and an armoire are two completely different items. It’s fine to decide to use a hutch as a tiny low armoire, but there is no reason to call them by the wrong names. At least say, “a repurposed hutch that becomes an armoire.” (Though to be honest, an armoire is so much bigger, I’m not sure the word fits at all. This is really repurposing a cabinet into a cabinet.)

holly said:
November 20th, 2008 - 12:11 pm

i had hope when i looked at the second image, but i am afraid i find the end result rather awful. They completely lost the filigree by covering everything with white paint and the toile is too much for the space involved. I appreciate that they tried and at least it didn’t go in the garbage, but that’s about the only thing positive i can say about this.

It would have been interesting if they had reworked the filigree and molding to be slightly (and just slightly) lighter or darker than the main casing and then tie that into the interior somehow (lighter shelves, or a carefully laid, thin line of coordinating paint maybe a quarter inch in from the shelf cove).

Laura said:
November 20th, 2008 - 12:56 pm

I agree with painting it all white and leaving out the toile, it blocks all the books!

stellaQuinn said:
November 20th, 2008 - 5:28 pm

they definitely improved it but toile is so passe….

Geri said:
November 21st, 2008 - 1:09 am

Kudos for turning trash into a functional, and obviously very provocative piece: A nice creative effort that may or may not appeal to everyone’s design aesthetic, may offend someone’s obviously sacred interest in correct furniture nomenclature of all things…and picky, picky…quickly everyone…tear down your toile if you have any…stella says it’s passe!

juliana said:
November 22nd, 2008 - 8:08 am

The toile could have been on the inside back and looked nice. (painted everything white)

(maybe the stuff on the glass made the issue?)

amarie said:
December 7th, 2008 - 11:48 pm

ooh that’s loverly. though i still liked it with a view of the books too. either way looks good to me.

kelli said:
December 12th, 2008 - 10:27 pm

it needs legs. much, much too short, and some things are just not made to sit flat on the ground. you can buy furniture legs for nothing…or better yet, repurpose them off something else!

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