French Market Hutch

First of all, let me apologize for the lack of posts...we had a few emergencies happen in our family and have been out of the blog loop....

Wendy and I participated in the great Lucketts fair this past May and it was a blast! Hot, but a blast! One of the pieces I did for the show was this French Market Hutch.

I picked up this hutch at a flea market. It was just plain white with medium-tone wood shelves and top. It was simple and fine the way it was but anyone that knows us knows that we don't do simple and fine!

I wanted to add some special touch to the piece, so at first I thought I would line the back with an antique grain sack, or burlap, or fabric...and the thoughts went on and on! My experience with fabric lining hindered my excitement for using it (it never quite seems to adhere to the piece like I want it to leaving unsightly bubbles!) So, I opted to personalize it with paint! I painted the white parts with a creamy white then went back over it with our stain technique. I also sanded down the shelves and top and darkened the wood tone.

Now came the hard part....I removed the back of the hutch, carefully laid out a pattern ensuring the it would fit between the shelves and hand-painted the design. After it was painted, I sanded the letters down for some age and again added the stain. The cool part was that the stain adhered a bit differently to the back panel creating a rustic wood kind of look. This is my FAVORITE piece that we've ever done! I was totally in love! So was a lady whose husband came back to secretly buy it for her....how cute!

What do you think....love it as much as me??