D.I.Y | Coffee Station

A couple of months ago my friend Lety asked me to help her refinish an old bookshelf-hutch and transform it into a “Coffee Station” for her breakfast nook. I loved the idea, the old bookshelf-hutch has been in her home forever, moved from on room to the other until it ended up in the garage and it looked old and dated, plus the idea of making a “Coffee Station” (like the ones you see all over Pinterest!) was one I could not pass up.

So we planned a long weekend to knock the project out and over the course of three days we got it done! We took this old dated bookshelf-hutch and painted it with Annie Sloan Chalk paint, only my second project with chalk paint. The best thing about chalk paint in the fact that you don’t have to sand a piece of furniture all the way down to be able to repaint it! You can give it a really good cleaning, scrap away dirt and grime and use wood filler to fill in any holes or scratches and then just paint away.

Before and After one coat of paint.

Chalk paint might seem a little scary when you first tackle it, it’s a small container of paint and you feel like it’s not going to be enough, but it goes a long way.  Also if you are like me, the first coat of paint will freak you out because it looks so imperfect you want to go over it again and again – don’t do it. The first coat will look uneven, maybe even look like brush strokes and streaks. Walk.away. Don’t sand it down.

The second coat magically steps in and make everyone happy again :) Plus if you are using chalk paint you are trying to get the Shabby Chic kinda look, you want character and depth. The next step in this process is to add texture, we decided to sand down edges and corners to make it look a little aged and worn. Isn’t it funny how we can make a piece of furniture look aged and worn – call it Shabby Chic and it looks fabulous – but if it’s just plain and dated then it’s just old? Sorry! I thought that was funny. Lastly we need to seal it, you do this with Annie Sloan clear wax and if you dare add some dark wax to add more depth of color.

This Bookshelf-hutch had lots of texture already. 

I was worried about the dark wax, but to truly get the look we were looking for we had to venture off and try it. I failed to document this step, because I was in full blown panic when I first applied the dark wax. It was blotchy on the white paint and I hated it!! Then I took clear wax and applied it over the dark wax and “pulled’ the dark wax back off the area we were working on – phew!

The end result, was lovely! I also used the drying and in between time to practice making little projects to complete the “Coffee Station” and give it some finishing touches. I made a wooden sign with Lety’s favorite saying “It’s coffee O’Clock” and a serving tray out of left over pallet wood. I have to improve my sign making skills, but the tray came out great, I’ll put together an easy step by step for it soon on the blog :) All in all, it pulled together and I think it came out nice. Do you have one of these “Coffee Stations” at home? I am trying to figure out where I can squeeze one in at my house! 

My first wooden sign- "It's Coffee O'clock"

Rustic Wooden Serving Tray 

The finished project!