A Project from RMS's Moonlight & Magnolias (Susan)

Continuing in the repainting/revamping mode, I thought you all might be interested in seeing a step-by-step transformation of Susan/Moonlight and Magnolia's hutch. Many of you may have seen pictures of her porch on RMS--and her green hutch is an all time favorite.

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The story begins when Susan (“Moonlight and Magnolias” on RMS) spotted this hutch at a local antique/thrift store. Right away, she knew it had potential.

Here's the front of the hutch

Not only would it be perfect for her screened-in porch, the piece had tons of storage. And the price was right--$95.

Susan said, “I purchased the paint at Home Depot. Normally I buy my paint at Benjamin Moore or Sherwin Williams, but I got in the mood to paint on a Sunday and HD was all that was open. They recommended I use exterior grade paint since the hutch would be used on a screened-in porch.

“I primed with one coat of Behr Premium Plus, Enamel Undercoater Primer & Sealer."






Susan said, "That was followed by two coats of Behr Premium Plus, Exterior Satin Enamel. I told the HD guy I didn't want the hutch to be real shiny, but didn't want it to be dull either; he recommended a satin finish. I like the way it turned out. I asked their recommendation regarding if I should spray the piece or paint it by hand with a brush. They recommend the brush...saying it would look better...not sure why...but I took their word for it.

"Now...time for a confession. The color you see on the hutch was my THIRD attempt. I learned a tough lesson painting this hutch...always paint a piece in the location where you intend to use it. The weather outside was a bit cool since it was early April, and the porch was still under construction. I was eager (translate...impatient) to get the hutch painted so it would be ready when the porch was ready.

"So, after priming it, I painted it in my kitchen with two coats of a pale green SW paint. Even in my kitchen I could see it was way too light...looked awful. Went back to SW, bought a quart of a color called "Hearts of Palm". Two more coats later, I thought it looked great...until I moved it to the porch. On the porch it looked lime green and was still too light. ~~BIG SIGH!~~

"So that's when I started looking around the house for something that was a color green I KNEW I liked...spotted a green cloth napkin and took it to HD. Once they matched it with their magic, matching machine, they cut the formula in half because I was only purchasing a quart...they said that would make the color about right.

"It didn't exactly match the napkin, but I decided to take a chance. Two more coats and I loved the color...finally! ~~BIG SMILE~~ So this hutch has 1 coat of primer and 6 coats of exterior paint!" LOL :-)

Susan found the knobs at a local antique shop. She mixed them up, using different styles. "I thought the knobs gave the hutch a bit of whimsy," she explained, smiling. "They had 6 knobs that were all the same, but I decided to use two different styles to make it bit more fun."


And here's the finished hutch:




"I had a number of people on RMS asking where on earth I stored all my china," Susan said. "So, one evening I took pics of the some of the storage areas and posted them on RMS at the end of on of my porch posting...this pic is one of the one's I posted."


Susan said, "This is my one and only attempt (so far) at painting a piece of furniture."

With all of this talent, I hope this is just the beginning of many projects. If you want to see more of Susan's porch, and her interiors, check out her spaces on RMS--"MoonlightandMagnolias" by clicking HERE