3 Ideas To Make Your Built-In Kitchen Hutch Attractive
When we first moved in, our built ins were an off-white color surrounded by pink polka dots and chickens. The scene was just straight ugly! Therefore, I made it my mission to make that little corner of our kitchen more attractive. Here are 3 things we did to give our built in hutch a more modern look.
Sidenote: Some folks refer to a “built in hutch” as a “built in sideboard.” I’m using the two terms interchangeably. Additionally, these projects are organized from easiest to hardest!
Built-In Kitchen Hutch Idea #1: Switch out the hardware
First, think of hardware as the jewelry of a room or piece of furniture. Just as an outfit looks better with earrings or a necklace, a kitchen hutch can look better with updated hardware!
Change the hinges
Get rid of painted over or unsightly hinges and upgrade them to whatever you like!
For example, the old hinges of our built in sideboard were painted over in the same murky white as the old paint color. Since I removed the old hinges and pulls for painting, I decided to get new ones!
I kept the older style overlay hinges for the doors, as I knew it would fit in with the old scalloped trim. However, I chose to update the look by buying the old style hinges in a modern, brushed nickel finish.
Swap the handles
Switching your cabinetry’s handles can be super easy, especially if you replace your old handles with new ones of the same size!
For instance, our old cabinet pulls were pink porcelain nightmares straight from the early 1990s. They had to go! Therefore, I went out on a limb and chose ultra modern – yet basic – bar pulls for the doors and drawers.
Although those pulls were not true to the original style of the built-in hutch. At the same time, I knew that I wanted the pulls to match the other side of the kitchen, which will have a more modern look. Moreover, the pulls are also in a brushed nickel finish, just like the hinges.
Pay attention to your hardware finishes
It’s better to see your different hardware in person to see how they look together. For example, not all brushed nickel finishes look the same! Some have a golden undertone, while others lean more towards a cool, bluish undertone. Before doing the hard work, look at how your finishes look together.
Built-In Kitchen Hutch Idea #2: Prime and paint
This one is pretty straightforward, but gives the biggest bang for your buck! As returning readers know, my entire house reeked when we moved in. Priming in addition to painting served as part of the cleaning process for our home.
With a blank slate, we decided on doing something a little bit different color wise. Instead of painting our cabinets white or gray (the popular colors of the last ten years), we chose a lovely latte-like color instead.
This specific paint color is “Antler Velvet” by Sherwin Williams. It took two coats to achieve even coverage.
Admittedly, the hardest part about painting a built in hutch is the painting prep. As a messy painter, I have to use painter’s tape. Furthermore, I needed to take my time painting all of the curves of the intricate trim work on the built in hutch. As a result, the paint job looks even and neat.
If I were to paint the kitchen hutch again, I’d definitely use liquid masking tape for the glass panels!
How to prime and paint your built-in hutch or sideboard
These 3 tips can help you prime and paint your kitchen cabinetry to look its absolute best.
Remove the doors first
Taking the doors off gives you more space to sand and paint evenly. It might seem like more work, but it really isn’t. Often, it takes more time to paint around hinges than to simply take the doors off. Plus, it just looks neater!
Sand (and/or strip) the old paint
You must make sure to have smooth surfaces on your built in hutch for the best look. In my home, I sanded all of the surfaces of my built-in hutch except the countertop. That needed to be stripped with paint stripper because sanding alone left the counter uneven.
It was the absolute best decision to put in a little bit more time to strip and scrape the countertop! Speaking of time…
Take your time painting your built-in hutch
Painting is not a quick process. Since I work full time, it was better for me to take one day to prime and another to paint each coat, including the inside of the hutch. I let the paint stripper sit covered with plastic on the counter of the hutch for a day as well. Additionally, it took another day to scrape, clean, and dry the counter, too.
Give yourself a couple of weeks to finish for the best results. Rushing through the process can result in messiness, and you’ll be annoyed that you didn’t just slow down and take your time.
Built-In Kitchen Hutch Idea #3: Add a backsplash
This is the hardest project in revitalizing a built in hutch, but it is totally doable with patience!
I wanted to add a bit of brightness to our hutch by adding a white subway tile backsplash. Particularly, I love how the light from the window bounces off the tile and illuminates the space!
Possible built-in kitchen hutch backsplash ideas
There are many ways to add a fabulous backsplash. Here are some ideas you can explore for your built-in hutch makeover:
- Traditional tile with mortar and grout
- Peel and stick tiles
- Peel and stick wallpaper
- Paint (with or without a stenciled pattern)
- Wood accents
Overall, the sky is the limit for the types and styles of backsplashes for your cabinetry!
Here’s a bonus idea!
You could be ambitious and do what we did: combine all three into one delightful project! We love how all of the three projects come together to improve our built in kitchen hutch! It helped us maintain some of the original character of our 70s ranch style home while also infusing some of our more modern tastes.
Do you have any built-ins in your home? Would you try any of these three projects? And lastly, would you do all three in combination? Let me know in the comments below!
Sincerely,
Felicia.
This post contains affiliate links which means I may receive a commission if you click on a link and purchase something.
Shop the post
One Comment