Chippy Blue Painted Hutch Makeover

Are you looking for a fun and creative way to spruce up your old furniture with a rustic farmhouse touch? Look no further than the chippy blue painted hutch makeover! This simple project is perfect for giving your outdated furniture a new lease on life.

By simply adding a couple of coats of specific paint, you can easily transform an ordinary hutch into something completely unique and beautiful. In this blog post, we’ll discuss everything you need to know about how to paint a china cabinet, in a farmhouse style. From the supplies and tools required to tips and tricks from an experienced furniture painter. Plus, get more painted china cabinet ideas here!

It’s no secret that I love a really chippy painted piece of furniture. The real secret though is how to get a chippy painted finish every time.

Using this type of paint is the easiest way to create an authentic looking chippy paint, but it sometimes needs help.

But recently I accidentally found out that a product I use reacts to milk paint in a way that makes it chip a lot, every single time!

Keep reading to learn more about this 1 step that will give you a chippy painted finish every time!

Table of Contents

Supplies Used for Chippy Painted Hutch Makeover

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Old China Hutch
Citristrip
Cheap Paint Brush
Chemical Resistant Gloves
Drop Cloth
Steel Wool
Toothbrush
Mineral Spirits
Krud Kutter and Old (Damp) Rag
BIN Shellac Primer
White Paint (if you have a sprayer, this is the BEST! but they have a brushable version here)
220 Grit Sandpaper
Water-Based Poly (my favorite kind!)
Paint Brush or Paint Sprayer
Dixie Belle BOSS Primer
Powdered Milk Paint (colors mixed: Coolidge Blue, Harbor Blue, Blue Moon, Coastal Fog, Sand) Get the exact recipe below.
Plastic Cup
Paper Towels
Wax Brush
Annie Sloan Dark Wax

Grab my list of the top 10 must have painting furniture supplies!

Now, onto the chippy painted hutch makeover!

Strip the Wood Legs

This is the messiest part of the makeover, so I did it very first!

If the legs on your piece of furniture are in good condition, you might want to skip this step. Or you can freshen them up easily like this tutorial on how to restain wood furniture.

But I went all in and stripped these legs to raw wood.

stripping the wood legs — You can see that I wrapped the legs in plastic wrap.

If you need an in-depth tutorial, this tutorial on how to remove stain from wood will walk you through how to strip the old stain off of your furniture.

You obviously can skip this step too if you want to paint the entire china cabinet.

after stripping the legs — After removing the stain – before drying and sanding

With that out of the way, we can get to the fun part.

Clean Hutch

After removing all of the hardware, clean your piece of furniture down to remove any dirt, grime, or oil. All of those things will repel the paint and mess it up.

Learn exactly how to clean furniture before painting here.

Paint Inside of Hutch White

Next up, I worked on the interior of the china cabinet. I feel like it’s easier to work on the inside before getting the outside painted.

I LOVE the look of a white interior for antique china cabinet makeovers.

The white interior just gives it a bright, clean look and it helps the things that you put inside of it pop. (Unless you have white china you want to display.)

First up, I primed.

Do I really need to prime before painting?

No matter what paint companies suggest, it is ALWAYS best to prime before painting. A lot of no-prep paint claims that you don’t need to use primer (because of their paint’s great adhesion.)

They don’t take into account laminate furniture which is really hard for paint to stick to.

Check out how a good primer will help paint stick to laminate furniture with this how to paint laminate furniture tutorial.

But what most paint companies don’t tell you is that painted wood can cause bleed through (red, yellow or orange spots) that won’t go away, no matter how many coats of paint you paint.

Learn more about how to stop stains from coming through paint here!

Priming before painting the inside of the hutch

Plus, primer will also help your paint get better coverage, and if you use a white primer under white paint, it helps you get full coverage.

That’s why I primed before painting the inside of this hutch. Learn more about the best primers for painting furniture here.

BIN dries fast and can be painted over after only 30 minutes! I painted 2 coats of BIN on the inside of this hutch. So after the primer dried I painted it white.

You can use chalk paint, or honestly whatever paint suits your fancy. Here’s a great tutorial on painting furniture white. Or learn more about the best paints for furniture here.

The BEST Way to Paint Furniture White

If you have a paint sprayer, the very best (fastest and easiest!) way to paint furniture white is with this product called Enduro Poly.

It comes in black or white (or you can tint it to any color you want!) But it has to be sprayed. Trust me on that! Need to get a paint sprayer? Here are the best HVLP paint sprayers for furniture.

But they have a brushable version (I haven’t tried it, but I’ve heard good things about it!)

It dries fast, sprays beautifully, doesn’t have to be thinned, and truly has a durable topcoat built in, so after 3 coats, you are done! Learn more about how to paint with Enduro Poly in this post about how to easily paint black furniture.

Paint Outside of Hutch with Blue Milk Paint

Once the inside was painted, it was time to move on to the outside!

I knew I wanted a chippy painted finish, and honestly, I had already scuff sanded this hutch before I really knew what I wanted to do with it.

Learn more about the importance of sanding before painting furniture here!

The Secret to a Chippy Paint Finish Every Time!

So I knew that the chance of getting a chippy painted finish was really really low. (Sanding will help the milk paint stick instead of chip!)

So I busted out my secret weapon. Dixie Belle BOSS primer. This is the stuff that makes powdered milk paint create a chippy paint finish every time.

Dixie Belle BOSS - the secret to a chippy milk painted finish

BOSS is a water-based primer that was created to prevent bleed-through (we talked about bleed through above when we painted the interior white).

Sometimes I use it in the winter when I am inside instead of shellac primers (because shellac-based products have a very very strong smell!)

Check out this DIY painted chippy farmhouse dresser which I primed with BOSS and decided to milk paint a few months later. It chipped all over, really really well!

Then I tested it on a few other pieces and got the same results. Every single time the milk paint chipped really well!

So, I brushed on two coats of Dixie Belle BOSS on the hutch, letting the second coat dry overnight.

brushing on Dixie Belle BOSS in clear onto hutch — Clear BOSS dries clear so you can’t even see it!

Create Custom Blue Milk Paint

While I waited for the primer to dry, I mixed up a few different colors of milk paint to create this dusty blue milk paint color.

mixing powdered milk paint colors together

Here is the recipe for this color.

Custom Blue Paint Recipe

4 Tablespoons Coolidge Blue
2 Tablespoons Harbor Blue
2 Tablespoons Blue Moon
1 Tablespoon Coastal Fog
1 Tablespoon Sand

Learn how to mix milk paint colors here.

After the primer had enough time to dry, I mixed the powdered milk paint with water and brushed on a couple of coats. Read this post to learn more about mixing milk paint.

Find out how to use milk paint on furniture here. And get more painting furniture with milk paint tips and ideas here.

Before the paint dried, I used a hair dryer on its hottest and highest setting to speed up the drying process. The heat makes the paint chip even more!

chipping milk paint on hutch before sanding with 220 grit — Milk Paint starting to chip before sanding with 220 grit sandpaper.

Once both coats were dry, I sanded the milk paint down with 220 grit sandpaper to make the paint chip off even more.

Seal Paint with a Clear Topcoat

Milk paint has to be sealed, and my favorite sealer is this water-based poly.

I like to spray it on, especially with chippy paint! (Beware, the paint will chip even more when it reacts to the water-based poly!)

Learn ALL of my tips and tricks on how to spray polyurethane here! You can brush it on too! Here are more great ways to seal milk paint

If you use Enduro Poly or the Brushable Enamel, you don’t need to seal the inside. But if you used chalk paint on the inside of the hutch, you’ll need to seal your paint.

Here are the best topcoats for painting furniture.

Stain the Raw Wood Legs

Instead of using an actual wood stain on these legs, I opted to brush on dark wax.

staining the legs by brushing dark wax onto them

Dark wax is basically wood stain mixed with furniture wax, so I am still staining, right? haha

I just used a wax brush and brushed a little bit of dark wax all over the legs. Check out the best brushes for staining wood here.

After the wax was dry, I “buffed” the wax with a lint-free rag to make them nice and smooth.

I like using dark wax on the legs because the wax adds a level of protection to the stain. But it’s almost a one-step process instead of staining and then applying some polyurethane for protection.

Polyurethane is much more durable than wax though, so I don’t use dark wax to stain the top of my furniture. (Remember, if you want to use wax and polyurethane, wax ALWAYS goes on last.)

I just like to use it on the legs that won’t get much traffic or wear to them.

If you decide to use stain, check out the best wood stains for refinishing furniture. Or check out how to stain wood darker if you didn’t strip the legs down to bare wood.

Attach Hardware to Painted Hutch

Finally, attach your new hardware (or put the old hardware back on.)

Let your paint dry at least 24 hours before putting anything on the paint. Be extra careful with your furniture for at least 3 weeks (until the paint cures all of the way.)

And here’s what it looks like now!

If you like how this hutch turned out, you should check out more rustic painted furniture here.

closeup of the blue chippy painted china hutch

More Before And After Makeovers

Click any of these “before” photos below to view the “after” of that makeover.

closeup of blue chippy milk paint on the china cabinet

Man, I LOVE this chippy look. This hutch is actually in my bedroom, and I enjoy it every day.