Create Two Pieces Of Furniture From A China Hutch

Learn how to create two separate pieces of furniture from an old china hutch! Create the look of stylish custom furniture simply by adding legs and make your furniture budget stretch further!

Wouldn't it be awesome if you could score two pieces of furniture for the price of one? What if I said you could! In fact, this DIY furniture tutorial is SO AWESOME it's even better than walking into a 50% off furniture clearance or a buy one get one FREE furniture sale! 

Do "buy one, get one free" furniture sales even exist?  Wishful thinking!

In this post, we're going to share with you a creative and innovative way to furnish your home with stylish and custom pieces for a fraction of a fraction of the cost that you would pay if you were buying brand new furniture. :)

You are going to learn how to create two pieces of furniture simply by separating the top and the bottom sections of a tired china hutch. 

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Disclaimer: This post may contain affiliate links to products I love and use everyday. This means that I receive a small commission for purchases that are made through these links. Please read our full disclosure here for more info. A BIG THANK YOU to Country Chic Paint for providing me with the paint products for this furniture makeover!

Creating Two Pieces of Furniture From A China Hutch

Imagine this. From just one china hutch you create a stylish glass curio cabinet for your dining/living room AND a media console for your television in your family room, or a custom bookcase for your office AND a sofa console table for the back of your couch.

OR a custom console for your entry way AND a buffet for your dining room. Have you seen those AMAZING bathroom vanities that look like furniture? (Those of you that are going through a bathroom renovation, have you priced those out lately? They are expensive!) Why not save yourself some money and create your own using the base of a hutch? There are SO MANY exciting furniture opportunities that YOU could create from JUST ONE china cabinet.

The Perfect China Hutch For Creating Two Separate Pieces Of Furniture

What is the best type of china hutch to get for creating two pieces of furniture? When you're thinking about repurposing a china cabinet and transforming it into two different pieces of furniture your personal style will play a major role in your decision making. But, here are a few things to consider when you're out china hutch shopping.



1. Let's get the obvious out of the way. Make sure the china hutch comes apart into two separate sections. Before you take the time to go looking at one, ask that question. ;)

2. Define Your Furniture Needs. What are you planning to use these newly repurposed pieces for? Before you go used china hutch shopping, articulate your new furniture plans. Why? Because the specific dimensions of each china cabinet are going to help you determine whether or not it's a good fit for your repurposed furniture plans!

3. Size Matters. Make sure to measure the lower and upper sections of the china cabinet separately. Some china cabinets will offer taller top sections with shorter bases. Others will offer more evenly distributed proportions. Some bases will already have legs attached, others will have a flat base. Don't disqualify a hutch just because it has a flat base or a lower height. You can always add legs to give it the custom look or the desired height that you're looking for. But, (AND THIS IS IMPORTANT) the overall height (or lack thereof) of the lower section WILL dictate (or eliminate) some of the leg choices that you can have. 

For example, take a peak at the 4th china hutch pictured above. The height is lower than normal. If I needed to convert that base into a buffet, this particular china cabinet would force me to buy tall furniture legs in order to bring the entire piece up to a normal buffet height. If I didn't think I was going to like the look of this particular base with taller legs then I am forced to find a different hutch that offers a taller base.

4. All Eyes On Top. Some china hutch cabinets will offer straight moldings or lines up top, others (like a french provincial style) will offer a curvy edge. I prefer to look for china hutches with straight edges/moldings so that when that top section gets repurposed into a curio cabinet or bookshelf it looks like a natural custom cabinet and less like I intentionally attempted to repurpose a china cabinet top. ;) In my humble opinion, it just looks way more natural. 

You'll find that some hutches offer lighting on top and some that do not. Many of the china hutches will have a flat wood surface up top.  Others can have a hollow top with wood molding around the edges to hide the hollowness. I've picked up hutches both ways- with a a solid wood top and without. Selecting a hutch with a hollow top just means you'll need to measure and add a piece of wood on top later so that you're repurposed piece has a flat surface top. :)

5. What's Your Style? Would you like your refinished furniture pieces to have clean sleek lines or lots of chunky details? Select a china cabinet that fits you're style! Just remember, paint is going to work it's magic on those ugly old hutches. You have to imagine what you're pieces will look like with furniture paint on it!

This is a base of a china hutch that we purchased second hand. It's been dinged up, it's missing it's hardware and there's a ginormous rectangle cut out of the top where the top used to sit. In its glory days, this was a well loved china hutch. But, today, it is a bit of a mess! We repurposed the top of this hutch and transformed it into an Emerald Green Chesapeake Cabinet.

This base is going to be turned into a buffet by adding legs, some new hardware and painting it in a pretty shade of blue!

Supplies To Add Legs To Furniture

Paint Brush
Furniture Legs
wood (optional)
90 Degree Angle Ruler
Drill
Rivet Nuts
Hammer
Paint 

(Some of my favorite blue paint colors are Coastal Blue, Klein Blue, Midnight Blue, Liberty Blue, Bunker Hill Blue, Cobalt Blue. I also love the softer paint colors Pure & Original. If you like the paint color we used for this particular makeover it's called Peacoat and you can find it here.)

How To Add Feet To Furniture

1. Select furniture legs that will compliment your piece.

Keep in mind that height, shape and size should be considered when selecting your legs. You want to make sure that your furniture legs are proportionate to the overall size of your piece of furniture. We selected these curved bun feet for this particular repurposed buffet project. Some legs will come with screws pre-drilled into them. If you're looking for to purchase furniture legs, here are some really great options!

2. Measure your legs. 

Under the base of this particular hutch was slightly hollow so we measured and cut a piece of wood and attached it to the base so that our legs would have something to adhere to. Once secure, we used our 90 degree square ruler to help us measure and determine where to put our legs. Use pencil marks to help guide you with this process. Measure. Mark. Double Measure. ;)

3. Drill a hole the same depth as the length of the screw on the furniture leg. 

Tip! An easy way to do this is to measure the length of the screw, then measure the length of your drill bit starting from the tip. Wrap masking tap or painters tap around the drill bit where you want the drill to stop.

4. Attach the rivet nuts. 

Once you've drilled your holes, hammer your rivet nuts in until the teeth are gripped into the wood and the nuts are totally flush with the surface. Then, screw in your legs. It's that simple!

We liked the history and the original chippi-ness that this piece offered. You can't replicate a natural worn look any better then it originally comes with sometimes. We didn't try to fill in any holes or scratches... we just embraced it!

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And Voila! Just like that! We transformed the base of an old and outdated china hutch and turned it into a beautiful customized buffet. It was a cinch!

Where are the best places to find second hand china hutches? 

Take a moment and read through this post where we discuss our most FAVORITE places to find used furniture! 

PLUS! We're giving away one last BONUS idea to think about! If you don't need two pieces of furniture, consider repurposing both of them and sell the one you don't need! Not only will you recoup the cost of the original china hutch, get a customized piece of furniture that you'll enjoy but you'll ALSO MAKE SOME MONEY from the sale of your 2nd piece. 

See, I told you this idea was even better than a good furniture sale! ;) You're welcome! 

Are you considering creating two pieces of furniture from a china hutch? Here you'll find some of the BEST rated wood furniture legs sold on Amazon and here you'll find some of the TOP RATED hairpin legs in case you're looking for more of a modern look. 

Would you like some repurposed china hutch inspiration? Click below to see how we transformed each of the upper and lower sections to these china cabinets! 

• One Smart Way To Up-Cycle A China Hutch!

• Painting Craigslist Furniture With Annie Sloan Chalk Paint®

• This Creative Furniture Trick Will Have You Seeing Double!

• How To Create Custom Looking Furniture By Adding Feet

• How I Used $5 Fence Posts To Add Height To A Dresser

• Altering Furniture With Pure & Original Paint

We hope that you have found this information to be helpful. If you enjoyed this article, we would love it if you'd share it on Pinterest or Facebook!

Have a great weekend, friends!

Carrie || Thirty Eighth Street

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