A lovely kitchen and eating area. This hutch is very traditional and while it's hard to tell from the photo, in parts it looks like burled wood. I'm unsure that can be painted or even if you'd want to try.

https://lostandfounddecor.com/what-is-burled-wood-and-why-you-shouldnt-paint-it/

Hmm, possibly on the bottom doors. I wish I could get a better picture, but it’s in storage and I haven’t seen it for a while.

@Kimberly Miller looks like burled wood on the bottom doors and around the top glass doors. Find out first before heading too far down the path of color, paint, etc. Sometimes these older pieces are sentimental and are better left as they are, and admittedly often don't go with any of our modern decor.

I’ll definitely take that into consideration and check for burled wood. On the chance that it’s not burled and is refinishable, does anyone have suggestions? Even if it’s a different piece I end up putting there, I’m not sure what color to go with.

I wouldn’t paint it. I would add some fun pieces inside, maybe get rid of the mirror and glass shelves. Add some black and white contemporary pieces. Plus lots of nice storage below.

@Kimberly Miller, here's a link with some fun ideas, about transforming your old china hutch. I can't recommend painting a cabinet with burled wood, but take a look at this link and see if it inspires you in other ways.

As to color if you find out it's paintable, what colors do you like and/or already have in your home? You could do chalk paint, or go bright....blue, red, orange or even black....first take a look at this link.

https://www.thirtyeighthstreet.com/2017/08/5-fantastic-ways-to-transform-your-old-china-cabinets-hutches.html

Brightly finished built in hutch.

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I had a very similar one and used chalk paint with wax over the top. It turned out great. Is it going by the checkered table? Then, I'd use the turquoise-ish color that you are using as accents in the kitchen. Don't forget to change out the hardware!

You could always just change out the hardware and add a pretty peel and stick wallpaper to the back to modernize it a bit.

Most of my house has grays, whites, creams, dark woods, and some grayish wood pieces. I have turquoise/aqua accents here and there. I always envisioned having a white chalk pain on it, but I feel like with my kitchen having such dark cabinets, it would feel off balance. I don’t know if I could do full turquoise paint, but maybe on the inside. So, I guess I’d like to keep my options with something that’s already in my home. Even a driftwood color or darker. I just know I would hate that reddish/orangish stain.

Actually, I had inherited a similar hutch in dark reddish color from my mother-in-law and painted in 'old white' chalk paint... very easy and I like the result! Maybe you should try it. It ties up with your dining furniture. I'm the second photo, you can see it finished, in the background.

Very nice @Maria, you did a great job. Did you use Annie Sloan chalk paint. I did suggest chalk paint to @Kimberly Miller above. The only possible challenge I see is if her piece contains burled wood.

Here's the link to Annie Sloan's site Kimberly.

https://chalkpaint.com

Get out the tape measure and see if you even have room for the hutch. You need 36-42" of space all around the table for chair scoot and sit space. Tape off a rectangle around the table that is at least 36" bigger than your table top. Then see if there is room for the hutch without chairs banging into it when people get into and out of chairs at the table. This is the same "rule" you'd use if adding a rug under the table. It should be 36-42" larger than the table top all around yet not run into furniture or baseboards on the walls.

To put milk paint on burl wood, is almost a crime. It is so beautiful. I would ask a paint dealer expert, about stripping the finish off, if the honey tone is irritating you, and than refinishing it to seal with dark tung oil, maybe 3 or 4 coats? That allows the wood grain to show thru and might be a tone more pleasing to you. Remove the interior mirror and you might consider painting the back, or covering it with a small black and white checked shelf paper or fabric or wallpaper that compliments your existing table cloth and dining set? You have wood grain in your flooring, there is room for wood grain to show thru in this lovely piece.https://www.realmilkpaint.com/gallery/

Call me crazy, but what if you used the piece in the family/living room as a library, book niche? Leave it wood, remove the doors and put large baskets in the bottom area for library book return, tv remotes, games, etc. multiple pottery on the top to fill in and add height....let is stand alone as a functional piece.

Paint it white & back board small checkered paper.

redsilver, this isn't some grand piece of antique burled wood. these are from the 60's and 70's, probably a type of fruitwood, and were mass produced. You can't even give these away on Craigslist. if they do sell, they're in the range of $100.

And no, you can't just put tung oil on it. Tung oil is meant for raw wood. It has to penetrate. As it penetrates, it hardens like a varnish. These cabinets are all wood veneer, factory coated pieces of wood. Trust me, I've tried stripping them and redoing the wood and it's useless. they all have a special wood coating that acts like a paint rather than a stain. It would look 100X better if it was painted.

I suggest look at Kayla Payne and The Resplendent Crow on Pinterest. they're masters at enamel painting.

So Kimberly, What if you did it in a glossy black, w/the back side being white to match your table? Or, pick a bold color that you like (like that coral) and do it in that. You can remove the shelves to get to the back. cut a thin piece of luan and cover it in a wall paper or thin material if you like that better.

You can use wallpaper, thin fabric or even a type of paper from Spoonflower. Spray adhesive, simple.

this is stunning. The before is very similar to the wood you have. they all were from this era

I mean, come on,,,tell me this 60 year old hutch doesn't look better

this one for sure is the same type of wood:

the wall paper in here is from Magnolia Farm.

this may be a stencil:

@Beth H., yes, it’s cherry wood. I always just assumed it was an unwanted, massed produced piece, but started second guessing myself. Thanks for the great ideas!

Kimberly, where do you see it's made from real cherry? And they were mass produced. Is it Thomasville? Stanley?

If you like the wood, then by all means keep it like that. You're the one that asked about painting it (forget try to re-stain). All I'm saying they are on craigslist at a dime a dozen and people can't give them away. They aren't a collectable antique and it's not some super expensive wood species.

.

btw, this is burled cherry.

another burl wood. (and it's selling for $175) See the large burl groupings?

Burled wood.....this is beautiful burl. guess what the price is? $130!

Beth, it had a little pamphlet attached to it on the inside that said what it was made of. Its currently in storage, but I do remember it saying cherry wood. It’s pretty grain, but I want a different color for sure. Either paint or stain. Would a gel stain work?

can you tell if there is a clear coat on it? if so, nothing will penetrate. if you could sand off that clear coat (a huge job), then you could try a gel stain, but it would have to be a darker shade. It's like dyeing hair. you can't put on a lighter hair color until you strip the hair of all previous color (if it's dark)

I've painted a few large pieces like this. to do them correctly is a massive undertaking. if you want something more country, you could chalk paint it. but if you want something sleek like those enamel pieces in the pics, it takes some doing. a lot of prep and a lot of time.

I think there might be a clear coat. I kind of thought of painting it white with a dark stained top piece on the base, and I had already planned to have my husband sand it all down. He has all the right tools for that.

i think you should leave it. doesnt al have to match. lovely home!

it's still a ton of hand sanding. all the doors, the trim, the carved parts, all need to be done by hand. and be very careful w/any sanding tool (especially an orbital sander) near the edges. too pressure or time around the edges and you'll burn through the veneer, leaving a rough undercoat. it can't be undone.

another option is to use a deglosser and a good bonding primer

and i'm sorry, but those saying leave it as is,,,well,,,just no. it doesn't work at all w/anything you've posted in your pics. not your dining room, kitchen, colors, nothing. I'll say it again, 'it's not a collectors item". if you want to preserve it, then put it in another room and hang onto it for another 50 years. Or find another one on craigslist that is uglier and paint that one! lord knows there's 5 million of them for sale.

While I usually prefer not to paint wood in good condition, since your table top is painted black and the chairs are painted white, if you want to paint any/all of your china cabinet black and/or white, do.

RustOleum 2x even adheres to plastic -- but if you have reason to believe it will not paint, try painting a stripe on the bottom right side first.

If you decide not to paint the wood, something else to consider would be to paint only the interior black -- the back mirror and glass shelves -- or replace the glass with wood before painting the interior.

Alternately, you could use your cabinet in another room (as a curio cabinet) and get a new cabinet -- one intended to be painted -- for your dining area.

When you have access to the china cabinet, remove each of the drawers and look at the bottom of them looking for a label that indicates manufacturer or even where someone wrote the year the piece was purchased.

she has the pamphlet in storage. I'd say 60's, possibly early 70's.

@Kimberly, if you use chalk paint (I used Annie Sloan but there are many good paints out there) , you don't need sanding or stripping first. You just apply the coat of paint on - even - burl wood and then apply a clear gloss coat, if you want, for shine . All the above photos from Beth can tell you. I used it on several pieces of furniture from different kinds of wood and it always worked magic in one afternoon!

Maria, I did advise her she could use chalk paint if she wanted more of the casual look. (i've painted at least 100 pieces w/every paint imaginable). But if she wanted the glossier enamel look, she have to use the other paint. but yes, the chalk paint would be super easy.

Kimberly, also, there is General Finishes Milk Paint, (and they have a chalk style paint too) that is pretty easy to use. It won't be glossy like BM Advance, but look up GF Lamp black on hutches or dressers, and you'll see it has a nice look to it.

Thanks! I appreciate all this help. :) I really do love chalk paint. I’ve done a few pieces with it, but never a hutch. I’d definitely not a pro. I found a few that I like on Pinterest to get an idea of how it could look. I’m kind of leaning towards a distressed black, but that could change.