Hi I am Beckie, author of Infarrantly Creative, where I transforms roadside finds into treasures for my home. I dubbed my quest Roadkill Rescues. I would love to share one with you today. I turned an old hutch into a puppet theater/snack shop for my kids…
It seems there is a never-ending supply of the hutch part of dressers at Goodwill, thrift stores and on the side of the road. After driving by this baby for days I finally hauled it into my mini van totally unsure of what I would transform it into.
After I cleaned it I took off the backer board. It wasn’t stable enough to handle my crazy kids so I knew I had to stabilize it somehow. I got out some scraps of plywood and measured the width of the hutchy thing and that is how wide the top of my parallelogram is. Then I widened the bottom to give it the stability it needed.
Using a circular saw, I cut out two of them and screwed them into the sides of the hutch and I achieved the stability it needed.
Then using a 5/8″ drill bit I drilled holes in the sides and inserted a 5/8″ dowel rod (cut to size) for the curtains to hang from.
Next I sanded the whole piece down and gave it a coat of primer followed by two coats of red paint.
Then I decided to to use the backer board as a chalkboard on the front. I cut it down using a utility knife since it was just a thin wood composite. After primering it and painting it with chalkboard paint I nailed it in place with thin brad nails.
Since it did not cover the entire piece I cut some trim to frame it out using my miter box and saw. I just used the foam composite stuff because it is so easy to cut.
Then I laid it out in place to make sure it looked perfect..and it did!
I sprayed the molding with black spray paint. Since there wasn’t anywhere to nail it in, I used Liquid Nails and clamped it in place. Some of the glue oozed out but I just touched it up after it was dry.
I made little curtains out of fabric I had on hand and hung them from the dowel rod.
and a snack shop…
You don’t need a hutch type thing for this project. Any small book shelf would work. This one I used an old laminate shelf and just propped it up higher.
Bookcases are perfect for this project because you have the shelves in the back to store stuff…
Do you love trash to treasure type projects? Want to see more…
Hutch Turned Pottery Barn Kids Bookrack
Vintage TV into a Console Table
Old Nightstand into a Lap Desk
You’re a woman after my own heart. I think my neighbors know me as “that crazy woman who’s always taking stuff off the street.” My kids have even started pointing things out on the side of the road to me now. I like your term “roadside rescue.” This is an adorable project with a great purpose, and the fact that you upcycled someone else’s “garbage” is just the icing on the cake. Well done!
My neighbor girl had her dad build her a snack shack in the yard and she gets buyers all afternoon when she is open. Matches the lemonade stands we used to see.
brilliant!
What an awesome idea! I super love this!!
That’s a super-cool transformation! What a great little play center/puppet theatre for the kids. Heck I want one! And you have the storage built in? Awesomeness!
What awesome projects! : )
This is incredible. I love everything that Beckie comes up with and this is one of the best yet. My son with love having his own puppet theater. Thank you for sharing!
What a fun idea! Great summer project:-)
great job! I wish had more room in our house to make one of these! I’m always so impressed when I see awesome reuse projects like this one!
Wow, you are very creative. I think it is such a shame when people throw away perfectly good wood. I am glad to see that you made something so cool out of this old hutch.
Connie
Fantastic! Love it SO much and now I’m crying because my kids are too old for this!!
That is the coolest project I have seen in a while!
Oh this is a fantastic idea!! My girls would have loved this when they were little………I need to start a file for when I have grandkids! lol
Oh my goodness Beckie – I love that! What a cute idea and what a fun way for kids to use their imagination!!
xoxox
Jen
Super cute idea, what fun for kids! And great repurposing!!