A dining hutch redo and fall fillers!

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So my latest project was one that was about a year in the making. I had plans to do this foreva. I couldn’t decide on the details so it just didn’t happen until I started the redo a few weeks ago.

I LOVE our dining room hutch. It’s dark and curvy, just the way I like hutches. If I had a thing for hutches that is.

There is only one issue that has bugged me from day one:

Can you tell what it is? The mirrors that line the back of the hutch drove me cray-zay. They reflected ev.er.y.thing — I mean, that’s the deal with mirrors right? When I filled it with accessories, it felt like they all just disappeared into a reflected abyss. You couldn’t really see anything that was in there.

So, about a year ago, I decided to cover the backs — I started with foam poster boards (from the dollar store) and some leftover fabric from my drapes. I stopped after one though, because as I mentioned before, I just wasn’t “feeling” the room.

A couple weeks ago I decided to finish this everlasting project up. But what to cover it with? I didn’t want to do the same fabric from the drapes because a.) it was more than I wanted to spend on this and b.) I didn’t want it to be too matchy and c.) I was lazy.

So I thunk and I thunk and I thunk. It hit me — DOH. I had a ton of wallpaper left from this project. And it was already white. SCORE!

Here’s how I did it…

Measured each section of mirror horizontally and vertically:

Then I marked the measurements on the foam board:

I marked the measurements down the board, then connected the dots with the level to make a line:
The foam is thin enough to just cut with scissors:

Then, check it to make sure it fits the spot! I had to do some trimming to make them fit perfect. A fork is useful for this part — if it fits well it’s impossible to get the foam out without one.

Then just cut the wallpaper to the size I needed, then used the hot glue to wrap the paper around the foam:

It turned out pretty much exactly how I had hoped!:
Then I was able to decorate the hutch for autumn…some pumpkins and leaves bling it up:

My apothecary jars are so fun to fill for fall and Christmas! They are filled with a bunch ‘o fall stuff — leaves, pumpkins, beads, pears, apples:

Teeny tiny acorns and beads that I snipped off pics from Hobby Lobby:

A pumpkin under glass:

More beady stuff. Are you surprised?:

Those FAB plates are my HomeGoods finds from today and whoooeee they are gorg! I needed to lift a couple items up and for now, they are the perfect way to do that.

The knobs that were on the hutch were very pretty but have never felt right to me:

Enter half price (faux) crystal knobs from Hob Lob:
Fat round ones in the middle, small square ones on the doors.

The top of the hutch is filled with a couple items I already had, then my long scrolly candleholder turned on it’s side, and a couple platters at $9.99 each from HomeGoods:
Stink Eye Sister doesn’t like the scrolly thing on it’s side. It makes her “uncomfortable” that I am not using it as it should be. I told her where her “not as it should be” can (nicely) go cause I like it!

Love you sis! Smooches!

I love how subtle the texture of the wallpaper is!: I was toying with touching up the raised areas with some stain or paint, to bring out the texture, but now I’m thinking that would get too busy.

Here’s a before — helloooooo accessories? Where are yoooooou?

Ah yes, there you are!

And I love it at night even more, of course:

Oh yeah, did I mention this was FAAAREEEE? Well, I bought nine foam boards for a buck each, but that was a year ago so it totally doesn’t count.

I made what are simply the cauuutest Halloween decorations last night –I can’t wait to show you later this week!