How to Build a Curio Cabinet from the Top of a China Hutch

Build a Curio Cabinet from the Top of a China Hutch. Repurpose the top of a china cabinet by adding feet to make your own curio cabinet or bookcase.

DIY Curio Cabinet – Just Add Feet

Make your own DIY chic curio cabinet? Who knew? Can you believe that I was going to throw the top half of this china cabinet in the trash? I admit it, I’m embarrassed by it, but I admit it. When this china cabinet came into the shop I was only interested in the bottom part. I hadn’t considered transforming it into anything, no less a curio cabinet. The piece as a whole is vintage, solid wood (Spanish oak according to the label) and has great details and hardware, not to mention its in really nice shape. Then I remembered seeing what my friend Carrie, over at Thirty-Eighth Street had done.

I decided to transform the top half into a modern chic curio cabinet!

The Project – Adding Feet

Disclosure: This post contains affiliate links for your convenience. Click here for my full disclosure policy.

Let’s rewind and I’ll show you how I did this.

• The first step was to flip the piece over and add a new wood base as well as cute feet. The feet were added using attachment plates, you can find them here.
• This worked out well, because having the cabinet upside down gave me the opportunity to paint the undersides of everything thoroughly.  The curves on the feet work nicely with the curves of the glass panel doors.

Adding Decoupage Fabric to the Back of a Curio Cabinet

Once the feet and underside are finished you can flip it back over onto its feet. Next, go ahead and pop the back panel off and decoupage a pretty print. This print is full of neutral grays, creams, gold/brown, whites, and black.  I have been holding on to this waiting for the perfect piece to use it on.  I love that the colors are all neutral but not boring, making it easy to work with a room in both the grays tones or brown tones.   If you love this pattern you can find it or maybe something like it HERE through my affiliate link. Click here for more decoupage projects: DECOUPAGE

Paint & Hardware

Keeping with a neutral color palette the inside of this chic curio cabinet is painted in a creamy off-white and the outside in a mushroom gray.  The original hardware is cleaned and refreshed to a vintage pewter. You can find great paint color options HERE.

A chic curio cabinet is a perfect place to store your trinkets and your most beloved treasures! I’m sure glad I decided to keep this from the trash. 

If you are just starting out you can always start at the beginning with How to Paint Furniture – a Beginners Guide 

Not ready to DIY your own modern chic curio cabinet? That’s ok, you can find so many available online HERE

If you would like to see what I did with the bottom portion of the china cabinet you can see that makeover project here:  Vintage Painted Blue Buffet.

Vintage Painted Blue Buffet

• Small potted boxwood
• Ceramic distressed owl
• Cast iron keys
• Flying pig

Don’t Forget – Follow Just the Woods:

FACEBOOK  *  INSTAGRAM  *  PINTEREST

Subscribe to our mailing list here:

If you like these paint colors you can get this look with Stone & White Linen

Feel free to pin: