A few weeks ago I was on a business trip to Atlanta and per usual when I get out of my element I feel restless so I took to my inspiration boards and project lists. I have been looking for a new credenza/ hutch for my dining room to replace the French provincial china cabinet and antique sideboard. I want to go in a new direction with the dining room, making it feel formal and elegant with an overall Mid-century vibe and Art Deco details creating some serious glamour, but masculine larger pieces.

I had been combing Etsy and Pinterest for inspiration and decided I wanted something more airy like a bookcase with closed storage or wall mounted Mid-century storage piece.

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Unfortunately, my pie in the sky dreams came crashing to reality when I saw how much these items typically sell for. I wasn’t quite ready to commit to such an expensive piece and started to think I may need to compromise with a smaller scale operation for now.

It wasn’t until I found this beautiful detailed hutch on Etsy and instantly fell in love that it all clicked. I see simple MCM hutches at antique malls frequently and by adding hairpin legs and some hardware I could customize it with details I love creating a unique piece at a lower cost, bingo.

Etsy store TheLoomHouse.

Now the hunt was on and since I couldn’t hit an antique mall while out of town l started with Craigslist. As a serious Craigslist searcher, I opened multiple tabs for locations all around me- Columbus, Cleveland, Dayton, etc. In each I searched a serious of different keyword combinations and came across something too good to be true, this beautiful MCM credenza and hutch set for a fraction of the cost you would see in antique malls and Etsy. It was simple enough to add the details I desired, but detailed enough to be unique from the start. I won’t bore you with the details, but after 9 emails to this Craigslist girl, a few texts to my husband for available pick up times and a crash course in PayPal (who uses that anymore anyway?!) the credenza was MINE! Thankfully my husband believes in my visions and graciously agreed to pick it up in our 1966 Ford F100 while I was still away.

My credenza ♥

I love re-working a piece to serve a new purpose. Separating this simple credenza and hutch will make a more unique set while eliminating the bulk of stacking the items together. Even though my overall vision evolved through the research process the elements remain the same- Mid-century design and less intrusive streamline pieces.

How would you bring these pieces to life; would you leave them as is or change the design? How has your design vision evolved through the process of finding the perfect pieces for a space?