Back to the hutch: to paint, or stain? Paint. No, stain. Definitely....paint....no....

It was such a gorgeous day, I was able to open the garage doors and work on sanding the hutch again....remember that project I started months ago?   Here it is: this hutch  came out of my mom's house in August, moved to my sister's house, and finally made it's way here. 

I have gone back and forth trying to figure out whether to paint it or stain it.  The faux finish on it contains lead, so I have to be careful.  Today I had just about talked myself out of dealing with it.  I was definitely back to just slapping some paint on it and calling it done.   

But then I looked at the doors I had already sanded: the wood is so gorgeous.  There are so many variations in it and it's so interesting.  To cover it up would be a shame, and I would always wonder what it looked like.

So I went to the store to buy paint, and left with stain. 

I flashed back to the wood I uncovered on the door, and decided to go all in.  I came home and sanded one side down (before I ran out of super duper coarse sandpaper).  Above is what I found: beautiful wood, lots of grain, so interesting and fun.  I cannot wait to get the rest done and get it stained!!  Hopefully we'll have a few more days of "spring" in this winter so I can finish it. 

In case you're wondering: I went with Minwax stain and poly from Sherwin Williams.  Per instructions, it's really easy to apply with great results. 

I'll keep you posted, and hopefully it will be as beautiful in real life as it is in my mind.