One of my verrrry first posts way back when was about the makeover of our living room. It's the room we spend the most time in and so it was the first to be attacked as soon as we moved in.We painted, ordered some new furniture and basically took the room from this:
to this:
One of the big things that we did in the room was to revamp a Craigslist dresser as our TV stand. David and I only have one TV in the house (we're a no-TV-in-the-bedroom kind of family), so we felt that this solo guy needed a proper piece of furniture to hold it up.
Here's the breakdown of the dresser hunt from my first post:
Here's the breakdown of the dresser hunt from my first post:
Next, it was time to get some storage-type furniture into the room. While I shopped and shopped, I couldn't bring myself to spend $200+ on any retail furniture to hold the TV. And yes, after four years of an old school 20" tube TV and saving our pennies in anticipation, the hubster got a new (slightly too large for my taste, but what are you going to do) flat screen with the big move. But where to put it?
Enter: Craigs List, where we found a used dresser being sold for only $60. Unfortunately, I didn't do a great job at getting any before photos of the dresser (this was pre-blogging!), but let me tell you, it was a beauty! And by beauty, I mean... a pastel painted nightmare. We purchased the dresser from a very sweet lady (after driving to her home in Middle of Nowhere, Georgia) who just didn't have the best taste in the world. Apparently she had "refinished" the dresser on her own by painting it pink, green, yellow, white, and blue. This is where we Southerners say "bless her heart!" instead of anything negative, so I'll leave it at that.
The worst part? David and I didn't have the heart to tell her we were planning to refinish her "refinished" dresser, so... when she asked where we were putting the dresser, we may have led her to believe that we were using the dresser in a pink, green, yellow, white, and blue pastel bedroom. True? Not so much. But I could't let her down! We laughed the entire way home about that one. There were some great details on the front and the size was perfect (and we haggled her down to $50), so we loaded it up and it came home with us!
The side of the dresser as we painted the living room.
The front of the dresser drawers, which give you an idea of the (awesome) finish.
The short version is that I stained the hardwood beauty within an inch of its life, pulled the drawers out to create shelves for the electronics, Mod Podged some scrapbook paper as shelf liner and added new hardware. The end result we've had for the last 1.5 years? This beaut:
The TV stand dresser been absolutely perfect for us and I love the character its brought to the living room. But... as all of us do... I recently decided it was time for a little change. Things just weren't sitting perfect with me and the TV stand dresser. Then I found this image from Ballard Designs:
And fell in love. The white paint brightens and lightens the back of the dark piece, adding a pop of crisp and clean. I was sold. And thank goodness I keep about ninety-five cans of white trim paint in my basement- so this project was virtually free! Things really came together when I found some beautiful blue and white knobs at 50% off at the Hobby Lobby knob sale. So maybe it wasn't $0, but a $12 makeover. Not too bad! The knobs are the perfect complement to the new look, don't you think?
Unfortunately, I was a bad DIYer and decided to take the easy way out- I actually just painted straight over the Mod Podged shelf paper. I know, I know. But I tried to pull it off and it was just all kinds of disaster. Big clumps of paper and glue... I thought it'd just be easier for now to paint straight over the smooth surface. Except that the paper then bubbled all over the place a little bit. Any suggestions on how to get Mod Podged paper off wood? If someone gives me some good input and comes over to help me, I might try and pull the paper up and then repaint. Maybe.
The only thing I don't like about the makeover is that the black cable cords stand out a bit more than they used to. I am sure I could tape them down or buy some white ones to smooth over the look. But overall, I love the new lighter, brighter look over in that corner of the living room.
Have you given any furniture around your house a mini-makeover lately?
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Thrifty Decor Chick
Between Naps on the Porch
Sharing with:
Thrifty Decor Chick
Between Naps on the Porch
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What a cute TV stand. I really like those knobs [that just sounds wrong], the inside looks a whole lot better white.
ReplyDeleteAs for me, furniture makeovers seem to be the norm. lately for me.
I love the new knobs. Great job Michelle!
ReplyDeleteIt looks great! Not sure how to get Mod Podge off though, other than sanding the heck out of the thing!! Love the knobs you chose.
ReplyDeletelove love LOVE! Great work! love the knobs!
ReplyDeleteIt's so funny because our dressers have such similar lines. I LOVE the finish you did and the new knobs. I think I read somewhere that if you mod podge over it again it reactivates the glue and it will become lose again. Maybe try one tiny back corner?
ReplyDeleteI love how the dresser looks in your living room. The color of the stain is so rich and beautiful. And I know how you feel about the huge TV; my husband "upgraded" us to a huge TV as well. I don't really know how to decorate around that, but I'm certainly trying! Haha.
ReplyDeleteIt looks good. I like the white background a lot. (If you are open to painting cords, that's a surefire way to make them blend. Or you can take some white electrical tape and wrap the cords. Super easy and they'll blend right in. =)
ReplyDeleteI love the new look and the new knobs really bring it all together. I'm no help with the mod podge - sorry.
ReplyDeleteVery fresh update! The little projects are what keep us going! They make white duct tape, maybe you could tape the cords down with that?
ReplyDeleteGreat makeover!! I love that stand...so perfect as a tv stand!!
ReplyDeletelooks amazing!!!
ReplyDeletethat is the sexiest dresser turned tv stand i have ever seen.
ReplyDeleteOoh! Love the white. I remember you telling me about this project. It turned out great. The knobs make it!
ReplyDeletewow - you did such a good job on that dresser...and I love the most recent subtle change. It is really the perfect tv stand.
ReplyDeletegreat job doll! You are so ambitious and I like to just sit back and say good job, lol. Ugh. Why can't I be more DIY? I lie and tell my hubs that no one is, that I'm normal. Don't tell on me k? It looks great! xoxo shel
ReplyDeleteWhat a lovely transformation! Enjoy the beautiful weekend, Kellie xx
ReplyDeleteIt looks great! I love the white shelves -- such a nice way to brighten it up a bit!
ReplyDeleteI am amazed by your transformation numbers. This is awesome.
ReplyDeleteBtw, where did you get that fab yellow rug? Been trying to find one similar!
I love this!! You're a renovation rockstar. I'm also curious where your rug is from...it's adorbs! Xo, Katie
ReplyDeleteI too also want to know where your rug is from! I'm looking at some different rug options for my living room
ReplyDelete