The New Old Media Cabinet

Hey everyone! It's me coming back with another project. (That sounded so YouTube. Lol. And yes I'm a junkie) Sometimes I think having a YouTube channel would be easier than a blog. I am a much better talker than I am writer. That reminds me, I'm suppose to be starting an Instagram account. We'll see if that actually happens though. Well, enough of the random chatting let's get into the project. Last week I finished my media cabinet. It is an old piece that I redid to make a new piece. Here is the original media stand.

Before

Like most projects, it started out as a general idea. I looked around and found inspiration from something I saw in a magazine. I decided in the new house that I would do something a little different. I still liked the piece, but wanted a change. It needed an update. So, an update it got.

After

It's blue! Well teal or aqua. I can't decide really. So, the media stand got a major facelift. First came the idea of doors. I had decided a while back that I was tired of seeing every DVD I own all the time. Then the color. In the apartment, the media stand is where the TV sat. In the house, there isn't a lot of wall area, so the TV will have to go over the fireplace. Without a TV on top, it was no longer a main piece of furniture. That means I could be a little more bold and adventurous. Why not make a statement. So, I went for it. 

Bright blue it was! The whole thing was painted using Behr latex paint in the color Bella Vista. Next it was time to make the pieces for the doors. Time to fire up the Miter Saw!!!!!!! Yes, this was my first time using my big girl power tools in the new house. It was actually quite nice. A big table, plenty of room, and no worrying about neighbors. Once the doors were cut and glued, they were painted the same color blue as the base.

I created the door fronts using a specialty paper I found at Binders. Can you believe they were only $1.70 a piece. That is a steal. Even the check out girl did a double take. I used thick posterboard, and adhered the paper to the front, and then secured it from the back using thumb tacks. 

Once the doors were complete I decided to add knobs. I have been dying to use the cool decorative knobs that they have at Hobby Lobby. This was my chance. I even planned out an afternoon to go look. I was going to take my time and relish in all of my choices. I decided on some cream ceramic knobs with flowers on the front. They actually matched the piece very nicely. 

Once the knobs were screwed in it was time to attach the doors. Now, I am not a fan of attaching doors. It is actually a giant pain in the butt! Trying to get everything to line up perfectly just never seems to be as easy as I want. I had thought about going a different route. A while back on Nate Berkus, I saw him do a kitchen makeover for someone. In this makeover, the washer and dryer were in the kitchen. They were giant eye sores. Since you couldn't move them, Nate decided to hide them. He made these giant covers and attached them to the front of the space using magnets. It was so genius! What a great idea. When you need to use the washer just move the cover, and when you are done move the piece back, and the magnets cause it to stay in place. So, I did a play on that. I attached magnets to the front of the media cabinet, and a set to each door. 

Now, one of my concerns was pulling on the knob and the whole door coming off. However, just my luck that since the doors are big and touch the floor you don't even have to touch the knobs. All you have to do is just pull it forward from the top. Can you say AWESOME! You can see the middle magnets on the front side of the cabinet. Now, I did not create a back for it. I could have, but did not see the necessity. This piece is against the wall so you can't see the back.  

So, with that piece guess what? I am done with furniture building upgrading in the living room. I'm excited! Now, all I need to do is accessorize and fill in the gaps. This is where the fun starts. Next couple of things are to hang some of my art pieces. They're kind of big though, and I've never been a proponent of using wall anchors. So this should definitely be interesting. Though I think I have learned my lesson, after the infamous medicine cabinet crash that broke the toilet. (You probably shouldn't ask) Stay tuned....it's on to the next project!