Dated TV Stand Makeover

My husband has had his tv stand since his single days over twenty years ago. It's very large, super heavy and in really good condition considering how long he's had it. I had originally thought to replace it with something "prettier" but then took a closer look at all the details. It has a very nice rope edging with lovely flower insets. It was also made of real wood which made me hesitant to get rid of it anyway. My husband doesn't usually "allow" me to touch his stuff. He's a wood person while I'm more of a paint person if that makes sense. In this case, he had grown tired of the same ol'/same ol' and agreed that I could redo this dated dinosaur.

To begin with, my husband was less than thrilled to disconnect everything from our television and accessories and then carry the heavy piece out to the garage for me but he survived. I washed it down to get rid of all the dust bunnies, removed the hardware along with the doors and then started painting. We had just bought some paint to redo our downstairs bathroom and I decided to filch a bit for this old gal. Normally, I would use a primer underneath, but this particular formula from Sherwin Williams was a primer & paint all in one. The shade that we chose is a lovely warm grey color called Adley Grey. I wanted something to go along with the neutral pieces in our home but didn't want to be too matchy-matchy. Two coats was all it took and I left it to dry overnight.

To bring out the lovely details on this piece, I decided to turn to my trusty General Finishes Van Dyke Glaze. These glaze effects are translucent water based colors used to create beautiful decorative finishes and are so incredibly easy to use. I used a cheap chip brush to dip into the product and quickly brush on in small sections making sure to get into the corners and in between decorative rope edging. Once applied, I would then go over it with a clean damp cloth and remove most of the product. I think that the glaze really makes the flower details pop on this piece. While I was rubbing the cloth along some of the edges, the paint started to chip a bit (so much for the paint & primer in one). I actually liked the distressed effect that it gave to the piece so I just went with it. I finished up the piece with General Finishes Top Coat and again let it be to dry.

Waiting for the stand to dry, I worked on the hardware that I had chosen to replace the old cup pulls and wood knobs. I found some brass drawer pulls at my local Home Depot and decided to spray paint them with Rustoleum's Rubbed Oil Bronze spray paint which is a gorgeous deep brown with little bronze sparkles in it. I've used this product on multiple projects and like to keep a can in the garage on hand for quick projects like this. Once the doors were dry, I had my husband attach the sparkly crystal knobs from Hobby Lobby for me and re-attach the doors.

She's now done, and I love how she turned out! I also love that she was redone in a paint from our house to be a special reminder of our time here after we move sometime soon. And that dear readers is how you turn a meh kinda piece into something special.

Until next time.