TV makeover part 2: Second Chances

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A few months ago I saw that a favorite paint company was hosting a “Second Chances“ furniture makeover contest. I mulled it over for awhile and decided I was just too busy. The deadline is Monday, and I’ve changed my mind. I don’t expect to win for a number of reasons (like waiting until the very last minute), but that’s not why I decided to push through and do this anyway. It struck a chord and inspired some thought.

*Edit to add: My Second Chances entry won second place! I’m honored, and SO excited! You can see it on the Decoart website here!

The idea behind this contest is that you take a flea market find or hand me down piece that just doesn’t fit in with what you want your decor to be, and you refinish it. You give it a second chance. I’ve come across many pieces that fit that criteria recently. None of them were right for something like this, except this one piece.

In my very first blog post ever I detailed the process for removing the “guts” from a vintage TV cabinet to turn it into a Dog bed. The TV I used once belonged to my husbands grandparents. It lived for many years in their beautiful cabin, in one of the most beautiful places I’ve seen on this earth. When it stopped working, many years ago, a newer TV was brought up to replace it, and the old TV cabinet became an entertainment stand. I have always loved the idea of giving old things new beginnings. “Second chances.” I was very excited to give this old TV the second chance it deserved. But when I started working on it over a year ago, I just wasn’t ready to give it the chance that it needed. It ended up half finished, and completely uninspired.

Fast forward to today, and I understand now why I couldn’t finish it.

I, myself, needed a second chance. I am afraid of color. There, I said it. I love to refinish things. Love it. But if you look back through my projects there’s one thing in common every single time. They’re all boring. I play it safe and use neutrals, white, or wood grain every single time. No risk, no commitment. I love color, I have just never been brave enough or bold enough to really LOVE it. Until now. Blogging has helped with that a lot. I’m finding it easier to be brave, and not just with color!

I am grateful that I have been given the opportunity to give myself, and this great old TV cabinet, the second chances we deserve! Win or lose with this contest, it doesn’t matter. I’ve already won!

So here it is… TV makeover part 2: Second Chances.

Do you see those awful awful red walls behind the sad, unfinished cabinet? Those walls were like that when we moved in (not long before that picture was taken). I did not mind them at the time, but have grown to hate them, a lot. It’s really hard to decorate around dark red walls. We are in the process of deciding on new colors, and with that comes new decor! YAY! I know what I want, but I’m having difficulty finding the right wall colors. While I’m not having any luck with the wall colors, I have found the perfect accents! This was the inspiration for TV round two (hopefully someday soon it won’t have to clash against those awful red walls!)

I think it’s very appropriate that the Chalky Finish paint color I have chosen (and seriously love!) is called “Treasure” because this piece certainly is a treasure. I found that really great arrow print fabric at Hobby Lobby. I need to go back and get more before it disappears because it would make awesome throw pillows!

This is the part where I admit that I’ve never used chalk paint on furniture before. This was my first time. I am notoriously cheap when it comes to supplies sometimes, and chalk paint always felt so pricey. That’s going to change now, because Oh. My. Goodness. I finally understand the “craze!” I did not have to sand, prep, or prime the piece. I just started painting. And the coverage was incredible!

This is what the cabinet looks like after just one coat! Seriously! All that dark dated veneer is almost gone! It took two coats (and a light touch up in some difficult areas) to cover it. Less than one 8oz pot of the paint. I avoided chalk paint for so long because it just didn’t feel cost effective, but that beautiful bright new color was only $6 after a coupon and totally worth every penny! I am sold.

I spray painted the old brass hardware white. It’s so amazing that just a little bit of spray paint can totally change the look of an old drawer pull like this! I thought about replacing the hardware, but the old ones already matched it fine, they just needed some updating.

I took some solid turquoise fabric and I covered the back panel of the TV console with it. See all those holes? If you didn’t want to just cover them up, you could buy a board, cut it to size, and paint that instead. I think the original back panel, holes and all, worked just fine. And it’s much more time, and cost effective. I just used hot glue to attach the fabric, staples did not go through the board very well.

After the paint was dry, I added a coat of light satin varnish to the cabinet. I wanted to use clear wax, but since I procrastinated this project until the very last minute and no wax was to be found in any local stores, I settled for this instead. It covered great, went on smooth, and dried perfectly. It was not a bad substitute at all. I am still determined to learn how to use the wax next time though.

Once the varnish sealer was dry I put the newly white hardware back on. I love how the white really pops on the turquoise!

I wanted to make the cabinet feel luxurious and homey for Dobby (the dog being spoiled with this awesome piece). Taking my awesome arrow fabric, I made two simple curtain panels to hang from a tension rod in the cabinet. It’s as easy as hemming all the way around two square pieces of fabric, then folding the top down 1.5 inches and hemming it again to create a pocket for the rod. A tutorial for another day perhaps!