Saturday, January 26, 2013

entertainment center transformation!

Hello blog friends! :) Everything has changed @blogger since my last post...hope I can navigate the new look and successfully share a project the hubs helped me to finish this morning. We bought this oak entertainment center about 20 years ago. As you can see, it held a big ass t.v. and lots of gaming systems (all neglected for a few years now). Housed in the basement, feeling very dusty & lonely...I thought this piece would appreciate a make-over.
Last week-end, our youngest son moved into a new apartment. Both of our sons apartments have so little storage space - our oldest son doesn't even have a closet in his bedroom! Anyway, after seeing Matt's new place last Saturday, I thought "geez, I wish I could help this kid w/some storage options." Driving home, I thought about what pieces I had in the basement that could be repurposed. Arriving home, I asked the hubs to come down to the basement w/me. "Can you take that t.v. out of there?" "I want to make this into a mobile closet for Matthew." One week later and we have a modern, very sturdy piece that will give our son some much needed clothes storage (since seriously, this guy has more clothing than 3 teenage girls, no joke.) I first cleaned the entire piece w/soap and water. I know. It was dirty. I don't dust in the basement on the regular. Next, I sanded, filled the holes left by the hardware and shelves I removed, and cleaned up again. I primed w/Zinsser 1*2*3 primer and then painted w/2 coats of Sherwin-Williams "retreat", satin finish paint. IRL, it's a sharp gray/blue, perfect for a young man. Here it is primed.
Now I was ready for some help from the hubs. He installed wood sockets and rod on the left side.
The right side originally had a slide out drawer above the television opening. He installed that back into the unit, but moved it down a foot.
Lastly, he put 4 swivel wheels on the bottom of the now closet to make it mobile.
Tomorrow the hubs and I will drive the closet up north to our son's new place. Can't wait for him to see it!
Linking up to Tatertots & Jello's week-end wrap up party. Thanks for coming by! Stay warm, patti