Re-purposed Cabinet as TV Stand

I found this old, dusty and cobweb-filled cabinet in my basement laundry room and immediately thought to myself, "OOOOH how can I use this thing and what color can I paint it?!"  I am in the very beginning stages of a complete living room renovation and my thoughts went to a TV stand.  We have been using a very large and impossible to move desk as an entertainment center/toy box/office desk for quite some time and because I am one of those people who likes the option of change, it was time for that mammoth piece to hit the road.  Here's a quick pic of the desk in question:

Very large, very immobile. 

The idea of using my random find as a TV stand appealed to me because not only is it small and easy to move, it has some storage space underneath and here at our house, we LOVE storage.  Give me a place to put things like stray toys and markers and papers (the list goes on and on) and I am a Happy camper.  So this item was PERFECT. 

The current state of my living room is dark, dreary and boring.  If you head over to my Pinterest you will find a very colorful and busy inspiration board for my new living room.  The idea is bright, lively and of course, HAPPY!  So the thought process for this first new piece for my living room was bright and white.  Kinda like a blank canvas, ready for a fresh start.  I also wanted to incorporate a pattern of some sort, and decided to use stenciling on the top. 

Because I am mom to a very busy first grader and a very busy 7 week old, my time is limited and the time I had to do this project was short and sweet so that means I completely forgot to take a "Before" picture.  I remembered this in the middle of priming so that is the closest thing to a before pic we get.  Take a look:

The cabinet was pretty beat up when I found it so a good sanding was needed.  I used my electric, hand-held and started with a course 80 grit then worked my way up to a 120 grit.  Spray primer was my best bet for a quick prep and then I applied two coats of Sherwin Williams in Pure White.

I wanted a delicate and pretty stencil on top so I used a pattern I had found earlier this summer at Hobby Lobby.  My choice of color was a gold hued glaze from Martha Stewart.  The end result was a much needed breath of fresh air and a fantastic beginning to a whole new living room:

The small cabinet door handles were a gross shade of rust so I quickly sanded those and gave them two coats of Rust-oleum Metallic in Gold.

Before

After

And that beautiful, one of a kind wall art you see above the TV is the work of my sweet Livy and I absolutely love the bright and Happy vibe they give the room. 

 

There is nothing better than using your children's art for home decor.  It promotes creative self-expression and no one else will have anything like it!

So this is my small beginning toward a great new living room.  Can't wait to share the end results with you!  For now, here are a few more pics of my fabulously Happy new TV stand!