TV Cabinet Makeover : Vertical Unit to Horizontal Media Center

Hello Happy Hometalkers. Meet Tripod, the three legged chest. This sweet old guy has been in our family for over 20 years and has faithfully held a TV and numerous video games. My son and his little friends literally grew up in front of Tripod.

Then, when the sunroom (AKA the She-Cave) came to be, Tripod was moved to the sunroom in order to house my 20-plus-year-old box TV. Ok. I know, but the TV worked....so it was OK for me.





Now, fast-forward to the sunroom refresh. Actually, when the refresh began, I never thought in a million years that a vintage boxspring would end up on one wall and a 59-inch flatscreen TV on the other.





I mean, after all, this was a She-Cave and big, gauty flatsceens, like boys, were not allowed. But, oh my gosh, here we are. Now, don't get me wrong, the boxspring is one of my favorite things ev-ah. The link to this curbside rescue is here. https://thechelseaprojectblog.wordpress.com/2015/10/18/vintage-boxspring-to-wall-art/





And, the flatscreen is a true hand-me-down. Or, should I say hand-me-up....since it came from the basement? LOL. Apparently, the reason that the TV was no longer acceptable was that a few pixels had stopped working and the receiver had died altogether.





The next thing I knew, the keepers of the Man-Cave were hauling this monstrosity to the sunroom and Tripod to the garage.
And I was left to figure out how to decorate around this huge jet-black blob, hide those vulgar wires, recover the lost storage space, and SAVE Tripod.
Turns out, it wasn't such a big deal. All this sweet old cabinet needed was four easy building steps and a final coat of color.





First, remove the original legs and either reattach them to the side or use new legs.





Since I needed the unit to be taller, I bought legs that are 6 inches high. I also bought the installation plates. Doing this made the leg attachment process super quick and easy.





Next, two drawers were removed so a fake front was added on a section of one end to cover the holes. And, the cover had to match the look on the other end. Surprisingly, this step was very easy to accomplish. Then, the new wood was stained to match the original color of the unit.





As for the third step, I won't lie. It was a little bit more difficult, but still just a cut and glue process. Faux shiplap that matched the other end was ripped and then glued to a frame that had been attached to the unit. And then, the bottom was stained to match the original wood color.





The last building step was super simple. A piece of plywood was cut, sanded, and caulked into place. I didn't realize I needed to close the top until the unit was already back in the sunroom, but when everything placed on the surface sat whacky, the last step was added.





After two coats of chalk paint, the repairs seemed to disappear.





And now, in its new life, Tripod will house cushions for the outdoor furniture and balance the visual impact of the flatscreen.





This is the second TV cabinet that I reconstructed to use as another piece. The first piece was halved and the bottom portion installed as a kitchen cabinet. The before and after on that unit is at this link. https://thechelseaprojectblog.wordpress.com/2015/04/24/tv-cabinet-turned-kitchen-cabinet-with-fusion-mineral-paint/





After this TV unit makeover, I will still have 3 and 1/2 units to makeover! Can you believe it? And, every single one of these units will be repurposed into something that is needed for our home.
I hope you will stay tuned for these updates. In the meantime, please enjoy more photos and detailed information at the URL below.






Original article and pictures take http://www.hometalk.com/11865729/tv-cabinet-makeover-verticle-unit-to-horizontal-media-center site