Media Stand Makeover

Media Stand Makeover

how to give a big box store media stand a modern farmhouse look!

Have you ever had one of those projects that seems to have no end?

That no matter how much time and effort you put into it, it feels like it will never….ever…be complete?

Our living room is just such a project.

It needs everything. New curtains-rug-slipcovers-and of course accessories need to be purchased.  Never mind the fact that we need furniture to fill the now VERY empty space!

It was definitely going to be a challenge, but I’m up for it.

Until I began shopping for some of the major items and found that the top three would eat up the majority of our remaining budget!!

So it was time for some good old-fashioned DIY and re-purpose!

And that is what today’s post is all about!

 

We purchased this stand shortly after we were married to accommodate hubby’s big-screen TV.  It was one of those ‘no thought’ purchases.  You know the kind.  You need something fast-and you buy it without thinking of the consequences.

Like the fact that when we removed the carpet in our living room a year later-the media stand matched the wood floor perfectly.

And don’t get me started on the glass doors.

Seriously their only purpose was to be a magnet for fingerprints!

But I digress…

Let me first start by saying that no REAL wood was harmed during this project.  This ‘wood’ is about as faux as you can get!

materials & supplies:

• Chalk paint  (similar to the color I used)
• Paintbrush
• Mouse Sander
• Sandpaper
• Poly-acrylic
• Beadboard(or 1/4″ plywood)
• Brad Nailer
• Brad Nails
• Stain (I used Minwax-Early American)

steps to give big box store media stand a makeover!

remove the glass doors, backing, and shelves:

I plan to reuse the shelving but not the glass doors or backing! So I put those in the scrap pile and set the shelves aside for paint.

 

paint:

Since the chalk paint I use doesn’t require sanding, I skipped that step. Here’s what the stand looked like after only ONE coat! No more faux wood look!  Now we’re talking. ***The stand and shelving required two(2) coats total!

sand to distress:

Once the paint dried completely (1 hour)-I sanded it all down with 120 grit sandpaper-adding a little ‘distress’ here and there to give it that extra ‘character’ I LOVE! This is totally optional!

protect:

I plan to re-use this piece as a media stand so to prevent any scrapes or dings I chose to give it 2 coats of polyacrylic.

Once the poly dried (overnight), it was time to replace the cardboard backing. Again replacing the back is totally optional if you prefer an ‘open’ shelf look but I wanted more of a completed furniture piece.

Attach backing:

My first choice to close off the back was bead board-but when went to our local Home Depot-they were out of the single sheets, so we went with a sheet of 1/4″ plywood. ($8.00)

stain the plywood:

The plywood was a light maple and I wanted it a bit darker so I gave the sheet a couple of coats of my favorite stain! Once it was dry it was time to cut it into strips to create the look of shiplap.

creating & attaching faux shiplap:

For this project, we measured each strip (5 total) at 5 3/8″ in width.  When all the strips were cut-we attached them to the back with brad nails.

reassemble shelves and enjoy!

 

 

 

 

Since I already had most of the material for the project on hand the total cost for this HUGE transformation was just $8.00 for the plywood!

 

 

What do you think of my Media Stand Makeover? I’d love to hear in the comments!

update to post!

Just a quick update on how the media stand held up after its makeover!

Well, friends, I haven’t had to even do a touch-up since I first updated this media stand with some paint and plywood! And trust me…it’s been USED a lot! It has also been moved around from room to room. Currently, it is functioning as a sideboard in our dining room!

Thank you so much for stopping by!