Most every one of us have had this piece of furniture sometime in the past. A lot of us still have this piece somewhere in our home. I see these in almost every estate sale I go to and they flood the auctions and garage sales. Old TV cabinets are for sure a thing of the past. Now days TV’s are slim line and take up very little space. Most people mount them on the wall so a cabinet is no longer needed. The large cabinets that held the large boxy televisions still have life you just have to rethink them for a different way.
Recently a friend of mine ask me to help her find a way that would help her with storage. She changed jobs and her new job requires her to have tons of books on hand. When I say tons that’s an understatement. I found this old TV cabinet at an estate sale and sent her the picture. She trusted me and said go for it. Greg gutted the inside of the cabinet and added a shelf from our scrape lumber pile. That is when I took over, covering the self, outer cabinet and drawers with Chalk Country Pure Pewter. I only painted the shelf on the inside because the rest was in such good shape. After all the paint, sanding back and Defender clear finish it was time for the fun stuff. The hardware was all matchy match and looked pretty boring. I elected to give the doors and each drawer a different set. I love this shabby chic way of adding a whimsical look.
Just before I delivered it to her house I realized that there was wasted space on the backs of the door. Like I said she needs lots and lots of storage to put all these books. I looked in my stash of “stuff” and found these 2 wire baskets. They were the perfect size to add more storage. Greg and I loaded it up and off we went to her house to solve her storage problem.
On the way Greg and I were talking about all the things you could do with these cabinets. Okay I was talking, Greg was nodding making me think he was hearing every word I had to say. Think about what you could do with these cabinets. If you have a covered patio and a pool you could use it for towel storage along with all the pool toys. I love the idea as a crafting cabinet by adding a pull out table top to work on. In a guest room you could make a linen closet out of it. The one idea that Greg did have opinion about was a tool cabinet. How many times have you needed a tool and not been able to find it in your messy garage. Organize your garage and tools with an old TV cabinet. Adding hooks to the outside would be great for extra extension cords and tools you use all the time. Oh my goodness I went on and on with ideas.
Thinking outside the box you can find a repurpose use for almost anything. I love the challenge and love the outcome of the creative idea. Not to mention you are saving things that can have restored life.
