Media Storage

It has been over a year since I started this blog. It all began with a kitchen and bath renovation. It was a big job to take on but we did it and I am thrilled with the results.  Immediately after that I switched the dining room and then we built a small screened in porch on the back. Enough! I took the winter off and enjoyed making cookies in my new kitchen and using my fabulous new dishwasher to help with the clean-up. Now that Spring has finally showed itself in our neck of the woods we are ready for another project but not quite as big.

House wrens love these!

We decided to go easy. For several years we have used an old dresser for our media needs; the tv and dvd player  sat on top of the dresser and the cable box was under the dresser on the floor. Our living room is long and "L" shaped and the television was too far away from the seating to get the high definition effects that the tv is supposed to give. Also, there were wires hanging out the sides and from underneath like a spastic octopus and I......couldn't...... stand it! Move the television! It did not sound like a terribly hard job, just move it, right? Easy-peasy!  Um, ..............no. I wanted to mount it to the wall, " and I don't want to see the cords" I whined. That's where Mr. rolls his eyes (Yes , he does that a lot because of me). The messiness of them makes me bonkers so what's a girl to do? I shamelessly begged!

Not a great picture- but just looking at the cords under the dresser! Ugh!!!

 I know, of all the things to be bothered by, right? So, I mapped out a point on the wall where I wanted the tv moved to and Mr. got busy cutting a hole in the wall. He actually cut two holes, one long one to slide in a piece of pvc pipe that wires would be fished through and connect to the tv  and another low hole that feeds wires to the boxes and power outlet. We did not cut one channel all the way down because there is wainscoting (read painted bead board paneling) and a chair rail about 1/3 of the way up the wall that we did not want to destroy.

Not too bad, I thought....

Ummm.....that is going to take some serious patching! Horse-hair plaster is not ideal.

Pvc chase in attached to stud.

There are wall mounted tv wire kit things for sale in stores that leave a nicer presentation but honestly we just did not want to spend the money them. For a few dollars worth of pvc and two elbow brackets we were quite pleased with ourselves.

After inserting pvc into the wall and an elbow to direct the cords. A little caulking will make it look better....and removing the UPC

.....and all better!

I found a dresser on Craiglist for $35 and brought it home. It is solid wood; no particle board And, in true "me" fashion it sat for a week waiting for inspiration to jump in. A trip to my favorite antique and vintage haunts provided the push I needed and I rushed to my local home improvement store for paint. (This is where I should confess that have still not finished the island in the kitchen.)

Saturday I lightly sanded the dresser and had my daughter help by washing everything down with TSP and water. Once it dried I mixed my paint. I made my own chalk paint plaster of paris paint . The formula I like is 2 cups paint, 2 tbsp plaster of paris and 1/2 hot water. Stir well using a spoon or spatula to get the lumps out. Then paint! I painted two coats, lightly sanding after each coat.

After drying for 24 hours I sanded again this time through some of the paint to the wood, but just in areas I wanted distressed like on corners and high parts. When I was done I read the directions on my Annie Sloan Soft Wax (that is about 3 years old) and went for it. I put on a layer and wiped off the excess.... a lot of excess! I have to say that watching a few videos first would have been a smarter move. I used too much wax and made a lot of work for myself. I had used it before but with a cloth and had just lightly wiped it on leaving a nice finished product. This time I used a brush and got too happy with all that! Advice from videos I watched afterwards suggested putting a thin layer of wax on first then distressing then putting another layer of wax. If you haven't tried this before watch videos first. Pinterest is loaded with good tutorials. Cindy from Simply Reinvented has a good one here.

Give the wax a day or so to dry. Grab a clean old white t-shirt  or soft cloth and buff, buff, buff. I am incredibly happy with the results! I purchased new drawer pulls as it came missing one and others that were on the piece when I bought it were bent.

I should also mention the my dvd player was too big for space I wanted it to sit in-by 1/2 inch! I kid you not. Mr. just cut the sides out and the player fits in just fine. He covered the not-so-pretty edges with cleats that will hold a shelf for the cable box.

So, for $35, and the cost of paint and new drawer pulls I got a new media cabinet with a ton of storage! And....tada!

Linking Up:
French Country Cottage, The Shabby Nest, Chic on a Shoestring, Craft Dictator, My Romantic Home, The  DIY Village , Miss Mustard Seed, Whipperberry, Just Us Four, Tatertots and Jello, The Girl Creative, Craft-O-Maniac, The Cottage Market, DIY Vintage Chic, Snazzy Little Things, The Dedicated House. Pieced Pastimes,DIY Showoff, Dwellings-The Heart of Your Home, Silver Pennies, Coastal Charm, I Should Mopping the Floors, Skip to My Lou, Huckleberry Love, A Bright and Beautiful Life, Cedar Hill Farmhouse, Home Stories A to Z, Sand and  Sisal, Karen's Up On The Hill, Cupcakes and Crinoline, Creatively Living, A Stroll Thru Life, Cozy Little House, The DIY Dreamer, DIY By Design, Crafty Allie, Our Home Away From Home, Flamingo Toes, A Bowl Full of Lemons, Savvy Southern Style, Simply Designing, The Turquoise Home, Lambert's Lately, Imparting Grace, Snazzy Little Things, The Charm of Home, Common Ground, From My Front Porch To Yours, Too Much Time On My Hands, AKA Design, Remodelaholic, Life With Lorelai, Inside The Fox Den, Mad In Crafts, Between Naps On The Porch, Funky Junk Interiors

UPDATE 6/30/2015
Chalk Paint is a trademark of Annie Sloan.