The center of attention

This weekend I finished another two projects! *crowd cheers* This post will just be about one. I didn't plan on moving though some of my projects so quickly, so I'll be putting my second completed project into another post. This weekend was focused painting my entertainment center. While this project may or may not add a huge impact to the room as a whole, it was a significant change for this individual piece of furniture! I'm very very pleased with it's outcome and hopefully so will all who happen across my humble little blog.

I had inherited this entertainment center from my mom when they purchased a big screen tv. It was a nice piece of furniture with a great solid wood structure. I liked the piece, but it didn't really "speak to me" or my personality. Here is a picture so we can all start on the same foot.



This picture makes it look like a jumbled mess... which it sort of was. I'm looking for more modern, simple look. Now since this piece was stained, but not finished, I didn't have to do any sanding. (Hallelujah!) I'm very glad because painting this turned out to be a bigger project that I originally thought! I was able to use the paint brush and the remaining paint to put on two coats. As a note, I easily could have put three coats on and it probably would have looked better. The problem was (1) I ran out of my free paint and (2) I just wanted to be done! Since there was so much surface area each coat took hours to put on.

One thing I did learn is to work from the inside out, not the other way around. If you are painting an item with cubbies and what not, start insides the cubbies on the very top, then do the sides, then do the bottom. This entertainment center has four main cubbies, the small one on the upper left hand side was particularly difficult to get into and paint. After all the inside parts are done, then move to the outsides. Maybe that is a no brainer, but for my first coat I did all the large surfaces first and the small ones second... it was much more difficult. Anyways! Enough with the blabbering, here are the pictures and cost break down:



All clean with the doors taken off, ready to be painted!



After the first coat, which didn't cover very well. Gotta love that since I don't have a garage that my kitchen gets turned into a construction zone for every DIY project that I do.

Now feast your eyes on...............










































THE FINISHED PRODUCT! Seriously, scroll up to the top of this screen and look at the before shot. Now it looks a million times better! I opted not to put the doors back on because smoked glass is pretty dated and the open look is much more modern. While the actual renovating of the entertainment center was free, I did buy a few decorations to add to it. Here is the cost break down:

Nesting boxes: $9 each, purchased at Tuesday Morning
Green candles: $7 for both, purchased at Hobby Lobby
Picture board: $8 purchased at Hobby Lobby

Total cost of the project: $33 (decorating items)

The wonderful candle holders came with the end tables from Vic and Christie. I still owe them dinner for that... The reed diffuser was a birthday present from the wonderful Felicia (Fish) and it smells FANTASTIC! Thanks for listening :)

To wonderful, beautiful change...

Boomba