From Facebook Marketplace To French Beauty

I’m excited to share my most recent furniture transformation with you! This one has been such a long time coming – I can’t even tell you but probably a couple years at least.

You see, I’ve been looking for an armoire type piece of furniture to house my television and all the things that go with it including dvd storage. I only have 1 small wall in my living room that a piece of furniture like that can go on and it’s 40″ wide. Every time I would find a piece that would work when it came to style and price, the size was off. I’m not talking about by much either. Usually only an inch or two but you can’t have a giant piece of furniture sticking out past your wall!

But then, I saw it.

On Facebook Marketplace a couple weeks ago. I inquired about the width of it and was sure I would be told a measurement that exceeded my wall…..but not this time. This time I was informed that the top part of the trim, the widest part, was 40″. I couldn’t get over to the location fast enough!

There were chips and scratches here and there but overall it was very sturdy and the drawers were very clean. There was a clothes hanging rod for the top and 2 adjustable shelves with 2 large drawers at the bottom.

It was perfect.

Trying a little Beauty and the Beast here…..

I started working on it out in my garage on a lovely sunny day where the temperature was actually warm enough to paint out there. I removed the doors, all the magnetic door catches, the hinges…..it took a while.

Then….

She got her first coat of white chalk paint!

And a short time later her second at which point I realized the temperature had dipped again and it was just took cold to be working out in the garage. Not only for my survival but also for the paint to dry.

And so she had to be moved inside to be worked on some more….

I’d love to report that everything always goes perfectly with my projects like this but the truth of the matter is, even with all the pieces I’ve done, things still go wrong. With this piece I admit I struggled with paint coverage. I put on coat after coat and it was still looking streaky and I was using the same homemade chalk paint recipe I have used for years.

One difference was, I normally use mixed paint but this time the paint I was putting together with the plaster of Paris etc was a quart of plain white paint I had laying around. I know it sounds silly but the difference in the thickness of the off-the-shelf white paint versus the paint I get mixed, is what was causing the trouble. When I made another batch of chalk paint and made it a fair bit thicker, I was off to the races.

Trust me – on a piece this size every extra coat of paint you have to apply makes a difference.

Once the paint was no longer streaky (the final coat or two was done with the color White Dove by Benjamin Moore) I attached these wooden decorative pieces to the drawers using my Ryobi finish nailer. I covered 1 of each of the holes where the previous hardware had been attached.

Speaking of hardware…..there isn’t anything much more French than bees….

I couldn’t wait for these trim pieces to arrive. I had to order them online because I couldn’t find anything I liked locally that would fit these doors. Even online it was tricky to find something big enough without being too wide for the panels. Once again I secured these with my Ryobi finish nailer.

And put on a couple coats of paint…..

Then another couple coats on this beast, this time of poly in a clear satin finish.

And here she is all finished! I get that it’s not the most convenient spot to have a television in correlation with the seating my my living room. The angle isn’t ideal for cozying up and watching movies but you’re gonna want to talk to the person who designed and built this house because this is the only wall they gave in this open concept!

Some would say – hang the television over the fireplace and that’s all find and good but what do you do with all the other equipment that goes along with the television like gaming systems and DVD players and lets not even talk about dvd storage. That just wouldn’t work even if I didn’t mind staring at a television as my focal point in the living room.

Besides – this gives me something else to decorate which is always a win!

I mean……I needed a spot for this darling little fella!

Wanna admire these decorative trim pieces with me some more?

I thought so.

Did you notice I got the chance to use some more of the fern garland from Hobby Lobby that I’m obsessed with AND some pale pink roses?

I’m happy.

Wanna know about a little tip for tiny adorable pieces like this that you see and want to buy but they come with obnoxious colored ribbons and such?

Just buy the adorable little thing and remove the obnoxious ribbon and replace it with some lace instead!

Bet you weren’t expecting that!

Another secret to French furniture. The tiny unexpected details like the pale pink I painted inside this piece.

It makes me smile every time I open it up. (And yes, the doors are the type that open all the way back along the sides of the piece to be out of the line of sight while using the television)

I’m so happy to finally have something that looks pretty and stores all this ugly equipment!

Pin it…

Until next time,

Emily’s latest furniture transformation…

I asked Emily to share a furniture transformation with y’all when I shared this and she refinished the most adorable little cabinet. Click on the photo below to see all the details!