Entertainment Buffet

This has been a very difficult couple of weeks at our house because everyone has been sick. Well, I have not been sick, but I've played nurse to everyone and it's been exhausting. Being 30 weeks pregnant while doing it is really hard, so unfortnuately many of my projects have taken a backseat to the sickies around here.

I have been able to get a few things done, like tonight I put the finishing touches on the tea party table. It's completely done, and I must say it looks awesome. Lauren saw it tonight and she squealed with delight! Tomorrow the glaze coat will be dry and the lighting will be good, so I can take pictures. The 40 pieces of lumber are cut for the chairs. I intended to have them constructed by this weekend, but alas. Real life hit. If everyone would get healthy again, maybe I could find a few minutes to finish them!

In other news...

We have been using the same piece of garbage Sauder entertainment center that Cody bought for $99 on clearance when we were dating. I hated it then, and I've hated it even more since it's been in my house ever since we married. Sauder is terrible furniture, but it's cheap and I guess you get what you can afford. Well the thing always held our 32 inch TV, until that thing died and we upgraded to a 42 in flat screen. Obviously that doesn't fit into the same cubbie as the old TV, so we now have the TV tower going. Know what I'm talking about? Not only do I hate our Sauder entertainment center, I hate even more the white trash look of a really nice TV sitting all the way on the top, with a huge gaping 35 inch hole down below where the old TV once resided.

I have been dying to get something different to use as an entertainment center for years. However, we have two significant problems.

#1- Money. Isn't this always the ruling factor? Everything I like is way too expensive.

#2- The wall it sits on. It is a very small area and worse yet, there is a blasted floor vent right below it. I DESPISE floor vents because they dictate everything with furniture placement! Right now, the Eye Sore sits right on top of the vent and we've never had air flow there, unless the whole unit is moved 18 inches away from the wall. Dear Hubs thinks there is nothing wrong with keeping it out from the wall. Yuck. He likes to live in a room as if it's perpetually being painted.

I have been browsing around at the type of piece I'd like as an entertainment center to house our big TV. As I looked around and realized what I liked, it dawned on me that these "entertainment buffets" are nothing more than a glorified dresser! $600 for something like that? I think not!

As much as I like the look of doors in front, the practicality of them with toddlers is non-existent. Doors are way too easy for little ones to open. And glass? I'd prefer to NOT expose that hazard and NOT display my unorganized mess behind them. But depending on the drawer type and hardware, it can be much more tricky for a little one to open and raid a drawer.

So I thought about it and thought about it. One day I was at a thrift store and I came across this dresser. The finish was HORRIBLE. The hardware was even more HORRIBLE. But the overall quality...impecible. The drawers were superb and even dove winged. Everything was super duper solid wood and in very good shape. The best part is the base because the front trim is elevated, as to allow air flow beneath it. All I need is a vent extender and problem solved! The opening at the bottom is about 2 inches, which is perfect. I always carry a tape measure with me just in case I come across a furniture piece that I am considering. So I measured it, and even better, the dimensions were exactly what I'd been looking for in every way.

Oh, and the price? $20. I had gobs of sand paper, primer, and even enamel and glaze in the colors I wanted.

Yes, I had all four kids with me and I still managed (with a lot of rope and help from the workers at the store) to get it home in the van in one perfect piece. You can't really tell, but it is pretty narrow in depth. That's one of my favorite things about it because it's not at all bulky like your typical dresser.

I really love the drawers. They are modern but old looking. Drawers are the absolute best thing to store DVDs in. Ha ha ha, and I am designating one of the drawers for diaper changing supplies because I do most diaper changes in the living room, but everythis is currently stored in plain sight in a basket. Tacky.

You can see the slightly elevated edge here. Can't believe I struck gold like this! I spent three days sanding and sanding this thing. It had a lot of knicks and scratches on the finish but after I was done, it was smooth as a baby's bottom. Then I primed it and painted it Forest Black from Behr.

Why do I not have an after picture? Because it's not complete. I still need to distress the edges all the way around and on the drawer fronts, then I need to glaze it. I did this right before Thanksgiving and well, time has not been my friend in months. The next thing I need to do it find the perfect hardware to go on it. We are still living with the Eye Sore in the family room until this gem is completed. When it's all done and I have the TV and stuff arranged like it needs to be, I'll for sure take "after" pics.