Wednesday, August 7, 2013

Vintage Sideboard turned TV cabinet

Thanks so much for all your feedback on the world's most magnificent cabinet.  I am loving it so much and can't stop walking past it. 

I think I just might be a genius at finding lovely old furniture!
Someone yesterday said "wow you really like dated furniture". Well if by dated you mean old, curvy, ornate French style furniture... why yes thank you, I do like dated furniture. And guess what, I've got another wonderful old piece for you today!


Vintage Sideboard turned TV Cabinet By Lilyfield Life

Remember the old rickety sideboard that I chopped the legs off and turned into a TV cabinet for Jessica, well I found another sideboard that I gave similar treatment.  This sideboard was in a much better shape but one of the drawers was completely broken and I hated the base of the legs (the struts between the carved legs) so I decided it could also get turned into a TV cabinet. I started by cleaning it all up.  Inside all the drawers and cupboards was fake wood contact paper and initially my heart sank worrying about the sticky mess I would have to clean but then I realised it wasn't even stuck in, just pinned with thumb tacks. Hooray for that. It meant the inside was perfectly clean - a bit like how Italians keep the plastic on their lounge suite!


Vintage Sideboard turned TV Cabinet By Lilyfield Life - Beautiful ornate doors

I then decided to paint it all before chopping the legs off - this kept it off the ground and made it easy to move. I removed the beautiful original hardware - I love those lions' heads; and painted the first coat with Annie Sloan Chalk Paint in Country Grey but the next coat I used a custom mix of paint  and colour to achieve what I am calling "Almond Milk". It looks beautiful on this piece. I distressed the sideboard to bring out the features of the beautiful carvings and gave a few coats of a polycrylic sealer as I wanted a very durable surface as TV cabinets get a lot of use and abuse. I sanded in between each coat for a lovely smooth surface.  I then gave the cabinet a thin wax coat for sheen and protection (like your grandmother would have done weekly to her furniture). 

Vintage Sideboard turned TV Cabinet By Lilyfield Life

There is a house in our street that is nearly finished being built and the builders were clearing the site yesterday morning so I asked them if they had any offcuts of wood I could use (to save me buying the wood for the shelf). They gave me a lovely piece of cedar skirting board and some other trim. Along with the old drawer front, I made a shelf using the skirting board as the front of the shelf so the moulding showed for added interest. I painted the pieces before installing them on the old drawer support with Liquid Nails. I love how it looks with it's pretty curved front shelf. I will leave it up to the buyer to drill the hole for power cords in the back of the sideboard depending on where their outlet is.


add a shelf for video unit

beautiful ornate detail brought to life by distressing , Lilyfield Life

Once I was happy with how the sideboard looked, I got busy with my handy little electric saw and chopped off the feet. The neighbours must think I am mad. I kept the little feet to do something interesting with later - not sure yet but I'm sure something will come to me. The sideboard now sits flat on its carved base and is a great height for a TV cabinet.


before photo and progress

As a special little touch, I bought a skeleton key for the locks and added a little hanging heart embellishment - made with beautiful vintage lace that was my mother's. I hope the eventual buyer likes this addition.


handmade heart using vintage lace, Lilyfield Life

I did have a buyer for this already (she saw the before photo a few weeks ago on facebook) but she had to go overseas for a month and I can't store it for her for that long so we agreed that I'll sort out another one for her once she's back. So if you are in the market for a new television cabinet and don't like the modern things you generally find then let me know. You can either call me (my number is on my facebook) or email me for pricing and dimensions. Also I would love for you to share this with your friends on facebook if you live in Sydney. I really appreciate your (anticipated) support.
Thank you. 


French style Tv cabinet by Lilyfield Life


French style Tv cabinet by Lilyfield Life

Do you like these old sideboards turned TV cabinets? Or are you appalled at me chopping up old furniture. What do you keep your TV cabinet on? I had some cabinetry installed in our back room when we first moved into store my sewing stuff, board games and craft. They probably sit a little high for a TV but it works fine enough. I would love a free-standing TV cabinet one day especially an old one like this but we had to maximise storage in this house so we opted for built ins.

Have a great day. I'll be back tomorrow with Paint Parade.
Fiona

Shared here: My Uncommon Slice of SuburbiaSavvy Southern StyleDedicated houseMiss Mustard SeedRedoux interiorsFrench Country Cottage A Stroll thru life power of Paint My Repurposed Life Fabulous Furniture  Coastal Charm  transformation Thursday Shabby 

16 comments:

  1. Fiona,
    It turned out beautifully..but you cut off the legs?? :) Just kidding! You had a vision and it looks great! Btw, our tv sits on a sofa table placed in between two bookcases...and in 1984 I was drilling a hole in an antique armoire to store the tv in our bedroom and I still love it. So why can't these vintage buffets be stunning tv stands?
    Robin

    ReplyDelete
  2. I love the doors and the whole piece in general....but those doors are stunning. You will sell this fast!

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Thanks Helen, I really hope so as I need my bedroom back!!

      Delete
  3. it looks gorgeous! and now makes a perfect tv stand! :)

    ReplyDelete
  4. The TV stand is absolutely stunning. I will say that I'd like to see one done with the legs still on it. You're choice of color and embellishment is perfect. Wish I was close enough to make an offer.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Thanks, the problem with leaving the legs on is then they are too tall for a fv to bd placed on, you'd get a crook neck. This was a great candidate for a tv stand because of the broken drawer. I do still leave lots of sideboards as sideboards!
      Cheers Fiona

      Delete
  5. It's just lovely Fiona, such a good idea and I love the colour and distressing. it won't last long.

    ReplyDelete
  6. Looks beautiful Fiona, bet it will be off to a new home in no time :)

    ReplyDelete
  7. You must hear this so often but I wish I lived closer! Seriously beautiful piece Fiona, I love it.

    ReplyDelete
  8. It is amazing what paint, patience and talent can do to a piece of furniture - it's a world away from the before picture, just lovely. Can I please ask what the polycrylic sealer is that you use Fiona?

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Hi Rebecca, thank you! For the sealer I used Porters all purpose sealer. It is not as nice as their Clearcote but Clearcote can't go over organic paint. Hope that helps
      Fiona

      Delete
  9. Another lovely piece Fiona. I am enjoying my tablecloth I won from you, its my favourite! I thought I would let you know I found a paint colour for our new (old) house (you were kind enough to offer some advice, remember). I chose Dulux Grand Piano half, and I am so pleased with it.....a nice soft powdery looking background for painted furniture. No pics, sorry.

    ReplyDelete
  10. Are you kidding? I love what you've done. I've got one lined up to create into a TV cabinet, I'm hoping it will turn out as well as yours.

    ReplyDelete
  11. That is awesome! Who would have ever thought to cut off the legs like that...it's perfect...and I have a similar piece sitting out in the garage...hhmmm...you got me thinking! I'm a new follower...I'll be going back through your archives now...to see your other pieces too!...hope you'll stop by for a visit!

    ReplyDelete
  12. Love it all creamy white! What a great idea to use it as a TV cabinet. I'm featuring it in this week's Power of Paint Party Spotlight.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Thanks Maryann, it sold immediately and I could have sold 6 more! Thanks for the feature Gain
      Fiona x

      Delete

Thanks for taking the time to comment! Sorry if you have trouble commenting, you can always email me at lilyfieldlife@bigpond.com