Buffet Table to TV Console

We did it!  We finally joined the 21st century and bought a flat screen!  When we could no longer read the words at the bottom of news casts, we decided it was time.

I knew I wanted the TV mounted on the wall with the cords hidden, but then the question of what to put under the TV arose.  Eventually I decided that a buffet table would make the perfect TV console.  Lots of storage, perfect length, and it doesn’t stick out too far from the wall.

After searching craigslist for a couple of days, I came across this beauty and sent my husband, Joe, to go pick her up.  Thanks Love!  The previous owners said that there used to be a hutch on top of it, so keep that in mind when you are searching for your perfect buffet.  Here’s a nice before and after.  Huge difference, right?!

DecoArt sent me some of their new Americana Decor Chalky Finish paint to try out for this project.  (DecoArt sent me the paint for free.  No other form of compensation was received.  All opinions are my own.) I chose the color Yesteryear, which I thought would be more gray, but it ended up looking pretty blue in my house.  Works for me though, because you know I like blue!

For a piece this size, you will need two 8 oz containers of the paint (I used about 1 1/2).  Just a few of things that I really like about this paint: 1. No priming! 2. You can buy it in small quantities (who wants an entire quart of one color?!) 3. You don’t have to go to a special store to buy it (available at Home Depot and Michaels)

I painted two coats of the paint to get good coverage on the dark wood color and then did a little sanding on the edges to distress it.  To protect the paint job, I applied the Americana Decor Creme Wax with the special waxing brush and then buffed it with a rag.

I originally tried to find some cute glass knobs and pulls, but all the drawer pulls that I found looked like they belonged in a bathroom.  I decided to just paint the ones that were already on it

Remove the hardware from the buffet, paint it with the same kind of paint (different color), and wax just like you did for the main piece.

It came with no knobs on the doors, so we had to pry open the doors with a butter knife.  Not good.  I got some dark metal knobs and painted them white to match the pulls.  I also painted the hinges white.  So much better!

The back of the buffet is that weird cardboard-type stuff.  I didn’t feel like painting it, so I got some cute shelf liner and put it up.  Joe cut some holes in the back to feed the cords through, so I could hide the DVD player and X-Box.  Now we just open the door when we want to use them.

The drawers are great for holding the remotes, DVDs, video games, and other random stuff that needed a home.

Do you love it?!  I definitely do!

Now I just need to decorate the top of the table.  Suggestions?  I’m so bad at that sort of thing!