How to Update an Old TV Cabinet
January 31, 2010
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Easy updates for an old TV console.
Somewhere along the line we both decided a corner fireplace would be super cool!! So moving the fireplace then gave us the option to put the two windows together, which we did.
So that left exactly one five foot wall we could do anything with as far as the placement of the TV. Our TV cabinet fits in the space great, but the subwoofer for our sound system is 12 by 14 inches and has to go on the floor next to the cabinet, which makes everything tight.
So that left exactly one five foot wall we could do anything with as far as the placement of the TV. Our TV cabinet fits in the space great, but the subwoofer for our sound system is 12 by 14 inches and has to go on the floor next to the cabinet, which makes everything tight.
I even called our local electronics store to see if they have any updated subwoofers (ours is six years old) that are smaller. Yes, they did! Only ten by ten inches! And they are only $700! Nope.
So the other day, I decided to ignore the speaker and center the cabinet on the wall. The huge speaker would just have to jut out the other way a bit:
I decided a while ago that hanging the TV may help the cramped feeling of this area. I got the right sized TV mount for only $50 at Target and it was surprisingly easy to hang.
Just hang the mount into the stud, using a socket wrench:
Next step is to take it down and hang it again because you forgot to put the washers on the screws.
Next step is to take it down and hang it again because you forgot to put the washers on the screws.
Next step after that is to take it all down and hang it again because you hung it too low. Easy!!
Then you just attach the brackets to the back of the TV:
(The next few pics are fuzzy because I took them at night, so bear with me.)
I loved the TV hanging on the wall! It immediately felt like a breath of fresh air. But the TV cabinet was feeling so dark! It’s always been a dark hole of sorts.
Then you just attach the brackets to the back of the TV:
(The next few pics are fuzzy because I took them at night, so bear with me.)
I loved the TV hanging on the wall! It immediately felt like a breath of fresh air. But the TV cabinet was feeling so dark! It’s always been a dark hole of sorts.
I decided to paint just the back of it so they would show up just a bit more:
Didn’t that work GREAT?
Uhhhh. Notsomuch. I realized the problem hasn’t been the dark cabinet, it’s been the doors on the cabinet. I love them, but you can’t see a darn thing inside.
So I just took the doors and the hardware off!:
Getting there!
I wasn’t crazy with how the accessories were working out, so I moved some things around. I used an apothecary jar instead of the flowers and covered some styrofoam balls with jute for some DIY filler:
Love them! They weren’t exactly fast to make – but good mindless project while watching TV. And they were free.
Didn’t that work GREAT?
Uhhhh. Notsomuch. I realized the problem hasn’t been the dark cabinet, it’s been the doors on the cabinet. I love them, but you can’t see a darn thing inside.
So I just took the doors and the hardware off!:
Getting there!I wasn’t crazy with how the accessories were working out, so I moved some things around. I used an apothecary jar instead of the flowers and covered some styrofoam balls with jute for some DIY filler:
Love them! They weren’t exactly fast to make – but good mindless project while watching TV. And they were free.
I moved the baskets down below so they didn’t block the back quite so much:
(The back is painted in the color Sisal.)
I couldn’t be more pleased with the result!:
Well, maybe I’d be more pleased with a 10 x 10 speaker. But saving the $700 meant I only spent $50 on this entire project – and that was for the TV mount.
We watched about eleventy billion videos this weekend because our son can now access his DVDs (in the baskets) so easily! Those doors were hard to open, even for me. :)
So this month’s before and after…drum roll please…
Love it!
So this month’s before and after…drum roll please…
Love it!
For those that are interested, the cabinet was a find at the Pier 1 outlet store years ago.
See more of our home here. To shop items in our home, click here! Never miss a post by signing up to get posts via email.
See more of our home here. To shop items in our home, click here! Never miss a post by signing up to get posts via email.
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January 31, 2010
before and after
decorating
family room
Family Room (previous)
painting
solutions
Love what you did with the tv, I so want to mount mine... mainly so I can add decorative pieces to the table. "LIKE YOU DID." I love apothecary jars with balls in them. VERY CUTE! I LINKED UP TOO!
ReplyDeleteIt looks great. I really like the little jute balls. I may have to steal that idea.
ReplyDeleteYou do have to be careful not to buy too cheap of a wall mount for the TVs. My sister bought one for really cheap and it almost fell completely off the wall. Thank goodness they caught it in time when they got off work and were able to take it down and replace it. :)
Awesome redo!
ReplyDeleteOh girl, talk about presto-chango... FABULOUS!!! :)
ReplyDeleteGod's blessings,
Sarah :D
what an amazing transformation!!! i am so tickled to see how you hid the cords. we were at a loss and ended up not hanging the tv but buying a cabinet for it. wah wah. it's better off where it is now, anyway. but yours is fabu!
ReplyDeleteThe courage to hang your own tv! Love it! Thanks again for your ideas. (And again, kudos on your generosity for letting people link blogs from your site.)
ReplyDeleteThanks for hosting! My husband and I are working on finishing my project right now! Glad I have a place to show it off! ;)
ReplyDeleteThanks for showing how you hung your TV and hid the cords - I've been wondering about that... for when we get our flat screen tv... someday :)
ReplyDeleteLove this and I love the twine balls all the more! My tv center is in DESPERATE need of a makeover. This is inspiring.
ReplyDeleteman I wish I was as brave as you are!!! The T.V. looks great. Did you drill two holes?? How did you plug the t.v. in? is that a ding dong question...lol
ReplyDeleteI just love all your diy stuff!!!
This looks so great, and professional! I desperately want to get out TV on the wall too...someday!
ReplyDeleteVery cool, I love it!
ReplyDeleteMaybe you could fit the woofer in the cabinet? COuld you remove a shelf and then have the woofer on one side, could it fit?
Just a thought but it does look great!
When we had some electrical done before we moved into our house we had then do the drilling for the tv wires even though we don't have the TV yet.
Zizette
OMG! I watch Y & R also. I can't believe the whole Adam, Sharon, Ashley story line. Whoa!! ;-)
ReplyDeleteNow on to your room....
Looks great! I agree the TV looks much better hanging up. You did a nice job accessorizing your TV cabinet.
Blessings, Tracy
Amazing! Truly you are a gifted interior thrifty decorator! Thanks for sharing your gift! I am inspired to do something creative...thrifty of course!
ReplyDeleteLooks great, amazing how much "weight" was lifted from that area just by putting the tv on the wall! Ok, I know nothing about surround sound or electronics, so bear with my ignorance, but would that "beautiful" speaker fit inside the cabinet? If you took out the shelf on one side (and drilled a whole for the cords to run through? looking at the pictures, it looks like it might fit, but then again, I know NOTHING about electronics so maybe there is a reason you don't already have it in there. Just thought I'd add my 2 cents. :)
ReplyDeleteIt's amazing how sometimes the smallest changes can make such a big difference! I love it without the doors on it.
ReplyDeleteLooks great!
ReplyDeleteI love the cabinet (after)!
I LOVE what you did! The doors were pretty...but before I saw the after I thought, those doors need to go so she can show off her paint/baskets/etc. SO cute!!! I love that you hid the cords. That is my pet peeve on hanging TV's.
ReplyDeleteLove the changes you made! And I'm so impressed that you hung the TV on the wall yourself. You are fearless!
ReplyDeleteThanks for hosting!
Great job! We had to take the doors off of our TV cabinet also because some of the components for it that sat on the shelves were too deep and the doors would not close... ugh. Yours looks nice, mine does not unfortunately. I wanted Hubby to just mount the TV to the wall but he's from the old school of putting a TV in a huge cabinet. Does not suit me or my decor but that's life.
ReplyDeleteDi
The Blue Ridge Gal
fantastic!!! understand where the big holes get drilled
ReplyDeletebut couldn't find a cheap drill bit...........and can't figure how you hide the cords from the PVR etc that go into the TV................that is the scarey bit for those of us too afraid to try...............i see a broken TV and a wall full of holes.............please help
Perfect! I love that you hung the TV, took the doors off and painted the back. An amazing change for only $50. Love how the smallest changes can make the biggest difference.
ReplyDeleteIt looks awesome! And I'm lovin those "jute balls" you made- I'll have to try that! Dumb question: could you go into a little more detail on how you got the wires from one hole to the next? That seems like it would be incredibly difficult to do.
ReplyDeleteHave you thought of finding a large square basket with a lid to hide the subwoofer in? I am planning to try that myself but not sure yet if the sound would be affected being inside of the basket. Maybe not if its not a tight weave.
Looks awesome!
ReplyDeleteLove it! It looks SO awesome! I will have to keep that in mind in our new house!
ReplyDeleteEverything came out fabulous! I love the look of the table without the doors. It also looks much better with the baskets on the bottom shelf, since they carry more visual weight (it looked cluttered when they were up higher). All in all, great job. I wish I had the motivation to tackle a project like that. Loved the extra detail about rehanging the TV mount twice because you messed up. That sounds like me! lol
ReplyDeleteLooks awesome! You did good.
ReplyDeleteThese are so much fun!!! You did a GREAT job with this project. . .you really inspire me :)
ReplyDeleteHi Sarah--
ReplyDeleteYour TV and your cabinet look so much happier with the flat screen mounted on the wall! Great job!
I linked up a project that I just finished this week. And after I entered the link, I realized I had called it "Family Planning Center." That's what it is--a planning center for our family--but "family planning" is not exactly what I meant to say. Oh well.
Hope you have a wonderful week! I wish I could come to your presentations. If Indiana were a little closer, I'd come to see you for sure!
Great Post! Tv looks great! I awarded you the Sunshine Award! Go to my blog to grab the award and send it off to others who inspire you!
ReplyDeleteFab after!! You clever girl, always thinking of something.
ReplyDeleteSpeaking of thinking... You always mention that corner fireplace... what if you close off the top (dry wall) so there is a wall on top instead of open space?? Then you could hang a super cute frame you find at the Goodwill?
Thanks for hosting!
I love the cabinet with the doors off. A great change over.
ReplyDeleteWow! What a change! Looks fabulous! = )
ReplyDeleteMuch better! I'd be nervous to hang the t.v. mount myself. Well done! :) Love the jute balls too! Cute!
ReplyDeleteLove the change!! What a difference hanging the TV on the wall and opening up that cabinet! Good Job!
ReplyDeleteWow(!), everything looks great, Sarah !! From the wall mounted TV to the jute balls ... beautiful !! The cabinet looks great w/o the doors, too ... really opens it up and allows for your pretty baskets and collectibles to be showcased. Thanks for hosting such a fun gathering, and for letting me share my breakfast room additions !! Take care, Becca (Adventures in Decorating)
ReplyDeleteLove it....you did an awesome job on everything!!!
ReplyDeleteDarla
The Prim Patch
Fabulous job, Sarah! It looks 110%better! Great vision to turn drab to fab!
ReplyDeleteThat looks so fantastic! :)
ReplyDeleteThat turned out great!
ReplyDeleteI watched Y&R since I was a kid and my Memaw had it on everyday. However, when Adam stole Sharon's baby, I stopped watching and haven't watched since. That whole story line was so sick and it really crossed a line.
Fantastico! What a difference!
ReplyDeleteFabulosity ! You're an inspiration girl ! Can't wait to meet next week, yay!
ReplyDeleteAs always...fabulous! Do you get tired of hearing that? lol
ReplyDelete~Cheryl
What a great job of hanging the TV, I'm IMPRESSED!
ReplyDeleteOne question about the drilling part...did you have to drill 2 holes? One to drop the cord down behind the wall (the hole you showed us) and then did you have to drill another one near the outlet in order to plug in the TV? Obviously, this is sooo intimidating!
Isn't it amazing that little changes can make a big difference! I love the look of the mounted tv and am super impressed that you did it without your hubby. Thanks for sharing
ReplyDeleteGirl, you are amazing! You can do anything! A fabulous transformation. It looks so cozy now. Joan @ Americana By Candlelight
ReplyDeleteLooks great and less cluttered! You inspire me with every post!
ReplyDeleteI hear you on the electronics/woofer thing. They are a pain to decorate around, but I couldn't live without them either. Currently our woofer is behind a curtain, but I want to change those but can't because I haven't figured out what to do with the woofer.....
ReplyDeleteWe deco chicks have the same problems all over the world.
But you did great on the tv cabinet! I am sure a neat woofer fix is in your future soon.
The TV looks so much bertter on the wall. and I love the cabinet without the doors. Thanks for hosting again.
ReplyDeleteLove the change...I would have never thought to do that! Looks great and much brighter. :-) Clever covering the styrofoam with jute!
ReplyDeleteLooks fabulous. Great idea to mount the TV and love that you took off the doors. Great before and after!
ReplyDeleteChelsea
That all turned out wonderful!!
ReplyDeleteGreat party this week.
thanks for hosting.
barbara jean
I linked up, but when i copied your HTML code it would not work.
ReplyDeleteMight be operator trouble on my part. =)
thanks
barbara jean
Love it!!!! I love seeing how to mount the tv because we are looking at buying oen to hang on the wall in our kitchen.
ReplyDeleteIt looks great, Sarah! I love little makeovers like this. :) I'm a little late to the party this morning, but looking forward to checking out the links today. :)
ReplyDeleteLooks Great!
ReplyDelete-FringeGirl
Wow! I love what you did! And what a wonderful and creative use of space! Happy week!...Debbie
ReplyDeleteLooks a zillion times better! Little changes, big impact. Wish I had something to link up!!
ReplyDeleteJanell
Looks so much better. Gives you that airy feeling.
ReplyDeleteWow! What a difference! It feels so open now-like a breath of fresh air!
ReplyDeleteMy hubby has been trying to talk me into hanging the tv on the wall and I'd ben resisting...until NOW-lol...
Can someone share w/ me how to do the mcklinky thing? I'd love to joing and show our weekend project but scared I'll post it on there wrong-someone share with me? :)
That new arrangement looks great. The TV lifted off the cabinet makes a cleaner look altogether.
ReplyDeleteI recently 'dealt with' our gargantuan subwoofer by making a slipcover out of burlap that was a close color to the wall behind it. The burlap is loose weave enough that my husband does not complain about sound distortion and the color makes it almost disappear!
--Vicki K.
WOW! That looks awesome. What a difference.
ReplyDeleteMy husband mounted our TV last month (mostly to get it farther away from little fingers) and I love that the wires are hidden! It looks so much cleaner to have it off the table. We also have a huge box thing from the sound system that I never know what to do with. Every place I suggest moving it to gets vetoed....
ReplyDeleteGreat job moving stuff around! It's like a fresh breath of air, right? :)
Love the new look. We have mounted 3 tvs upstairs that way...very easy. I see someone else already commented about possibly putting the sub woofer in the cabinet. Not sure if it would fit or not.
ReplyDeleteLooks great! Love me some Y&R too. When is Adam going to be exposed? He makes me crazy. Is Sharon pregnant in real life? She's wearing lots of black and no tummy shots.
ReplyDeleteIt looks so nice. So neat and tidy. Since we bought our flat-screen I have toyed around with doing this, but wasn't sure. I think I'm sold.
ReplyDeleteOh man. Seriously Adam is crazy and I can't wait until he's exposed and Sharon finds out who he really is!
ReplyDeleteI love your changes, but I need to admit something - I hate putting that big of holes in my wall! I have our bedroom tv mounted and love it, but I'm not brave enough to hide the cord. I admire your bravery :)
What a change!! Looks great! I'm with Yvette and feel silly asking this. Did you feed the cords down through the wall and drill another hole near the electric and cable outlets?
ReplyDeleteLooks really good! I have a similar set up and was not going to put TV on wall because of cords - what a great fix!
ReplyDeleteThanks for hosting!
Love your blog!!! I have read back and just love your style (and your writing!) I have been blogging for two years and am trying to get to where it is something I maybe could get paid to do someday. I am even trying to break into the decorating scene, and I love your tips! I too do not want to do the schooling necessary, so I am starting small, and we will see where it goes from there!
ReplyDeleteLove the tv stand. It looks more modern and open now and neat. TVs are definately can be an eyesore but in your room the your eye is drawn to the beautiful fireplace rather than the tv. I have a flat screen also and it is still sitting on tv stand. It just seems monumental task to hang it for some reason. Love your blog.
ReplyDeleteCarey
Love how you changed the tv table. It looks more modern and open now. Love the jute balls as well. I have a flat screen that is still sitting on a tv stand. It just seems like a monumental task to hang it. Love your blog.
ReplyDeleteCarey
Wow, that makes a world of difference! Love it! I love your blog, I get so much inspiration from you! I am going to be moving in a month and I am just itching to decorate. I keep browsing your blog to get ideas!
ReplyDeleteLOVING what you did with the tv. I think that is one of the hardest things to work around when you have surround sound speakers. It really brightens the room up! I may have to steal an idea or two from you.
ReplyDeleteDIVINE!!! I love the way it turned out. It inspires me to do the same with mine... maybe! I love how you accessorized it--maybe I'll just work on the accessorizing part until I have the money for the wall mount. I'll be sure to post a before & after when I do! :)
ReplyDeleteI love how you hid the cords! That's the only reason I haven't hung our TV. When I showed my husband what you did, he about died! "She drilled TWO holes in the wall??" It made so much sense to me--don't know why he couldn't see it. Men!
ReplyDeleteIsn't it amazing how such a small change can make a huge difference and even "add space" visually to your room? It turned out great!
ReplyDeleteI don't see the obvious question here--what to re-purpose those cute little doors as? They have such great lines. I'd paint them robin's egg blue, distress the paint, and cut mirrors to fit behind them. Or attach something to the bottom that can support a candle or vase and use them as wall sconces. Or build a shadow box with 1x4s and attach them to that.
ReplyDeleteI love the vase and the fillers! Can't help but love anything jute, I use it all over as decor.
ReplyDelete