DIY Upcycle Old Buffet into New Media Console
When Ben's sister started the process of selling their house last year they got rid of a lot of furniture. This buffet had been in their family for years and we wanted it to stay in the family, so I took it and it's been sitting in the garage ever since.
We finally got some garage space cleared up after I finished the dining room table, so it seemed like it was time to tackle this!
STEP 1
Sanding!
This was the biggest and most difficult part by far. Sanding is the worst.
I took the back and bottom out, and removed the drawers and doors.
I loved how it looked after it was sanded! But I wanted a little bit of color, rather than leaving it completely natural. Which leads us to step 2.
STEP 2
Stain!
I used Varathane Antique White on the bottom and Varathane Classic Gray on the top.
I ended up deciding the top was too blue so I did a coat of Antique White and then a coat of English Walnut on the top.
Then I stained the drawers and put those back in, too.
I also stained the bottom and put that back in and used my nail gun to secure it down. I decided to leave the back off so it would have a more open look.
I had these drawer pulls from when I was making charcuterie boards. I really loved them and they were the exact right size! So I attached those to the drawers.
STEP 3
Doors!
This is where things got interesting.
My original idea was to build a barn-type door that would slide across. I even went so far as to build the barn door (I also accidentally nail-gunned it into my work bench, but that's not relevant to this part).
But then I realized there wasn't enough space above it to attach the sliding hardware, so I had to scrap that idea. I was really sad, I still think this would've looked great as a sliding door. But this gave me a chance to get creative! I also now have a 15x18" barn door if anyone needs it haha
I thought about turning this barn door into a hinged door, but I knew from my experience building Leo's play kitchen that building a hinged door was SUPER hard. So I didn't want to do that. My only real option was to use the original doors. But I hated the paneling in them. The front panels were raised, which I didn't like. But the back of the panels were flat, which I thought I could turn into a barn door type thing!
So I decided to see if I could take them apart and flip the panels. Turns out, you totally can!
This is the original door with the raised panels.
I flipped the door over, took a hammer and loosed the side piece.
A few more good hits with the hammer and I was able to get all the pieces apart!
I pulled the panels and the middle divider part out, flipped the panels over, put them back in and sanded it all down.
Then I cut a piece of wood to go across and give it that "barn door" feel. I used wood glue and my nail gun to secure it down.
Isn't that amazing!? I'm not going to lie I was VERY proud of myself for problem-solving the heck out of this!
Then I filled in all the nail holes, put another drawer pull on the door, stained it, put a coat of polyurethane on everything and...
TA DA!
Our brand- new (to us) upcycled media console!
We took it down to the basement where it's going to live. The lighting in the basement made it look a little bit browner, which I really like!
I honestly did not have high hopes for this project at the beginning, but I ended up really loving it! I still am a little sad I couldn't do a sliding door, but I think it still looks pretty great.
#diy #upcycle #diybuffet #buffettomediaconsole #diyfurniture #furnitureupcycle