OMTWI Week Four: Media Dresser

And Jessica from Sunny Tuesday (who claims to not “do” furniture) made her own ribbon storage station from scratch:

My project ended up being a minor fail.  If left entirely to my own devices, I would have tried to do a more interesting paint scheme, and I would have loved to try to do some stenciling or hand painting on it.  But it had to also fit with my husband’s aesthetic, and the room it was intended to go into was already painted a rich blue and had dark woodwork, so it needed to be lighter. 

That’s not really the fail part, just the constraints.  The fail part was that Dave got the family a Blue Ray disk player for Christmas, and it didn’t have the same dimensions as our previous DVD player.  Also, after I got the whole stinkin’ thing finished, it didn’t really work in the space – it was narrower than our television, and it was elevated enough that the damaged spots on our hardwood floors was visible as well as the power strip and all the cords.  I selectively edited the photos and “prettied up” the floor and cords for submission to the contest.  Here’s what it looked like without editing:

I’m thrilled to have made it as far as I did in this competition pitted against some very talented ladies.  It’s one place further than I made it in Project Toddler Runway, so I’m movin’ up in the world!

I feel soooo lucky to have made it to the finale of One Month To Win It!  I was really on the edge of my seat for the results of last week’s voting, so thanks everyone!

For the furniture theme, I wanted to tackle the media center in our family room.  We had recently wall mounted our television, so no longer needed a unit for the TV to stand on.  I searched Craig’s list for a piece of furniture that could be repurposed to fit underneath and found this charming little antique dresser.

Now don’t go getting all upset at me for painting an antique – it wasn’t in the best of shape, and whoever had stained and sealed it previously had not done it any favors.  I used paints from the Martha Stewart line and painted the drawers fronts and side panels a high gloss buckwheat flour and the body of the dresser cast bronze.

I removed the top drawer to house our DVR and DVD players; reusing the drawer bottom to make a shelf.  I wanted the components to be somewhat hidden but still able to receive the remote control signals and also be able to access the DVD player to change disks.  To accomplish this, I built a frame and used L-brackets at the corners and a mesh screen called hardware cloth to back it.  I sprayed the hardware and screen with oil rubbed bronze spray paint to go with the new drawer pulls I installed.  The door lifts up on hinges so we’ll be able to reach the components.  I think the L-brackets give the piece a look similar to campaign furniture.

I lined the shelf and both the drawers (which had seen better days) with linen fabric decoupaged to stay in place.  The drawers will hold our DVDs, spare remotes, and a cozy blanket for snuggling up on the sofa to watch a good movie!

This has been such a fun challenge – regardless of the final outcome, it has been a pleasure to participate on One Month To Win It Season 7!