Here’s a teaser of the final product. But this isn’t what it originally looked like. In fact it looked very, very different.
My fist impression was that someone had left their garbage in the front yard with the hope someone would take it. The box sat there for several days because who in their right mind would want THAT.
It was an OLD TV. Like the kind I remember from when I was five. The kind you actually had to walk up to in order to turn the dial to change the channels.
If you don’t have similar memories then I don’t like you because you probably don’t have any wrinkles yet either. You probably don’t remember listening to things like the Care Bears Christmas album on a record player either, but that’s another story.
This kind of TV that only had 13 or 14 channels and only half had a signal.
I was not initially inspired, thus I too drove past it on my merry way for several days. But I recently saw Beckie’s transformation of a similar piece on her blog Infarrantly Creative , which got my little brain churning. If she could do it… What’s to lose? So in the middle of a horrific rain storm, the kind we only get two or three times a year, I zoomed over to the curb on which this pathetic thing sat.
I’m the polite kind of scrounger so I ran up to the door, still in my exercise clothes, my hair barely brushed and in a pony tail, and rang the doorbell. They said I could have it for free as well as a gun cabinet they had just thrown in a dumpster in the driveway. See its transformation into a dining room hutch here.
The couple at the home were getting ready to move and getting rid of a lot of stuff. They were happy to help me load my finds into the back of my minivan. The only problem, particularly with the TV was that it was too heavy to get out of the car by myself.
Like it was full of rocks, REALLY HEAVY.
Not wanting to wait until my sweet Sports Addict got home (because he would think I had finally lost my mind), I decided to just start gutting it right there in the car with the hope that once it was gutted I could muscle the frame out myself.
After about a bazillion screws and cutting lots of wires it came.
Some of the guts
After about an hour’s worth of work and just a few scratches, I successfully extracted the shell from the minivan. Remember a lot of this was going on in intermittent rain. No worries though. My neighbors already know I’m nuts.
At this point I was just hoping this wasn’t a huge mistake. But if Beckie could do it…
Thus pushing ahead I used scraps of materials in the garage to make a box inside the shell. Since I thought it would be nice to use for piano music I decided to put in vertical dividers. I just hate it when books fall over into a pile and I’ve found vertical dividers on shelves really help with this. It also made sense since sheet music is often very tall.
Vertical dividers before getting their front edge trim
I also trimmed out the front to hide the plastic molding used to attach the TV to the frame.
Molding to hide the unsightly edges of the TV shell
So after caulking it was finally ready to prime and paint.
I didn’t put the back on until the end so I could paint from both the front and back. It made it easier to paint the interior. I used some Kilz 2 primer I had on hand and some “oops” paint I mixed together to get this lovely grayish-blue.
Once that was dry I went over the whole piece with a cream color I used on my roadside mirror. I just dry brushed on the cream color, highlighting the molding of the old TV shell and giving it a little bit of a brushed over look.
In the end my wonderful Sports Addict is no longer questioning my sanity, and I have a beautiful new hutch for holding all the piano music that used to be spilling over the top of the piano.
The best part though it that it was 100% FREE.
I didn’t spend a single cent on this. Everything I used was already in the garage either from old projects or left from previous owners of the home. Not only did I save at least part of the TV from the landfill, but I reused items that might have eventually been thrown away in the garage. Free and better for the environment. I’m just going to go pat myself on the back again as I admire my new living room furniture.
April
CAUTION: I’ve been told there is a part in some of these old TV’s that may hold a charge even if the TV has been unplugged for a while. Taking one of these apart could result in electrocution.
I’m Linking to:
Creations by Kara, We are THAT Family, Someday Crafts, My Backyard Eden, Between Naps on the Porch, Domestically Speaking, Todays Creative Blog, The Gypsy’s Corner , Frou-FruGal , Beyond the Picket Fence , Mustard Seed Creations , Funky Junk Interiors , Metamorphosis Monday @ Between Naps on the Porch , Made by You Mondays @ Skip to my Lou , Making the World Cuter , House of Grace
This does my heart so good! To see what you have taken and what you have done with it.
Well done. And it looks beautiful into the bargain!
WOW! That’s amazing!! Absolutely beautiful! I just picked up a free chair from a neighbor’s driveway and my husband definitely thinks I’m loco.
(My cousin is James, Paula’s hubby:)
Wow! That’s beautiful! What an amazing transformation!
I love it. Now I’ll be on the lookout for an old TV!
I love this project. What kills me is how fast you get these things done. I don’t know how any of us could ever keep up with you.
Great job!
[...] Curbside TV to Living Room Feature [...]
uummm, AMAZING and IMAGINATIVE! It looks so fancy! I’ll have to keep my eye out for something like this!
Kimra
http://crafty-cove.blogspot.com
http://kimraskreations.blogspot.com
I love how you did this.. I’ve got something similar in the making I’m hoping to finish really soon. Yours looks great.
Amazing! I would never have known that was an old tv, I’ll have to look at the ones I see in the Goodwill a little more closely next time
Great transformation!
what a fantastic idea!
Amazing transformation! Smart move to make vertical dividers, practical and unique. You did a great job!
Love your little story about this tv. I can picture myself too attempting to pull that tv out while it was still in the car. Turned out beautiful!
Oh, you’re good! This turned out so great! I would have never thought of doing something like this and I know you’ll get lots of use out of it.
Be a sweetie,
shelia
I love it! You both surprised me with out wonderful they turned out!
Great find and a wonderful job transforming it, I can’t wait to see what you do with the old gun cabinet. Not only was it great because of zero $, you kept both pieces from the land fill. Thanks for sharing.
Sandy
IN-sane!!!! That is amazing!
smiles!
That is so lovely! It looks so different from the original that I would never guess that it was an old TV cabinet in it’s first life. I am sure it is very happy in it’s lovely light grey coat. That color is so beautiful, I really love it!
hugs, Cindy
[...] when someone thinks outside the box. You won’t believe what this living room table over at Home Hinges started out as. I know I was amazed. And to end on a sweet note, why don’t we all drool over [...]
This turned out so beautifully. I would like to share a little post about it on my piano teaching blog if that’s okay with you.
I think Beckie may have started a trend.
way to go. Your new piece looks fabulous!
gail
How in the world?!! To think I once took a furniture making class with you – I have officially and outrageously been left in the dust.
I am speechless…this is just….wow….So amazing!! Great job!
So glad I popped by from Made by You Mondays!
[...] idea for piano music storage while perusing my sister’s craft and cooking blog.April at Home Hinges transformed an old TV into a functional and beautiful piano music storage shelf.I love how it is [...]
Really fabulous job!!
Can I just say holy freakin cow that’s beyond awesome. I’m so in awe of stuff like this. I do’nt even own a power tool but I so want to be a handy, unafraid of powertools can fix it without a man kinda chick. I fear the saw! I have no clue how to do things like this but I so want to!
I love the new shelf!
If you do not use the knobs off that gun cabinet, I would be happy to buy them from you.
Way to be bold, going to the front door!
what a transformation! you did an awesome job!
thanks for visiting my blog!
[...] quickly remodeled it into this storage cabinet for all the piano books piling [...]
[...] A project I would definitely do if we didn’t live here. [...]
[...] Curbside TV to Living Room Bookcase [...]
[...] any Christmas decorations at all. This was quickly remedied by creating a new vignette on the TV hutch I transformed into a music [...]
Oh my gosh! that is so beautiful! I can’t believe the transformation I would totally put that in my living room. It is just gorgeous! Great Job! I love your creativity
[...] Television to Music Book Storage August 29, 2011 by admin · Leave a Comment // April from Home Hinges lugged a ginormous vintage television cabinet into the back of her car. She recognized its [...]
I am so glad that I found this wonderful article. You have no idea how happy it made me! I have had a console TV sitting in my garage for a year and did not know what to do with it…now atleast I can try something! How so very creative!
I love this idea. Just saw on old tv the other week also out for the trash. I will now be on the look out for one or two of them. Going to look on craigslist also, never know what you can find there for free stuff. How can I subscribe to your site? Would love to follow your work, you have remade so many items I would of never thought of.
What an AWESOME idea! I wouldn’t have ever thought of doing that. I love how you finished it.