Michelle had been searching for a media console since she moved into her condo, something to replace the modern IKEA piece that came with her home. When she saw the above piece listed on Craigslist for only $40, she immediately headed out to purchase it. She knew that after a little TLC, it would be the perfect addition to her home.
You can see from these close-ups that this piece needed some work- the top was scratched and watermarked, some trim on the front was missing, and there was damage to the veneer at the base.
Michelle stripped and sanded before restaining the piece. She repaired the missing trim with a most ingenious plan — she glued in wooden chopsticks cut down to size to fill the gap. The damaged veneer was removed and that panel replaced. Michelle also replaced the missing inner shelf with one cut to size at her favorite home store, then stained to match. The final result is a beautiful piece that looks ready to face another few decades of use.
See more: Sweetsuite 10: Refinished Living Room Media Console
(Images: Michelle/Sweetsuite 10)
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Lovely! Nice job.
Great job!
What a gorgeous piece! You did a great job.
Great style and good eye on this console :)
Beautiful, beautiful job!!!! ENJOY!!!!!!!!!!
i too would have picked up this piece on craigslist!..you show great creativity on repairing the damaged areas.
So glad to see you didn't just paint it!
Echoing Aliru: I was dreading to see a painted 'after'. So relieved you didn't. You truly gave a new life to a great piece.
Wow. it looks great. and bare. After seeing how you found and restored this piece, I'm sure you will do an amazing job styling it. it needs some vertical pieces on either side of the tv. stack of books, tall vases, a couple low items in front. ;)
Well done! It was a beautiful piece to begin with and you brought it back to life.
How refreshing to see an 'After' that doesn't include white paint, stencils, and glass knobs.
It's an extraordinary piece, and I am thrilled it was restored.
But... I just wish that the restoration had kept it as close to the original as possible. Originally, it had a matte finish, and now it's glossy; as well, it used to have more of an orange stain in keeping with what looks to be mahogany veneer, and now, it is stained walnut brown. Really preferred the original finishes.
It looks great!
Hi Everyone,
I’m Michelle from Sweetsuite10. Thanks very much for your kind words about my console - I'm really quite pleased with it!
Like some of you I'm not really a fan of painted wood, however I have seen some lovely pieces that have been treated that way. I'd rather try to keep the original wood look unless the finish is quite beyond repair. I have some bedside tables that I'll be working on in future that may end up getting painted if I can't repair the veneer :)
@MsChatelaine - I appreciate your comment. Yes I used a semi-gloss polyurethane - it was leftover from an earlier dresser project, however some of the shine is due to my less than professional photography skills - it's not quite that glossy in person. In terms of the stain colour - I'm not a fan of the orangey hue it had to start, and in all honesty it does have a factory stamp that reads 'walnut' on the back. I used stain I had on hand from my earlier dresser project - Dark Walnut by Minwax.
Thanks,
Michelle
I would like to see a different picture.
You did a beautiful job.
Absolutely gorgeous. Showing good taste in refinishing rather than painting.
Looking Good!!
Nice work!
Very nice! I would love to see a post that explains how to repair veneer.
Beautiful! I love that she improvised with chopsticks.
I'm loving all of the refinished wood projects lately.
Wonderful work! Love it!
Why not just paint it?
I kid, I kid! Chopsticks, great idea.
well done!
(cool it, marycooksalot, lol!)
i have some repair work similar to yours and had no idea how I was going to go about it chopsticks are brilliant!!! you did a wonderful job and thanks for the tip!
Looks really nice; maybe too nice for a TV stand. Might want to keep looking for something for the TV.
Wow, two in a row! See, folks it doesn't always have to be paint...
The chopstick idea was inspired. I love a finished piece with a great story.
Really, really pretty. Love the chopsticks, love the stain color, love that you put in all the effort to refinish it.
Was dreading the after, but I LOVE it. Well done.
Nice.
Simple and pretty.