It's funny to remember how large, bulky, yet sometimes stylish televisions were before the era of HDTVs took displays from the floor onto our walls. We still remember our childhood 80's RCA floor console TV taking up about the same amount of room as 40" HDTV flat panels all lined up. Sometimes you'll still find one of these wonderful relics of TV's past in basements, garages or thrift stores, many not in working order. Here's an idea of repurposing it for another decade of use...
Over at The Spotted Fox blog, a vintage loving couple reimagined a Silvertone television as something to permanently broadcast a good time to be had:
My girl Bethany and her husband Dylan have a wonderful love for all things vintage. Their entire house is filled with nostalgic little beauties and retro reading material. I should know, I've been housesitting for them the last two weeks!They recently purchased this INCREDIBLE Silvertone TV and repurposed it into the most badass bar I've ever seen.
It's not the first time this has been done, as proven by this past post of another Vintage TV Turned Dry Bar from a few years back.
If a bar isn't your thing, how about gutting out the old telly and converting it into an aquarium?
Via Man Made DIY
Images: The Spotted Fox
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Recipe: Ham, Cheddar & Chive Egg Bakes
Now THAT is cool! Very original :)
I would love to make a small business of taking these old behemoths and taking out the tube and putting in an LCD. I think there are a FEW people out there who would love the smash of old and new.
I think that would be a good business. I think more than a few would like that combo. A wonderful re-imagining . . . . .
The TV from The Spotted Fox is actually my TV. My husband and I want to make these for people as a business. Our TV has been reposted on Pinterest and on websites like this one and I try to let everyone know not do this themselves unless they know what they are doing. These old TVs hold a charge even if they haven't been turned on in years. You can get electrocuted if you don't know how to displace the charge.
My TV is a TV inside a TV http://twitpic.com/2nnu16
The hard thing about making a business out of it (I would like to) is the total cost: people charge a lot for "classic retro TVs" and a basic LCD costs ~$300, plus the labour: for it to be worthwhile, you would have to charge ~$500.
Furthermore sourcing the old TVs is irregular (so you couldn't guarantee anyone that you could sell them one).