the armoire reveal

Ok, people. Let's recap.

I'd been stalking the aisles of Value Village for some time, looking for an armoire to transform to add some storage to our bedroom. The armoire that actually goes with our bedroom furniture retails for $1000 and isn't even that big. And well, that just wasn't happenin'.

In April, I finally located my prey. An big, ugly, part wood, part laminate entertainment center for $59.



I convinced Rocket Man and an unsuspecting friend to haul it home for me. They laughed at my optimism. I immediately began searching for wallpaper on the internet for the recessed panels.



In May, I gave refinishing it the good old college try, as part of the Procrastinator's Party on The Inspired Room . I got a good start, but then, life got busy and it sat and sat.

A few weeks ago, after a particularly draining mommy-day, Rocket Man took the kids to the pool and I got busy with my wallpaper. I finished the doors and reinstalled them.

It's not completely finished. I still need to crackle the sides. But I've done a few other smaller crackle projects in the meantime, and my crackle skills have improved. Which is good, because it is kinda hard and I was kinda sucky at it in the beginning. Thankfully Tami from Pixeltrashmania left me a comment that totally inspired me.

The good thing about crackle though is that it isn't supposed to be perfect. Have you ever seen paint crackle all over perfectly in an aged piece? No. So don't worry about that!

That totally got me over my fear of imperfect crackling. Thank you, Tami!



So here she is:


That's blue tape on the floor.

What do you think? I may distress that darker blue area with some dabbed on white. Not sure yet.

Also, there is no back, so I didn't show you the inside. (I painted the inside of the doors white and wallpapered the inside panels. I didn't do anything else to the inside. No one else will see it but me.) The back was particle board and had a huge cut-out for a big TV, so I need Rocket Man to cut some plywood to cover things up back there. Then I'm going to hot glue some fabric to cover it up. And I need to add a clothes rod.

I may switch out the upper knobs for something a little dangly-er. They look a little lost to me. Or maybe a tassel or something.

And of course, like all of my home improvement projects, there is a chain of things that has to happen to get this thing in the place where it actually belongs. We have to get the computer and desk out of our bedroom. So Rocket Man has to build an office nook in the basement, which involves knocking down a few walls and a giant mess, but he can't do that until he re-does the bathroom in the basement (which has issues and can't be used right now). So the armoire is crammed in a corner of my bedroom where it's a tad in the way. But one day, in the next 10 years or so, it will have a permanent home next to the bed. (Is it like this at anyone else's house? Drives. Me. Crazy.)

But here you have it, my dream come (pretty much) to fruition. Quite a transformation and not bad for a $59 investment, right?