Boho TV Stand Makeover

So, as of late, I've been on a DIY journey to create cozy, Bohemian style décor in my home for as little money as possible. I really just want my home to finally feel put together (décor-wise) and like it has a common theme running through it's veins.

This latest edition is a GORGEOUS Bohemian TV stand which has transformed the super sad dresser we had sitting there for the past year and a half.

Without a plan of how I could update it, I set off on an adventure...I'm glad you could come along for the ride!

You will need:

• A dresser to transform (preferably one with 3 or more drawers)
• Plywood (1/4" to 1/2" thick, anywhere in-between)
• 1x4 boards (1 or more, depending on the size of your dresser)
• 2x4 board (1 should probably be enough, even for a long dresser)
• 2" to 2 1/2" wood screws
• Wood glue (I love Gorilla Glue brand!)
• Wood filler
• 100 and 150+ grit sandpaper (however, you may need 60-80 grit if you are sanding off a finish like I was originally intending to)
• Clear Polycrylic (even if using chalk paint, I recommend this sealer as opposed to wax because it lasts longer and doesn't need reapplying)
• Jigsaw and/or circular saw
• Clamps
• OPTIONAL: Paint, in the colors you like (I chose White, Cashew, and Peacock chalk paint), unless you can do a stained wood look which would be awesome!
• OPTIONAL: Paintbrushes (I used a chalk paintbrush)
• OPTIONAL: cane/rattan or wooden screening
• OPTIONAL: Stencil

See what I mean?

We found it on the side of the road for free, and at the time we found it I was super stoked because it was in great condition (and as far as damages are concerned, it's still in great condition -- it has excellent bones)!

But over the course of a year and a half, it has slowly deteriorated as the single-slide drawers stopped working as they should, and the whole thing as-is started becoming less and less useful to us. Plus the wires for all the TV gizmos hang out everywhere and it just looks... sad, and like a hot mess.

I for sure figured out that I wanted to remove the bottom two not-working-so-well drawers, and make the top one awesome. So, let's start there!

I simply used a screwdriver to remove each knob by hand.

I love the knobs though! They do look bohemian / Moroccan (which I love), so I saved them for a different project!

My original design inspiration -- which I can't seem to find the picture again to show you despite my long search of the internet :( -- was a beautiful, warm wood, Moroccan, hand-etched, cabinet with a drawer on top, shelving on the bottom with doors in front of the shelves (the doors were arched and had wooden designer screens on them). It also had wrought iron knobs on the drawer, and pulls on the bottom doors, and it had wrought iron decorative hinges on the base.

So I started with sanding the drawer front to see what kind of wood I was working with. And low and behold, it was some sort of particleboard and not real wood!

NOOOOOoooooooo! :(

Then I looked in the inside framing of the rest of the cabinet, and it was all the same particleboard.

Well, I guess I have to for sure paint the entire thing now. Here's to throwing the wooden cabinet idea out the window...

I decided that I needed a gorgeous drawer front to compensate for the lack of real wood, so I popped off the drawer front with a screwdriver (to remove and save the screws that held it to the drawer), and a mallet. I saved the drawer front as reference to the size I needed for my new drawer front (which I still didn't know what to do with it!).

I sanded the front of the drawer with 100-150 grit sandpaper to get rid of the bumpy glue left behind from removing the drawer front.

The second picture is where we're at now.

I removed the two bottom drawer slides to make way for shelving.

Originally, I was thinking the DVD player (etc) could secretly sit inside the shelves, and since the doors were in front of it, you wouldn't really see it. But, we progress... one step at a time...

I knew I still wanted to keep along with my inspiration photo's plan and give the bottom of the dresser a solid base. This also prevents things from getting stuck under the dresser, and from my cat hiding under there.

So, to start the process, I needed to remove the feet. I simply unscrewed and twisted off the feet. I saved them for a different project (some day).

I used 1x4s (because they were the perfect height that matched the original height of the feet, so the completed TV stand would be the same height), and cut them down to perfectly sit flush along the base of my dresser. I wanted them to make the bottom of the dresser feel more grand, so I sat them flush with the outer-most part of the bottom of the dresser.

I put the two shorter ends inside the two longer ends, and then glued and screwed it together on each corner.

NOTE: I could give you the dimensions for the entire project, but seeing as you probably won't be using the exact same dresser as I have (and I can't even recommend the dresser I have because I found it on the side of the road), it probably wouldn't be beneficial to you. So I would recommend just following along with this idea, using your own dresser and your own dimensions and measurements.

I added a 2x4 in the center of the framing to give it stability and strength. I glued and screwed this in from the outside edges.

After I was done with the framing, I adhered it to the base of the dresser with strong wood glue and allowed it to dry overnight.

I also filled in the blemishes and screw holes with wood filler and painted the outside of the dresser with a mixture of about 3.5 parts white chalk paint (I had one just called "white" on hand, or you may find one called "Linen") with 0.5 part Waverly Chalk Paint in the color "Cashew." This was just to warm up the stark white color so it wasn't so bright white. If you prefer a stronger or weaker "Cashew" color, just increase or decrease the proportions according to you personal need, or use whatever color/colors you prefer!

I wanted to add every possible beautifying detail I could to this dresser, so I painted a design on to the sides of the drawer (so you could see it every time the drawer opened).

First, I painted each side with Waverly chalk paint in the color "Peacock." This is a glorious and brighter "happy" turquoise blue color!

Second, I used a mandala stencil I had on hand from Michaels. The exact one I used can be found here. Or you can pick whatever one you like -- or omit this step entirely. The choice is yours!

Lastly, I sealed it with clear Polycrylic. (Eventually, I will get to replacing the green felt that's on the bottom of the inside of the drawer, but that's another day, another project.)

Following along with my original inspiration, I really wanted to make some amazing arched doors! I just love the look of arched doors, and they feel so Moroccan-Boho and timeless!

To start the process, I looked at all the wooden and even metal "screens" available -- but they are SO expensive and I needed something a little cheaper -- like....Free.

In the basement of our rental house, I found this chair with cane backing and asked the landlord if she needed it and she said I could use it!

Score!

First, I cut it off the chair with scissors. Next, to use cane or rattan like this, you need to soak it in warm water for about half an hour to make it looser to work with. Then as it dries, it stretches perfectly and gets tight again! So I soaked it in warm water with a heavier plate over top to keep it under the water, and not floating on the surface.

To make the doors (and their arched insets that block the gaps between the doors and the opening to the shelves), I measured from the inside top of the two drawer openings combined (including the gap between the two that's closed off by a wooden spacer) to the bottom, and from one side to the other side. Then, I cut out a rectangle from plywood that would fit that space exactly.

I did this because when I cut the curve of the arched doorways, it will leave the perfectly fitting arched insets behind!

Next, I drew on the plywood rectangle the design for the doors, leaving 1" clearance all the way around the outer edge of the doors, and in-between the gaps (that will be filled with cane, as seen in the last picture of this step).

To cut out the inner parts, I used a drill with the thickest drill bit, and made holes in the corners, and then used my jigsaw to cut between those holes and along the lines, working my way back and forth until it finally came out.

Next, I sanded with 100-150 grit sandpaper, all the edges and inner parts and front and back of each door.

Then, I painted it with the same white-cashew mix I had made for painting the dresser itself in a prior step.

To add the soaked cane screening, I simply trimmed the cane to the size of the gaps + a little excess all the way around. Then, I stapled it down tightly.

After it dried fully, I painted it with the same white-cashew paint mix as the rest of the dresser.

The last picture in this step shows where we are now.

I placed the doors temporarily where they would be to add the arched insets (which were also sanded and painted) in.

I used wood glue and clamps to hold the insets in place since I didn't have any other way of attaching it to the dresser (L-brackets would be too hard to screw in from the inside of the dresser, and I couldn't screw down into the insets, but this worked GREAT). I let this sit overnight.

This is probably my FAVORITE part! I got SOOoooooo excited as I saw it finally coming together!

I measured the length and width of the original drawer front, also taking note of the placement of the holes. Then I cut a rectangular piece of plywood the same size as the drawer front.

Using additional plywood that was the same height (or width) as the drawer front, I drew my chevron and diamond designs for the wood accents. I made 4 small diamonds, 4 small chevron angles/arrows, and 8 larger chevron angles/arrows (as seen in the second picture of this step). Basically, I cut out one, and used it as a stencil to make the rest.

Next, I placed everything where I wanted it to be permanently, and traced where each piece was with a pencil (so when it's removed for the next step, I could find the placement again easily).

I sanded down the drawer front backing piece and every single accent piece with 100-150 grit sandpaper, and glued them in place with wood glue.

I didn't use clamps to keep these on the drawer backing because #1) I didn't have enough clamps to hold each and every piece, and #2) I didn't want the pieces to shift around. So, I pressed it down by hand on and off for the short amount of time Gorilla Glue requires until it holds itself in place.

The last picture of this step gives an idea of what this would look like with the drawer and two doors in place.

NOTE: There's enough texture on this drawer front to use in place of knobs for opening it, plus it looks better not having knobs too! So I left it as-is. :)

I glued the drawer front on to the top drawer, and screwed it back together exactly where it had been in the beginning (so I didn't need to drill new holes, but rather, used the ones that were already there with the screws that were already there).

I painted the rest of the dresser everywhere with the white-cashew paint mix (and I distressed parts of the paint so it showed the black through it), and I painted the inside of each opening with the Peacock blue (so it had a pretty color whenever the drawer was out on top, or whenever the doors were opened on bottom).

However, it's here my opinion changed! I put in the top drawer, and suddenly my oldest daughter and I fell IN LOVE with the look of the drawer with the open shelving on the bottom! IT WAS SO EYE-CATCHING and that's it, I didn't end up using the doors after all!

I finished it up by screwing the triple adapter piece to the bottom, back of the dresser (I should say, TV Stand) base piece to keep it off the floor and looking uncluttered with all the wires. I decided NOT to drill holes into the backing and just to hide the little DVD player and Roku (etc) behind the TV and keep the wires pulled behind the TV Stand so it looks clean!

This is where the evolution of my idea ended up and I love it! It's just so beautiful! I love it so much!

You can use this design idea for ANYTHING: a sideboard, a hutch, a long dresser, a wardrobe, etc! So much fun!

Maybe someday, I will add some wooden accents to the cane screening (because the doors as-is just kind of deflated the "wow" factor of the finished piece) and add the doors on later (like when I get tired of the open shelving décor being put back for the 100th time that day -- haha!). But in the meantime, I'm really enjoying this showstopper! People can't believe it's the same piece from before! LOVE IT!