Today, I'm sharing a quick and easy way to upcycle an old entertainment center with mineral paint. It cost me less than $10 to give new life to this piece.
A few months ago, we took a room in our basement and created a small home gym for our family.
We had all the gym equipment we needed, but one thing was missing.
We needed a place to put our mini fridge as well as miscellaneous gym equipment that we didn't want showing.
And we also wanted a place to put a small TV for video workouts as well.
The new modern tv stands were too open, so I was hoping to find an old dresser or cabinet that wasn't too big.
While scrolling through the Facebook marketplace, I saw a small wooden TV stand that would fit perfectly in our home gym. The marketplace is a great way to find affordable items for your home!
Here's how we created this repurposed TV stand for our Home Gym.
Table of Contents
How to Upcycle an Old Entertainment Center
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I found this wooden entertainment center on the marketplace.
I loved the fact that it was real wood and the size was just perfect.
But the finish was a bit too traditional for our home gym.
Since we have lighter wood tones in this room, that mahogany finish made the piece feel out of place.
I loved that there were cabinet doors so that things could be hidden away.
And even with glass doors, it's a great idea to control the clutter a little bit by placing them away from the surfaces.
Of course, you can never have enough extra storage space!
After placing the feet on cardboard, the first thing I did was prep the piece for painting.
I removed the shelves from inside the cabinet.
After that, I gave it a nice wipe down before applying the mineral paint.
Why use Mineral Paint?
I am a huge fan of mineral-based products. We have used Lime wash for our exterior as well as mineral paints for the rooms in our home.
By using natural minerals from the earth, paint mixed with binders make it super durable with fantastic adhesion.
We recently painted our stair handrail with mineral paint and it holds up beautifully!
Plus, minimal prep work is needed unless there is a glossy surface, which would need to be sanded and/or primed.
After wiping down the cabinet, the next step was to paint it.
This little palm paint brush is a favorite of mine, along with this project paint tray.
I wanted to continue the black theme in this room, so I chose a flat black paint color that fit nicely. Fusion's Mineral Paint in Coal Black worked perfectly
I painted 2 coats on the entertainment center.
I focused on the outside of the cabinet, center shelved and insides of the doors, but for the insides of the cabinets, I just gave it one coat.
So a simple, fresh coat of paint was just what this piece needed.
After the paint fully dried, I replaced the knobs with some shiny silver ones that worked better in this room.
Here's how the upcycled entertainment center looks now!
It's not a big difference, but enough that fits better with this room.
We placed an old gaming console on the top shelf.
All the components and controllers are in the basket in that bottom section.
Eventually, we would love to replace this dated TV and hang a flat screen TV on the wall, but that will have to come later.
But for now, this is just what this room needed!
If you want to see the full reveal of the home gym, you can read all the details in this post.
Frequently Asked Questions
What else can an old TV unit be used for?
An old entertainment unit can be upcycled for many different uses.
If you have young children, a great project would be a toy kitchen for a little girl or boy. Here's a great tutorial for a play kitchen if you want to check it out.
Another idea would be to create a kitchen island, which would work perfectly for a small kitchen.
An electric fireplace insert would be a great option if you have a built-in cabinet that needs to be updated.
Add doors for a small linen closet, or add a pad and create a changing table.
When you repurpose old furniture, think outside the box than the original purpose. By taking a useful piece of furniture and finding a new way to use it in your home that works for you is the best part of DIYs!
So if you are tired of your old cabinet, or found one at a thrift store or garage sale that you want to update, then I hope these great ideas helped you out!
I have a huge treat for you all! I am joining a few of my friends as we are each sharing something that we are updating, making over, or refreshing in our homes. We're calling it New Again, where we are giving new life to something.
So be sure to check out all the fun projects below!
New Again
A Life Unfolding
Styling Vintage Pieces in Your Home
Cribbs Style
Giving New Life to a Thrifted Rooster
Noting Grace
How to Upcycle an Entertainment Center
Sand Dollar Lane
How to Make a Rustic Wooden Candle Holder
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Libbie Burling
Jen,
What a great upcycle! Perfect for holding that mini-fridge. I love it when an upcycle combines pretty and practical. 🙂
Leen Curinga
It turned out looking so good, Jen! I love your ideas for other uses for old entertainment centers too, great ideas!