storage unit before & after

I was recently given a f-r-e-e little entertainment unit. No offense, generous donor, but it had to be changed - completely. I was in search of storage furniture before the move for my new studio, so this was majorly welcomed and did I mention, free? It's short, so it's got a great working surface on top and lots of storage room beneath. Here's the lovely beast before.

 Pulled out the drawer, took off the doors & hardware. Here's the hinges that needed a little TLC!

Wooden door & drawer pulls

I didn't even sand this sucker. Well, I did wipe it down. I had thought about distressing it, so the thought of this nice brown paint peeking out from underneath the aqua didn't bother me. I used Rustoleum's Universal Paint & Primer in One to coat the inside. One can didn't quite cut it, but it's the inside and it's going to have junk in it, right? 

 The most transformative phase in any redo is the addition or change of color. For example...

 I painted the doors & drawer the same, and this thing seriously took on a new life.

Here's a side-by-side of the before & after. 

I left the wooden feet brown & may someday do something else to them.

Loading up the unit after moving it into the new studio. You can see here that the old wooden handles were replaced with beautiful antique-looking glass knobs. It's almost like a Tiffany jewelry box.

The piece sustained a little damage during the move, along with a certain little one attacking it with a pencil. I wasn't totally heartbroken because I had thought about distressing it anyway. 

So, I went with it.

All I did to give the hinges a facelift was soak them in soap & water to clean them up, then hit them with some black spray paint. They're as good as new!

This is one of my favorite pieces in our house!