Being Resourceful: New Furniture
Furnishing a New Place or Wanting Something New? If you have no money set aside in the budget, you will have to use your wits in order to create something great. The magic happens when you see the “potential” of something and can see it though. Here’s an entertainment credenza I “made”.
First, I checked my Pottery Barn catalog for ideas. I really like the black painted look that’s popular right now. Their entertainment credenza, pictured above, was listed for $799.00.
I checked Craigslist “Free” and saw an ad for free office furniture. Turns out they had several of them they were giving away - so I went to their warehouse and picked one up.
Craigslist Free Old Office Credenza: FREE - I went to Home Depot and purchased a 2 quarts of paint - Kilz Sealer (actually I think I got a cheaper brand) - and a good quality Gloss Paint (Black) - I also bought 2 sponge tip “brushes”. I spent a total of $11.00 for Paint / Sealer & Supplies
And Voila - A nice looking entertainment credenza inspired by an $800 Pottery Barn one. It’s not as strong or sturdy OR as “perfect”. No. The key with this is to appreciate how it looks - and treat it with loving care (don’t move too often or load it down too much) . If it gets a nick or scrape, it’s easy to touch it up since I have the paint. It only took a total of 2 days to do this project - I let it dry well between layers.
My entertainment credenza doesn’t look exactly the same as the Pottery Barn one - it’s a little different. But it’s black (hip) it’s the same shape and height and has drawers instead of doors.
Here it is:
I removed the front panel doors and chose to leave the inside part there wood-grain. The drawers are good from file storage - they are complete with hanging file rails! I really appreciate the fact that this piece is super-versatile, it can be used in a dining room as a “sideboard”, in a bedroom as a dresser / valet or like I’m using it, as an entertainment credenza.
Originally I thought I’d replace the drawer handles for an updated look. After I painted it, though I decided I liked the old brass ones so I kept them. Replacing the handles would have cost an additional $10.00.
What do you think?
I saw a similar blog post somewhere that was all about using the Pottery Barn catalog for inspiration but finding a very frugal alternative solution to decorating. If anyone can remind me of that blog post, can you send it along to me? This post was a blog-post-response and I’d love to give them credit and a link.
EDIT: Amelia over at http://www.theamelia.com reminded me where I’d seen a similar post about using the catalog for inspiration then finding a cheaper alternative. It was over at FrugalHacks.Com
Thanks!
April 19th, 2008 at 3:04 pm
That piece is GORGEOUS! Did you go straight on with the primer/sealer or did you sand the item first? I’ve heard that sometimes you have to sand an item first?
I don’t know about the Pottery Barn site, but I’m addicted to ikeahacker.com - a site that takes IKEA stuff and customizes it. What? Cheap stuff made better? YAY.
Well, it’s back to surfacing my counter tops! Woo concrete!
April 19th, 2008 at 4:11 pm
Is this the Pottery Barn post you were looking for? http://frugalhacks.com/?p=169
April 21st, 2008 at 7:06 am
That really is a great idea to look for inspiration in catalogs and then find a more resourceful alternative. Saves stuff from going to landfills and saves your wallet at the same time… gotta love it. Oh and it looks great, by the way!
April 21st, 2008 at 9:20 am
@Amelia - I actually have a lot of faith in Kilz Primer. So I just went straight to priming. I heard you can get that rich espresso wood look if you prime, paint, sand, paint, sand, stain. I haven’t tried that yet. That would be for REAL wood, not this pressed board stuff! Thanks for the link to Frugal Hacker - and thanks for the comment!
@Kookaburra - It was also a fun project! Thanks for the comment!
April 21st, 2008 at 12:25 pm
Wow Cricket that’s awesome. So basically it only cost you paint & supplies of $11.00? And of course 2 days labor, but still it was basically free? Thanks for the idea on Craigslist. I should check it out for free stuff in my area. Cool.
April 21st, 2008 at 3:14 pm
@Sue - yeah it actually took about 1/2 hour for the first coat (kilz) that includes removing the drawer pulls and stuff. Then I waited about an hour, then it took probably 15 minutes for the first coat of paint. Then I had to just be patient until the next day - I did the 2nd coat. On the 3rd day I put everything back together and started using it. It took me 2 WEEKS to come up with $11.00 for the paint and supplies. It wasn’t in my budget so I had to wait. That part wasn’t easy, because I thought the original credenza was really ugly. Now it’s worth it, however. Sometimes if we’re patient….
April 25th, 2008 at 4:54 am
oh my goodness, it’s gorgeous. my husband gets so angry with me because love to refurbish old castaway furniture. “I will buy you anything you want”, but the fun is in creating and the pride is in restoring. I also am on the constant lookout for (ahem) computer monitors or anything with a circuit board or logic board in the trash or side of the road. I have big plans to create a masterpiece desk for him and he just has no idea….
May 13th, 2008 at 11:28 am
Bean Bag Covers…
I found your site on technorati and read a few of your other posts. Keep up the good work. I just added your RSS feed to my Google News Reader. Looking forward to reading more from you….
May 22nd, 2008 at 1:14 pm
Longaberger Products…
I found your site on technorati and read a few of your other posts. Keep up the good work. I just added your RSS feed to my Google News Reader. Looking forward to reading more from you….
June 2nd, 2008 at 7:10 pm
There are always such great deals on Craigslist - specially if you are willing to wait for the right piece. Here where I live, the Pottery Barn stuff goes quick.
June 22nd, 2008 at 8:45 pm
The handles look just fine on your furniture piece, don’t bother changing unless you’re really itching to. Paint is a miracle product, you can do so much with it if you’re creative and don’t mind getting your hands dirty. Good job, you’ll have to post another furniture make-over again.
July 21st, 2008 at 7:25 pm
I think you should keep the handles on the furniture piece also, they look clean and modern.