Upcycled Coffee Table Armoire

Irma | mycreativekneads
by Irma | mycreativekneads
9 Materials
$150
3 Days
Easy

When a coffee table and TV cabinet stand meet, the end result is a perfect French Country inspired armoire.

My $15 Goodwill find

I love big legs and I cannot lie 😂 and the legs and ornate edges of this beat up coffee table made my heart happy! I don’t scare easily if the piece I’m purchasing is beat up because it only means I get to create it to my liking. My original plan for this coffee table was to refinish it, paint it, and use it in my living room. Little did I know that it was going to turn into something other than a coffee table.

Details

These are the legs and the ornate edges that warmed up my heart 😍 I knew that once I painted it, the details of the table would be much more visible and they’d stand out more.

The beast

So, about 3 months after purchasing the coffee table, I went to an antique estate sale and found this TV cabinet stand. It didn’t have a base but I didn’t care. I loved the details of the wood and loved the simple hardware on the doors. No lies, this thing must weigh between 80 to 100 lbs. I thought it would look perfect sitting on top of my coffee table, which was also a heavy and solid piece. Thank goodness I hadn’t painted it yet because now I’d be able to paint them together as one piece, and use it as an armoire in my bedroom. I was so excited to get started!

My color choices

I love Annie Sloan chalk paint because it’s easy to use and truly doesn’t require a lot of prep work. The most important task is to clean the surfaces of the areas before painting but that is all. Where I live, I can’t get Annie Sloan so I purchased it from Amazon. I already had and chose to use Paris Grey for the base color and Cocoa to add details and shading. I also used Annie Sloan’s clear wax and dark wax for added dimensions.

Brushes

I used an Annie Sloan round brush and a chip brush from the Dollar Tree. I find that using chip brushes when I do a dry brush method of painting (using very little paint on the brush), works wonderfully.

Work in progress

As you can see, the details of the table stand out much more after painting it. Using the dry brush method, I used Cocoa to add shading. The darker areas you see around the edges and the legs are where I dry brushed. I typically do this in areas where I think normal wear and tear would occur. I also mixed both paint colors to create more dimension, as well as a washing technique. With the washing technique method, I dilute the paint with water (consistency is a little thicker than plain water) to thin it and then with a wet lint free rag, I dip it into the thinned paint, squeeze out the excess and with a wash/wipe movement, I lightly wipe the entire surface. I think this creates a softer appearance and blends the colors nicely. When I apply several layers of paint, I ensure to layer each color lightly before I apply the next layer. This creates a more natural appearance, and prevents it from just looking like it has one thick layer of paint. Less is more!

The finished project

The finished product! I think it turned out so beautiful and it was the finish I was aiming for. I applied the clear wax first to the entire armoire and used the dark wax for details. I also ended up purchasing from Amazon, faux wood appliqués for the doors. I felt like the doors needed a little more detail to tie it in with the coffee table. I didn’t mount the TV stand to the coffee table, I only placed it on top of it. Both pieces were solid and very heavy, so I think that’s why its held up but you may want to use brackets to secure them. I hope this inspires you to create an armoire for yourself. Please come visit me on instagram —-> https.//www.instagram.com/mycreativekneads/

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  • Becky Becky on Jul 20, 2019

    It's stunning! Did you also paint the interior of the cabinet? And did you take the doors off to paint them?

  • Thammy Thammy on Jul 21, 2019

    I did something like that but with a china cabinet over a drawer unit. Mi problem are the doors and lateral sides. Any sugestions?

  • Sande Sande on Jul 12, 2021

    Brilliant idea!!!😃👍👍👍

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