Bland to Grand TV Stand

13 Materials
$10
4 Hours
Easy

My husband just loves it when I bring home furniture to redo. (Insert sarcasm.) Sometimes it takes me a while to get to them so they just take up space. Many of you can probably relate. Well, I finally got around to painting this little stand, and I’m really happy with how it turned out. He even liked it!

Before

Above is the before picture. I would say this is something from the ’80s or ’90s, but it is a solid piece of furniture. All it needed was a facelift.  I gave it updated hardware and used a three-color blended paint technique to give it some interest.

1 Coat China Blue

The colors I used for this makeover are General Finishes China Blue Milk Paint, GF Westminster Green and a purply mix of Black Dog Salvage Blue Ridge and Appalachian Sunset Furniture Paint. Sounds a little weird, but stick with me.


After cleaning it up and removing the hardware on the front, I gave the entire piece, inside and out, a coat of China Blue. 

Starting to blend the colors

For the next step, I worked on one section at a time so the paint was still wet. I started with the door panels.


Now, listen up—this is important. If you try this, pour some of each color paint into a separate container or cup AND use a separate brush for each color. As you are dipping and blending, the colors will naturally mix on your brush but you don’t want to dip a dirty brush back in with what is left in the can.

Doors with 3-color blend

So, with a different brush than what I used for the China Blue, I highlighted the inner edges of the panels with Westminster Green, blending where the two colors met so there was no demarcation line between the blue and the green. Sometimes I went back to the China Blue brush and alternated until I liked how it looked. With a third brush, I used the purply Black Dog Salvage mix for the center of the panels.  

The color blend is subtle but gives interest

I used the same technique on the sides, top and inside of the stand.

When that was dry I used some gold Gilders Paste, similar to Briwax Gold Gilt Cream, to highlight the edges a little. I just put it on with my finger and ran it along the edge of the area and around where the door handles would go. I thought that would go well with the new gold handles.

A touch of glimmer

I gave the entire piece two coats of General Finishes High Performance Topcoat in Satin finish and then attached the updated gold hardware.

After - a modern upgrade

I think the sheen of the topcoat and the gold handles, along with the interesting paint treatment, give this project a more contemporary look. For more details and photos, check out the complete blog link at the bottom.


I had everything on hand except the gold handles, which came from Amazon, so my actual cost for this makeover was minimal.


Do you have a project or two sitting around waiting for you to become inspired? Grab a paintbrush today and get started! 

Resources for this project:
Gilders Paste (or Briwax Gold Gilt Cream)
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Lori Haught Harper
Want more details about this and other DIY projects? Check out my blog post!
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Frequently asked questions
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  1 question
  • Elizabeth Elizabeth on Jul 04, 2019

    Pictures are SO DARK! Can you post lighter pictures so we can see the paint effect? Your 1st coat of China blue looks the SAME as your finished product!

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  • Cynthia H Cynthia H on Jul 28, 2019

    Nice job! I've done grays and whites but never a dark blue. I like the look!

  • Tiffany Lynn Embrey Tiffany Lynn Embrey on Aug 05, 2019

    I love the glittery canvas art piece on top of the cabinet. Did you, by chance, make that also? If so, will you share your technique?

    • Lori Haught Harper Lori Haught Harper on Aug 06, 2019

      Hi Tiffany - thank you, I did make that glittery art piece! A few others have asked so I will work on a tutorial for that and post a link here.

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