This past spring, I bought an entertainment unit off of Kijiji for $15.  The unit was custom-built by the previous owner and very sturdy.  The unit itself rests on a base that has a decorative molding around the outside of it and the top molding piece can also be removed. You would never know it when you see the unit assembled, but it certainly makes the heavy piece easier to move when it can be somewhat dismantled.

Original T.V. Entertainment Unit:

As you know, these types of cabinets are virtually becoming obsolete with the influx of flat screen televisions.  You can often find melamine or veneer type units on Kijiji for cheap, but it is rare to find one that is of such good quality for so little.

The is the original entertainment unit.

Project Preparation:

We dismantled the main pieces of the unit and then I:

• used TSP to thoroughly clean the surface
• rinsed the TSP off with a clean cloth and bucket of water
• gave the entire surface a very light sand (220 grit) to scuff-up the surface for proper adhesion of paint
• primed the entire surface
• we replaced the glass shelf with two wood shelves in the “tower” part of the unit
• we also cut a shelf and front molding for installation in the area where the television was kept

Final Touches:

I decided to paint the unit red with the intent on it becoming a major furniture piece in my son’s room.  I had 2/3’s of a quart left over from when I originally painted his room.  The original red I used was called Lyon’s Red (Benjamin Moore).  I got one good coat done and most of a second, but being red, it really needed a third coat to get proper coverage.  I was feeling that the original red was slightly pinkish and I wasn’t totally loving it.  I needed to buy another quart to finish the unit properly and decided to go with a very slightly different red.  You can hardly notice the difference b/w the stripe on his wall and the red unit, but the final project is exactly the hue I was looking for.  I love, love, love this red ~ Benjamin Moore Caliente (AF-290). The colour in the photo looks a bit blotchy, but it is not ~ the paint coverage is very even.  Originally, I had planned to cover the back, but decided to wait to see what it looked like with his wall behind.  I think that once everything is inside it will be fine, but I can always go back and add a back if we find it a problem.

Finished Project

I purchased some canvas totes for the tower and plan to books in the shelves where the television used to sit. The total cost of this project was about $70 ($15 for unit,$30 for wood and $25 for paint). The prep work was a bit time intensive, but the actual modifications/building was minimal.  Look for the cabinet in the upcoming post on my son’s completed Hockey Themed Room.

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