My husband and I LOVE a good DIY project. We really are bad for each other because we fuel the need to find new projects to try in our free time? And every parent knows that we have so much free time to spend - can I get an amen?!?
But this DIY project I'm about to share with you may be my FAVORITE to date, as a homeowner of 18 years! And trust me, I've had my fair share of DIY projects.
I love our family room! It is in the back of the house and attached to the kitchen so our family spends the majority of our time in this room. But I hated how dark it was all the time because of the dark stain on all the wood, dark brick fireplace and dark beams. All of these things by themselves I LOVE but considering we don't get any natural light in this room, all of it together was too much of a dungeon feel. And because the room is so large, it didn't feel cozy at all.
Here is a pic of the first week we moved in just to show you how dark it was in late afternoon:
Priorities within a month of moving in we moved the tv up on the wall and removed the wallpaper:
Then for almost 3 years I ignored the darkness because there were other things to work on in our house, so I pretty much left it the way it was below. I always thought the desk placement was weird but it was built in so I couldn't move it. And the open space below the tv just BOTHERED me and I HATED seeing all the cords and tech items. But in the whole scheme of priorities, I just chose to ignore it, until last week!
I realized that we could extend the built in desk so that it would become an entertainment center that extended all the way to the brick so we could HIDE all the TECH items! We took off the existing doors, took out the desk drawer, added on in the empty space under the tv and built new cabinet doors. The best part of the build was that we REUSED every single piece of wood from the original 50 year old desk including the formica counter top. *I unfortunately did not take a pic of this stage*
Then it was on to figure out what the new top would be. We were in a pickle because this new top would have to be 12 feet in length! Holy cow that is MASSIVE. Using our custom made farm table as inspiration, my hubs and I headed down to Dayton Reclamation and Restoration LLC to find some good pieces of barn wood. And we were crossing our fingers to find 12 foot lengths.
Oh and did we ever! Thank you to these folks for saving these beautiful pieces of midwest history! I love me some barn wood - oh the stories it could tell.
Now the scary part had to happen. How was I going to sand this down and stain it without RUINING it! What did we ever do without youtube! A big, huge THANK YOU to the Sons of Sawdust! After watching their "Sand reclaimed wood" video, they convinced me that I really couldn't mess up! So I went for it... with a trial, small piece of our purchased wood, of course! I had to build up a little confidence!
Now the fun started! I posted this sneak peak pic which brought on the comments "what are you building now?", "make me whatever you are building", "can't wait to see what you are doing". I love teasing my project posts on Social Media. But seriously look how beautiful this old, faded barn wood turned out!! GAH!!! We used Varathane Stain and Poly One Step in Kona. I needed to find a water based stain due to migraines caused by oil based stain. We had never used something like this before and was a little worried about the all-in-one formula but this stuff is LIFE CHANGING!!! I would highly recommend it. We used 2-3 coats to make it deep and even.
We painted the existing desk and new build with primer then with BEHR Urethane Alkyd Satin Enamel. Guess what? With this stuff you don't have to sand off the original stain!! UMMMMM HELLO!!! Thank you to the Home Depot gal who showed me this product!! We got it in a warm white (sleek white) to enhance the warmth of the wood in our living room. Only negative is that we needed several coats to get a nice even finish.
Now it was time for the big reveal.... this is my very favorite part of the DIY...
The best part of this is the cost!!! Based on our custom farmhouse table, we are estimating that the cost of a custom built 12 foot entertainment center would be at least $2000 but probably closer to 3 or 4k. Our total bill for the DIY custom build add on to the original desk was a whopping $300!!! WHAT?!?!?! Isn't that awesome! And look how bright the room is now! We don't even need to turn on any lights during the day with the curtains open. ALL THE PRAISE HANDS are up!
About the Author:
Check out Cortney's Landing Page
Cortney is REALTOR for the Shurts group at Keller Williams Advantage. Real estate is in her blood having grown up around commercial construction sites and flipping homes. She loves helping others find their perfect home. As a former fifth grade teacher, Cortney has a heart for all things education, learning and community that goes beyond the elementary classroom setting. Both she and her husband, Jeremy, grew up in the Miami Valley and are thankful they are raising their boys in their hometown. When she isn’t running taxi services for her children, or at her boys’ sporting and school events, she’s probably working on a DIY project. She loves repurposing old things to make them useful and beautiful again and often finds herself wondering “if these walls could talk”. You can usually find her at local hardware stores, browsing her favorite antique shops for inspiration or at a local coffee shop fueling the busy life of a parent.