Go Bold with Color!
Wanna add a punch of color to a room?
Wanna add a feature wall?
Wanna add a contemporary touch to your décor?
Go Bold with Color!
Painting your walls & adding colorful accessories are
just some of the ways to add color to your space. You can
also paint a piece of your existing furniture a bright,
bold color. Add some shiny new hardware to
change the style a bit. And, if your piece of furniture is as
big as this one, you can create a feature wall as well.
Painting this entertainment center was the perfect improvement for this space. Mostly gray and beige; I had wanted to bring more color into this room for sometime. I didn’t plan on it being “Greige” forever. I was happy with the upholstered furniture, happy with the wall color and I had already purchased fabric for the window treatments and pillows, I just hadn’t gotten around to actually sewing anything yet.
Before photo
I also wanted to start incorporating a more contemporary vibe into the space. This was extra difficult since I was starting with an entertainment center, which by itself is already “out-of-style”. And, it had a lot of “shabby chic” trim pieces added on. Then again, the piece was built-in and built to last and I didn’t want to attempt to remove it!
But it had these goofy doors on the middle section, I wasn’t sure that a color change and some new knobs would really change the look of the piece. Then again, it’s part bookcase too and has a lot of storage…you can see how torn I was over saving this piece.
Finally, I took the plunge. I hunted for new (to me) cabinet doors that could replace the two existing center doors. (I have a lot of spare cabinet doors laying around but, you could try looking at thrift or salvage stores or even a Re-Store to find used cabinet doors). I was lucky to find other doors; not the same size but ones that would cover the opening & I test fitted them before painting. I also tested different paint colors before deciding on this shade. I painted the colors on leftover pieces of trim and looked at them in daylight, night time and with the can lights on & off. I can’t stress enough how important that is; you truly must look at color in the space that the color will be in and in all the different lighting it could be viewed in. Years ago, I picked out a wall paint that during the day was a nice creamy tan with a green undertone. At night, that creamy tan turned olive green, literally! That was not the look I was going for. Needless to say, I’m glad I tested the color before buying the paint or painting the walls!
I planned on taking off some of those shabby chic trim pieces before painting but, I knew that would involve a lot of work to make the surface smooth (like they were never there) so, I just started painting. I made sure to take a picture of the items displayed on the shelves before removing them. I was still tweaking the displays but was mostly happy with the way they looked and I didn’t want to forget where everything was placed. I removed the shelves and the doors to paint them and I painted the rest of the entertainment center in place.
Once everything was painted and sealed, I put it all back together again. I can’t believe the transformation! This piece went from boring and bland to Hello Look at Me!
I didn’t even remove those shabby chic pieces but now they just seem to blend into the background.
And those knobs! Are they beautiful or what? To me, the hardware is like jewelry or icing on the cupcake and this jewelry looks fabulous.
What’s your favorite part; the color, the jewelry or the overall transformation? For me it’s the overall transformation. I’m still amazed by the difference a simple color change and new hardware can make.
Do you have a piece of furniture you’d like to have stand out? You could start with something small like a coffee table or a headboard. It’s not as difficult as you might think and, I’d be happy to give you some pointers. Feel free to contact me with your questions and send me photos of the finished piece! You can do this!
