Victrola cabinet repurposed



I love to take an outdated item that no one would use anymore and give it a new life and new purpose. Not only does it push me to be creative and think outside the box, I also get to save an ugly item from going in the trash. I think that's the type of project that I like doing the most, finding one man's trash and turning into another man's treasure. It makes me feel more accomplished then just painting a dresser or some end tables. I feel like I literally saved an item from going in the trash or burn pile. So I'm like a "furniture angel." 


I cannot remember where I got this old victrola cabinet, but I have had it for at least a year, sitting in my dusty, dirty garage. I do remember only paying 3 dollars for it at the time I bought it. When I laid eyes on it, I just knew one day I would be able to turn it into something special


I was on the phone with my friend Serena one day and she said, "why don't you come over and we can work on a project together." I was like "sweet!" I pulled my car around to the alley and pulled open my garage door. As soon as I opened it, I saw that old cabinet and was like, "yessssss, this is meant to be." So I threw it in the back seat of my Corolla and headed to my blogger buddy's house. Yes, I drive a tiny car still. If anyone is giving away an old pick up truck though, you can send it my way! 

During the 25 minute drive to her house, my mind was racing, thinking about all the wine we would drink fun we would have working on projects together. I knew just what I wanted to do to the cabinet and I knew my blogger buddy was just the person to help, because she is the QUEEN of tools and they still slightly scare me. I mean, I use tools all the time, but I'm not always the best at measuring twice and cutting once. Or at cutting a straight line for that matter

The first thing I had to do was scrape the loose veneer off of it so I could paint it. It was chipping up in places and I think it is better to just take it off then try and repair it, especially when you are painting it anyway. It can still bubble up and ruin your finish later, especially if it gets wet at all. I pulled out a metal scraper and went to work


I quickly realized this was not working well and then thought "DUH, use the Homewright heat gun!" I have been wanted use it on a project like this anyway


As soon as I started using this, the veneer started coming off like butter. It took me no time at all to scrape it all up once the heat gun melted the glue on the veneer

Tip: When scrapping off veneer, go AGAINST the grain. It will come off in bigger chunks and you won't get any splinters


Serena filmed some of this on Facebook live, and I think it took less then ten minutes to scrape all the veneer off once I started using the heat gun. I was very happy with the results, and also the ability to control the temperature on it. 

Tip: Don't set it too hot or you will burn the wood, and don't keep it in once spot to long because that can also burn the wood


Now, doesn't that look all nice and pretty? It's just begging for a little sanding and some paint!


Next I filled a few holes and sanded it down a little. I didn't worry about sanding too much because I was using chalk paint and it pretty much sticks to almost anything. I then vacuumed it to collect all the wood dust and dirt, and then wiped it down


I had to shoot a few nails in it using my handy dandy Ryobi nail gun. I love using that thing because it's cordless and you don't have to hear the loud noise from the air compressor every two seconds. I really hate a lot of loud noises, so it makes working with tools a little better


I gave it a few coats of a pretty bluish green paint. I wanted to make sure I could paint everything before I added anything to it. I didn't want to try and paint in awkward tiny spaces if I didn't have to. The next part was the hard part, and I'm glad Serena was there to help or it would have NEVER gotten done

(I know I am dressed CRAZY)

After a lunch, some wine and a good Google search, we figured out how to make the X for the bottom to keep the wine bottles. We cut the wood out of some spare pure bond plywood and then I painted it. 

Tip: Paint everything disassembled if you can so it's easier. You can touch up the paint after you put it together


It took me and my crazy looking leggings a minute, but I got it all in there. I would love to explain to you how we did it, but to be honest, I'm not entirely sure how we did do it. It was a lot of work, but totally worth it in the end. Someone better at geometry then I can probably Google how to make the X

Using another scrap peace of wood, we cut out one to fit in the top, to cover the holes from the victrola controls I'm assuming. I then covered it with a roll of cork and added some wood trim that Serena had lying around to finish it off


I decided I wanted the inside to be a different color, so I took the X thing back out and repainted it along with the inside. I also added some gold accents. I really love how it turned out. You could fit different sized wine bottles in all four of the cubbies. The opening can be used for glass storage, or you could put a basket in there. 

We had it at the Funky Flea this year sell and got a lot of great comments on it. At least 6 people said it looked like something they saw on the show Flea Market Flip. I looooove that show, so if the producers are reading, Serena and I would rock at that challenge. Lucky for someone, it did not sell and we still have it. So it is waiting for the perfect person to take it home for a statement piece. 

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