Repurposed Entryway Bench

I am so excited to share this project with you all and show you how I repurposed a hand-me-down TV console into a beautiful entryway bench! A few years back (like eight).  My husband (then boyfriend) inherited a TV console that his buddy was getting rid of, as he was getting married and his fiancé had something a little nicer.  This console is probably about 15 years old and very utilitarian.  We used this console for its intended purpose until two years ago when we moved into our townhome and didn’t need it in our living room.  I needed a storage solution for our entryway, so I repurposed this TV console into an entryway bench.  

This is how the console looked when we lived in our tiny apartment. It was a mess- toys on the bottom shelf and electronics on the top shelf.

The console was black plastic and metal and I wanted desperately to soften the color and make the metal disappear. I decided the best way to transform the look would be to paint it, and since Annie Sloan Chalk Paint is advertised to cover anything, I really wanted to test her paint out on this!

I used a custom mix of Louis Blue Annie Sloan Chalk and Chateau Grey Annie Sloan Chalk paint to get just the right shade of greyish-blue. I covered the entire console in two coats of the color to make sure there were no remnants of black and metal.  I then used a stippling brush and went over the piece with very watered down Pure White Annie Sloan Chalk Paint.  Just a few coats of paint completely changed the look of the console and now it looks lovely in our entryway.

The boxes on the bottom shelf are diaper boxes covered in table cloths from the dollar store. I keep the dog’s towels in them so we can quickly dry him off if he’s outside when it is wet.  I added a couple of custom pillows (that’s our wedding logo- the Maryland Crab and Texas Star) as well as a few other touches to make our entry a bit more welcoming.

I am really pleased how this entryway bench looks now. I love the fact that some paint and a new location completely changed the appearance and purpose of a boring TV console.