Thursday, November 18, 2010

the "other" stereo cabinet



So, the whole 'stereo cabinet hysteria' started with my fabulous neighbor Linda, aka my shopper/scouter extraordinaire.  She actually bought the first stereo cabinet which of course got me thinking.

I could do that, I thought.  So the next time I came across one at the Goodwill, I snatched it up.  The staff there all looked at me like I had totally lost it, for the record.  More than one of them asked me... "But what are you going to do with it?"

Meanwhile, Linda was struggling with her stereo cabinet.  We consulted on sanding, primer & fabric.  She shopped for hinges and spent hours on the demolition of the innards (the non-functioning stereo components).

Here is where she was, at this point, in her own words...

So you can put in your blog that your “neighbor scout” got so excited she decided to try a project herself and spent days roaming fabric and hardware stores asking herself  “WWKD?”  (what would Kathie do?).  Ultimately, she decided that the best course of action was to “let Kathie do it” and go back to scouting!


HA!!!  I was very happy to take over the project :)


So here is the progression of the piece, step by step.  

This is the best thing I have to a 'before' picture.  Thank you, Linda, for sharing these with me!


 Look familiar yet?  The fabric panels used to be in the empty spots on either side of the piece.

 Looking at that crowbar is making my hand cramp up.  Oh, the memories...

 All gutted out.
 Primed.

And, first coat of paint, and in it's new home in my driveway.


It felt right at home here in the land of unfinished projects.  What movie does that make you think of? 


Rudolph & the Island of Misfit Toys!  Did you get it?!


 I painted the three top panels a chocolate brown.  I would have loved to stain them, but they weren't solid wood.  My dad also helped me cut new panels for the front & back.

Sometimes I think I should rename my blog... A Few Good Pieces & One Great Dad.  It has a nice ring to it, doesn't it?
 Then I chose the new panels from my latest fabric stash ~ I've got quite a collection of yummy fabrics going here.
 Loving the fabric & the way the pattern mimics chicken wire from a distance.
And then it sat & sat, waiting on me & my dad to find the right hinges for the top.
And then it was finally ready to come inside.




 The piece has three interior sections, perfect for knitting storage, arts & crafts, or toys.  Each interior section has it's own lid that opens independently, as you can see in these pictures.
 It has got some great details on the trim work & the legs are so sweet.

I really see this as more of a bench than a trunk ~ a bench with storage.  Lots of potential!


In other news, the reason things have been so quite here on the blog this week is...
Can you even stand it?  In this room, we have the makings of:



  • 22 centerpieces for our women's christmas dinner at church
  • nametags for grandparents day volunteers at the school
  • 'special' nametags for the grandparents day committee
  • frames being painted for christmas gifts
  • magnets being made to coordinate with christmas gifts
  • donations (in bags) for the children's hospital 'art cart' from my 8 year olds birthday party (still need to get those to the hospital!!)
  • christmas card labels (I am physically incapable of writing them ~ I learned to hold my pencil incorrectly, which never affected me {thank goodness} until I was in my 30's.  Now I can't write more than a grocery list without my whole arm seizing up!)
My cricut is practically smoking due to over~use.  

One more piece of scrumptious eye candy before I go...

Could you just eat him up?  The fat hands & fingers, the drool, the wispy-almost-head-of-hair?  This is my sweet nephew!

Thanks for coming by, everyone!
kathie

13 comments:

  1. You did an AWESOME job on that piece!!!!!

    ReplyDelete
  2. wow, huge post! I love that piece of furniture. You did fantastic job. It really is gorgeous.
    The mess? we all have those. At least your mess is all for great causes!
    nephew! what a cutey!

    gail

    ReplyDelete
  3. And I thought taking on one stereo cabinet was amazing! You are a brave and talented woman. And lucky to have a helpful dad too. Nicely done!

    ReplyDelete
  4. Love the stereo cabinet! You are amazing!How fun to have such a great neighbor and a sweet little nephew too!

    ReplyDelete
  5. Kathie that looks absolutely amazing! You are absolutely amazing! Question for you - does a remote control signal work through those fabric panels? If so, that would be such a great place to hide all the electronic components. I have an antique piece that sits underneath our wall-mounted flat screen but the remote control won't work unless the doors are open. We finally got frustrated with that and put the components on a board underneath, which looks like a mess.
    p.s. This is from Bryant. I have no idea why it's trying to call me Boo!!!!

    ReplyDelete
  6. Your son is adorable! I love the the brown top with the white! It looks great. I just love creative mommies.

    ReplyDelete
  7. Beautiful job on that piece!! Your nephew is so adorable!! Love little chubby fingers and toes and cheeks!!!!! :)

    ReplyDelete
  8. that looks beautiful!!! you are officially the queen of stereo cabinets. ;)

    ReplyDelete
  9. Cannot believe what you did to this old stereo unit! It really is beautiful and so much more functional! Beautiful job! Katie

    ReplyDelete
  10. I see these thing at the thrift once in a while and think to myself....what would somebody ever be able to do with it???? Now I know and it is fabulous!

    ReplyDelete
  11. This cabinet is breathtaking! I love it! You've done such an amazing job.
    Megs :)

    ReplyDelete
  12. I see you saved a good piece of furniture from the landfill and repurposed to fit your tastes. Good job all around!

    ReplyDelete