A post from Kelli–
A few years ago when I was working through college the first time, I realized that free was the best kind of furniture. Â I had everything that I needed, but none of it matched. Â Some things were in pretty good shape, but there were a few things that definitely had seen their better days. Â The mismatchiness worked when it needed to, but after doing a bit of growing up, I decided that I wanted things that were my own and that I actually picked out.
One thing that I wanted to replace was our entertainment center. Â It was quite large in our living room and didn’t really match the other pieces that we had. Â After doing a bit of trolling on pinterest, I found that people were taking furniture that was really ugly (REALLY UGLY), adding a bit of paint, and re-purposing it as a living room entertainment center. Â I started looking at thrift stores around in the area as I didn’t want to put a ton of money into it and found a really ugly blond veneered buffet dresser. Â After a bit of paint and wax, I had my finished entertainment center. Â When I showed it to Jason, he didn’t seem to like it too much, but I reminded him that it was cheap and he didn’t really have too much of a choice.
When I got it moved into our living room and got the TV put on it, I wasn’t too impressed–kind of depressed actually. Â I knew that I had put a lot of sweat equity into it, but it seemed a bit bright and pretty bland. Â Then I remembered the box that I had been storing decorations and such from the wedding in and got to work. Â Because we have a smaller TV with a low stand, I didn’t know how it would go, but I found a box that the TV could stand on and covered it with some burlap remnants from the wedding. Â I put the TV on top, added an engagement picture and a few gifts from the wedding and was amazingly surprised. Â It didn’t look too bad at all!
One thing that I really like about this piece is that it doesn’t have the upper shelf that many entertainment centers do. Â This makes the room look larger and doesn’t weigh the room down with its bulkiness. Â The added storage for Jason’s extensive Walmart $5 DVD bin finds is great. Â When I mentioned that it might be a good thing to get rid of a few, he immediately got a bit defensive, so it looks like they are staying. Â Thank God for the many drawers!
The reality of remodeling/building is this.
Most folks go over budget by 25%
Contractors are working for lots of people at the same time. And competing for time with others to get in and get out. Much of their work is contingent on someone else’s work and timing. Throw the late start to spring and summer due to the weather the last two years doesn’t help matters. Contractors know who is on what job and they communicate among themselves and know the others time frames and work load. And add in communities and counties with inspections.
Be patient. It’s all you can do. Once I knew much of this, it made it alot easier to accept. I was just one of many who wanted my job done on time. I’ve have exceptional quality in my home and I can look everyone in the eyes and know I was not that crazy homeowner. And the added time doesn’t matter today.
I don’t know about the rest of the room, but i think it looks awesome!.
The entertainment center looks great, thanks for showing us the end result. As for the DVDs, make one night a week movie/date night so you actually watch what you’ve got. (Speaking from experience, here.) just don’t watch too many car chase movies in a row! ;)
This looks great Kelli! I also love how you worked in some wedding gifts. ;)