$3.99 TV Cabinet Repurposed Into Sideboard Buffet: Painted White + New Legs

Hello! I am so excited to share my $3.99 thrift store tv cabinet makeover you today!

One day, I came across this television cabinet in our local thrift store.

First of all, the price was $14.99. It had a few flaws and was a bit flimsy. My husband just shook his head. He did not want to be bothered with loading and unloading something in the 90-degree heat. For that reason, I passed and just let it be.

Reduced Price for the Thrift Store Cabinet

Two weeks later, we visited this particular thrift store again and to my surprise, the cabinet was still there. The price was reduced to $5.99! As you can see from the sticker, it was previously reduced from $14.99 to $9.99. He knew after looking at the price tag, I was not leaving without it!

We took the ticket to the cashier and proceeded to check out. Apparently, the furniture loader left, which meant there was no one there to help load the piece. The Manager told the cashier to give us the piece for $3.99 since we had to load it ourselves. I explained that was not necessary, that we were already getting a good deal, but she was adamant. SCORE!

Dealing with the Damaged Cabinet Piece

Once we got the piece home and thoroughly inspected it, there was a huge hole in the center portion on top that could not be repaired.

We removed the top piece by first removing the back piece, and then using a circular saw we removed the top piece.

This is what the thrift store tv cabinet looked like with the top removed. My immediate thought was a bench. However, I didn’t want to do the obvious. I wanted to create something that we have never created before.

Thrift Store Cabinet Makeover

It sat in my shop for over 2 weeks. I would gaze at it here and there. One Sunday morning, while having coffee, I had an idea! We needed a piece for our kitchen, and I had been searching for a used buffet to redo. My only concern was adding legs to the piece. Would it be sturdy enough? I asked my husband if legs could be added to the bottom without any issues. His answer was yes. The buffet plan went into action!

Supply List (Affiliate links included for your convenience, at no extra cost to you):

Dixie Belle Chalk Paint in Cotton

Minwax Stain – English Chestnut

6 – 1x3x8’s – Local Hardware Store

4 Furniture Legs – Lowe’s

Dixie Belle Best Dang Wax

2 Wood Appliques

Scrap Wood

Wooster Silver Tip Paintbrush

Purchasing Legs for Thrift Store Cabinet

The first order of business was purchasing legs. Legs are very hard to find here in Southeast Georgia. Normally, if we have a custom job for a client, we order them offline. But I was not ready to spend a fortune on legs. Luckily, we visited Lowe’s and found the 28″ Waddell Leg. They were around $10.00 each and super cute.

The legs we purchased from Lowe’s were too tall, so we had to trim them. He used his circular saw and cut a portion of the top off. Note: I saved the pieces he cut to use for another project!

He used screws to attach the legs to the bottom of the piece. He then supported the bottom with two pieces of 2×4 on each side, and one completely across the middle.

As you can see from the picture below, there are a few damaged areas on top.

New Wood Top for Thrift Store Cabinet

We decided to construct a new wood top. The top was constructed out of 1x3x8’s and cut to size. Each board was then glued into place using wood glue. He then reinforced the top with nails. He used a scrap piece to cut thin strips to use as trim around the top. You can see how we added wood to another makeover here.

The bottom of the piece had damage. It was particleboard, so sanding was out of the question.

I did sand lightly just to smooth it out. He used some of the scrap wood and cut a piece for the bottom and sides. The wood glue was used to attach the pieces of trim to the bottom and sides. He reinforced the trim with brad nails.

I had a few scrap thin strips of 2×3’s the Hubs cut down for my window repurpose project (you can see here) leftover that we used for the back. He cut them to size to fit vertically on the back where the middle opening was.

We attached the wood strips to the back of the piece.

We also attached two of the strips to each side of the cabinet to give it more depth.

Adding Appliques

I purchased two of these amazing wood appliques off Amazon. They are very good quality and I got the set for less than nine bucks. We laid the piece on it’s back. I applied wood glue to the back and adhered it to the door over the carvings. We allowed them to dry overnight.

I removed the two original knobs because I wanted to use them because there was no need to purchase new hardware. I also did not remove the doors to paint.

Painting

The next day I gave the entire piece a good cleaning and then applied my paint.

In short, it took three coats, allowing 2-3 hours drying time in between each coat. I also painted the inside of the middle portion, the legs, and the wood appliques.

Because the paint dried overnight, I was able to stain the top as well as the inside wood.

After allowing the stained portions to dry overnight, I then used one coat of Dixie Belle’s Best Dang Wax to seal the piece.

We needed something for the back behind each door. I did not want to spend money on a new back especially since it would not even be seen! We found two pieces of old beadboard that had a few scratches on the front and couldn’t be used. We cut the beadboard into two pieces to place on the back where the doors were and nailed them in place.

The thrift store tv cabinet looks really great as a buffet. With that being said, all the supplies, including the piece, was less than $90 bucks! That’s less than purchasing a used one for $100 or more and then purchasing supplies to redo it. The most important thing is it gave me and the Hubs quality time together. It’s one of our favorite things to do. Work on a piece together. Blessed I am!

The knobs were perfect! And the wood applique added a touch of class 🙂

In conclusion, it is now in our dining room. As a result, guests can admire our work and hear the wonderful story behind the piece! That is why I enjoy what I do.

Above all, never pass up a piece that other people do not see potential in.

Christina 🙂

“It’s not about what it is, it’s about what it will be.”