Young House Love

Home Decorating & DIY Tutorials

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Thrift Store Find: A Dresser We’ll Make Into A Media Cabinet

We’ve been on the hunt for a new media console for our living room since, well, as long as we’ve lived here almost. That “hunt” is mostly defined by periodic stops through our favorite furniture-rich thrift stores to see if anything grabbed us. We were probably a couple of months from giving up entirely. But then I got this text from Sherry.

TVConsole 1 Text

Sherry had run into Diversity Thrift while I stayed in the car with Clara. This is how discouraged this hunt had become… I didn’t even get out of the car anymore. Here’s the pic Sherry sent me, which was enough for me to get my butt out of the driver’s seat and check out Mia in person.

TVConsole 2 Image From Phone

She fit the criteria we were looking for in a new unit – which mostly consisted of “just be bigger than our current piddly little guy” – which you can see below from this post about our new TV (which further dwarfed it). A bonus would be more storage. Six drawers or more were on our wish list.

TV 6 After From Ottoman

So we brought Mia home. We were eager to put her directly into the living room, but she had some wobby leg issues (as we were warned on the $59 price tag). As in, every leg was wobbly. Which probably explains why a handsome clean-lined dresser like this sat at the thrift store for over a month (the tag indicated that it had originally been $79, but after going unsold for a month it was dropped down to $59).

Wobbly legs can definitely be a deterrent because they go to the heart of that item of furniture. You know, it’s not something that a little paint or some stain can fix. It’s filed under “structural integrity.” But Sherry and I examined all the drawers (which slid easily and were made solidly) and checked the rest of it for any functional damage and found none. So we decided not to let those wobbly legs scare us off…

TVConsole Loose 1 On Side

I hadn’t ever fixed wobbly legs before, so I was going into it a bit blind. But I figured I could just identify what was loose and hopefully tighten it. For instance, this center brace shimmied back and forth waaaay too easily.

TVConsole Loose 2 Removing Middle

In fully removing it (which I did before reattaching it) I discovered an old screw on the side that was supposed to hold that leg in tight. So with a quick replacement screw, I was already making progress.

TVConsole Loose 3 New Screw

When I reattached the brace with more new screws, the center section got significantly better.

TVConsole Loose 4 More New

And having discovered the secret leg-screw (wait, that sounds wrong) I was on my way to tightening all of the wobbly legs. But In some cases I found that merely replacing the screws and getting them in there nice and tightly wasn’t enough to stop the wobble completely (although it was a huge step in the right direction). So thanks to some Googling, I read about the suggestion to add some wood glue around the joint. I used the end of a paperclip to really work the glue into the seam as well as possible. Then I used a moistened rag to wipe off the excess glue around the outside so it didn’t look all messy like it does in this picture (this was taken pre-wipe):

TVConsole Loose 5 Glue

Once all of the legs were glued and screwed (again, my wording is less than stellar here) Sherry helped me turn the piece upright and – resisting the temptation to test its wobbliness – we let the glue dry for a good 24 hours. The next day we went in and gave it a gentle shake.

It was AWESOME. No more shaking or shimmying at all.

Unfortunately Mia, even with her new solid legs, isn’t quite ready to come inside to the living room. She needs a good cleaning – and possibly some refinishing or painting, depending on how well the cleaning goes – before we let her in. You can see her bumps and bruises pretty well in this photo taken back in the thrift store…

TVConsole 2 Image From Phone

… so we’ll be back with the updated & cleaned up Mia after we’re done scrubbing her down, bringing her into the living room, and getting the TV all set up (we anchor it to the wall to keep things kid-safe). Sherry’s actually scrubbing away on it right now so as soon as she finished up, takes pics, and writes the post we’ll be back with that info. In the meantime, how do you guys find furniture? Does one of you run in while someone else stays in the car? Are the photos texted back and forth? Do you accidentally end up naming things thanks to text typos? We can’t be the only ones…

Psst- Clara shared a few more holiday-fun-ish details with her penpal in Germany over on Young House Life.

Comments

  4. Jess @ Little House. Big Heart. says

    Glue and screw… you sound like Mike Holmes!

    I love Mia! I can’t wait to see her all shined up and in her new home.

    Any idea of how you’re going to include the media bits? Put them in drawers? Remove drawers? Put drawer fronts on hinges?

    Reply

    • Lisa says

      I can’t wait to see how you guys switch to a hinge! I’ve been trying to figure that out from online tutorials and no success. Looking forward to it! :)

  5. Meredith says

    Okay, I like the furniture, but can we discuss how John has Sherry in his phone: “Wife-Sherry”? I can see that being necessary in a Sister-Wives-type situation, but I would think either “wife” or “Sherry” would be sufficient labels. That made me laugh.

    Reply

    • YoungHouseLove says

      Hahahaha, we laugh about that too!! I think somewhere we read an article that said to label your wife and hubby in your phone like that so in an emergency someone could grab your phone and call your wife instead of just seeing a bunch of names.

      xo
      s

    • bridget b. says

      That *is* a good idea in case of emergency. But, I immediately thought of Sister Wives, too!

      Question: Great find! Do you have any concerns about remotes working through the wood, or will you be placing cable box, etc on top of the console?

      I just found the perfect media console last week, but unfortunately it wasn’t $59.

    • YoungHouseLove says

      We’re thinking we’ll hinge one of the drawers so it can open and the remote can have clear access. Although a few others have tipped us off to new technology that works through wood or has a sensor you place on the top of the cabinet, so those are intriguing!

      xo
      s

    • Karen F says

      I found that funny, too, but after reading John’s explanation, it makes sense! My husband is in my phone as ICE, but I often wonder if anyone would actually know what that meant!

    • JenB says

      It made me laugh, too. My husband’s name is Rich so mine says Rich husband..haha.. I did that in case I’m in an accident (God forbid) or something like that (or if I lose the phone). Whoever finds the phone can ID my husband and call him??

    • Leah says

      I just have my husband as my top person in my favorites contact list (one of the options on an iphone). I think the only person labeled by title is my mom.

      Funny thing — my husband actually has the same name as my brother, so my husband is in my phone with his full name. But he’s still my very top contact in favorites.

    • Wendy says

      Appreciate the perspectives from all on phone labeling, and as it hits home very hard, please-please always have ID on you! Things can happen when one is in an accident (phones fly, are destroyed, cannot be found, etc.), and having ID is key- especially in more than one spot.

      Hub learned this the painful way (pun unintended) when he was in this accident nearly 3 years ago:

      http://voices.washingtonpost.com/local-breaking-news/virginia/bicyclist-injured-in-reston-co.html?hpid=newswell

      Why he didn’t have ID on him is a mystery, but for a while he was a John Doe who was not expected to live.

      John and Sherry, please feel free to not post this comment. It just hit home and if it saves one life, peace.

    • Michelle N says

      I laughed at that too! Great idea for emergency though, never thought about that before. My husband is saved as “My Love” with a heart at the end, guess I should add husband just in case.

    • Shanda says

      I thought the same thing! I doubt, however, that Sherry’s ring tone is “Ding Dong the Witch is Dead.” Mine is. And that can be filed under “Romance” at our house.

    • hjc says

      My first thought was, I wonder what his other wives’ names are? No worries, Sherry, you’re obviously his favorite since he’s never even mentioned the other ones! :-) And Mia looks perfect for the space.

    • Alisha says

      My husband is listed in my phone as BabyCakes–and has been the entire time we dated. I also have my phone set to verbally announce whomever is calling. So whenever I am with my family and my phone starts to ring, my sister and folks get a kick out of yelling to me “Hey Alisha! BabyCakes is calling!!”

      BUT what I wanna know is–Sherry, do you have some new bangs in your life?!? Because they look great in that Instagram feed. Seriously, if they are faux bangs you should consider it. I have total bang envy.

    • Shareen says

      I often change my “description” on my husband’s phone (when I’m angry – “lady who definitely is not making you dinner”; fun times – “wifey”; randomly – “you better watch what you say mister, because I know ALL your secrets”). I love it when he finally sees the new one I put in. So entertaining.

  7. Jennifer W says

    “Wife- Sherry” is cracking me up. Guess it helps to know which wife is calling.

    I’m looking for something similar, but not having much luck on craigslist.

    Reply

    • YoungHouseLove says

      Hahahaha, I laugh about that too! I think somewhere we read an article that said to label your wife and hubby in your phone like that so in an emergency someone could grab your phone and call your wife instead of just seeing a bunch of names.

      xo
      s

  9. Kim says

    Oooo I’m sure this will look AWESOME when you guys beautify it!

    My question is: Were you able to fit this bad boy in your car?! I always stray away from furniture shopping while driving my sedan because I doubt any of it will fit in my car.

    Reply

    • YoungHouseLove says

      We actually had to borrow John’s parent’s car. Wish we could fit big things in our Altima but so far we’ve only gotten away with squeezing some pretty giant bi-fold doors in there to make a screen in our first house’s basement :)

      xo
      s

    • Jessica says

      Kim, I’m so glad you asked how Sherry & John got it in their car–I was thinking the same thing! I only recently considered repurposing older furniture and am wondering how I’m going to transport my finds. I think I see several U-Haul rentals in my future!

      Sherry and John, I LOVE your blog and can’t wait to buy your book! I also have a question for you — I noticed someone posted that they buy things from the ReStore. I also recently bought something from the ReStore–a book shelf that I plan to paint. It smelled musty after spending some time in their warehouse. I put it in a plastic bag with a fabric softener sheets and hope it will now smell better (a tip I read about regarding musty old books). They had some great pieces there, that I would have loved to have considered buying but I can’t imagine how I would “de-mustify” larger pieces. Would you have any suggestions or is it better to stay away from vintage furniture that could be musty-smelling?

      Thanks for writing such a great blog!

  10. Leigh Anne says

    Good thing you clarified that Sherry is your wife in your iPhone. Wouldn’t want to confuse her with wife #2 i.e. Peggy;) Great find! You all are masters of thrifting!

    Reply

    • Meagan {Green Motherhood} says

      Wait!?! The bangs are real!!!! I thought you were trying out some faux bangs via a backward pony loop for a fun pic.
      I bet they look awesome!!! I will live vicariously through you as i could never do blunt bangs- 2 front cowlicks! ugh.
      Can’t wait to see more pics!

    • Karen F says

      re: a bangs cutting post, yes please! I’ve trimmed my 3 yr old daughter’s bangs before (this is after she originally cut them HERSELF! And she did such a good job I didn’t even need to fix them), now she wants me to trim them every night. But I cannot imagine trimming my own, let along cutting in new bangs! You are one brave lady, and they look amazing Sherry!

    • JenB says

      The bangs look great! I’ve done it before and seeing your pic has me reaching for the scissors…..it’s such a simple little thing that can change your look pretty dramatically. Not that your hair wasn’t cute before:) You’re lucky that it looks good no matter how you cut it!

  13. Allisen says

    YAY!!! I bought a dresser just like this a couple months ago for the same purpose. Its been sitting in the garage ever since. I’m just not sure where to start… Now I’ll be able to take your lead, yippee! Is it similar to Clara’s dresser (ie. wood veneer with laminate top)?

    Reply

  14. Riva says

    Mia is pretty! I don’t live in VA so this is pointless for me to say, but the drawer pulls on the dresser underneath Mia are kinda foxy …. did you get a pic of that item too per chance? Congrats on that amazing deal!

    Reply

  15. sharon says

    that’s a sweet addition to your living room. out of curiosity, will you modify some drawers (remove fronts)to allow your cable box to receive the remote signals? this is the problem that i ran into when i almost purchased a similar dresser for our living room TV.

    as for the texting, my husband prefers i do the quick-pass & let him know if there’s anything worthwhile. that is when i can convince him to go furniture-shopping with me since he insists that i “piddle” around.

    by the way, thanks to the YHL recommendation shout-outs for love of jesus thrift, i dragged my parents out there a oouple of days after christmas when were up visiting for the holidays. that yieled a sweet $5 bookcase (which we replaced the top shelf on) & a $25 mid-century side-table which needs a bit of TLC. i wanted tthe bigger matching drsser but there was officially no room in the inn, so to speak. this will have to be a regular rotation visit when i’m up visiting the ‘rents, much to my husband’s dismay of me bringing in new projects!

    Reply

  16. Crystal @ 29 Rue House says

    I find most of my stuff at the Restore! I usually go by myself or our 3 yr old tags along. Hubby would definitely rather be left in the car but the kids wouldn’t stand for it so in we all will go!

    P.S. Ordered the Bubble Glass Pendant over the weekend and it is on backorder with an unknown shipment date. I think I can wait for it though. :)

    Reply

    • Crystal @ 29 Rue House says

      Got an estimated ship date of 1/21 which isn’t bad since I have enough things to keep me busy until then. I think it will be perfect over the sink in the kitchen. I was ready to give up on finding one that I liked/could afford! (Probably a lot like your new media console.)

      P.S. Mia is a lovely piece and it sounds like you won’t actually be removing any drawers permanently which makes me happy! Although I’m happy either way :)

  17. Barb says

    I just found the “Wife – Sherry” phone listing funny. Like there might also be “Wife – Lisa”, “Wife – Dorothy”, “Wife – Margaret”, and you have to keep them all straight. :-)

    Reply

  18. ali says

    Okay, I was about to comment on John specifying Sherry as the wife who was calling but see it’s been covered :) I read somewhere to label one person as I.C.E. (In Case of Emergency) and that emergency personnel are trained to look for that as well in cell phones, so my husband pops up as IC Emergency, just to make it really clear, ha ha!

    Reply

    • YoungHouseLove says

      That’s much clearer! My BFF does ICE but I thought “well if I’m just a nice person on the street I wouldn’t know what that was” so WIFE and HUBBY seemed more descriptive. Haha.

      xo
      s

  20. Elizabeth says

    I laughed my way through this one, thanks John! Can’t wait to see Mia when she’s all cleaned and polished. Gives me hope that with some patience, you can actually find those elusive pieces that fit right in!

    Reply

  21. Emma (Broke Ass Home) says

    LOVE that piece. Love, love, love it. It’s going to be a real statement depending on what Sherry wants to do with it. I ALWAYS grab furniture at a Habitat for Humanity store up here. The guy knows me well enough at this point he hooks me up (we’ve furnished my mom’s entire vacation home there)

    I’m impatient. Can I see the pictures now?

    Reply

    • YoungHouseLove says

      Haha, I love that you know the guy. As soon as comment die down this morning I’m going back to scrubbing and then it’ll be time to bring it in, wire it up, and share pics asap!

      xo
      s

  24. Cassie says

    Looks awesome! Why can’t I ever find this stuff?? I actually almost love our hand me down wine cabinet turned tv stand that we have right now, though!

    Reply

  25. Danielle says

    I just love that you were watching CougarTown! I’m glad it’s not just me and my Jules-sized glass of wine.

    Reply

  26. Hunter says

    I’m jealous of this piece, we’ve been searching for a good mid-century modern piece (in Raleigh) for at least 3 months! I haven’t found anything close to $59 bucks, so we’re almost to the point of building our own!

    Reply

  27. Kate says

    I love it! Looking forward to seeing it in the space.

    We purchased old dining chairs from a consignment store that were crazy wobbly. Taking them apart and reinforcing them was strangely satisfying work!

    Reply

  28. Katy @ The Non-Consumer Advocate says

    I like how you got right on the chore of de-wobblifying (true word, honest!) the dresser straightaway.

    I have a great garbage picked dresser in my dining room that I’ve been meaning to re-glue for, oh . . . around four years.

    Should have got right on it!

    Katy

    Reply

    • YoungHouseLove says

      Haha, all the credit goes to John! I was ready to plop the TV on it and call it a day but he was all “um, it will wobble right off.” Men! Haha. So practical.

      xo
      s

  29. Beverley says

    what a great find! Love the text screen cap :)

    On a side note – y’all are headed to Austin tomorrow and just wanted to let you guys know that we’re expecting to get some rainy weather (y’all’s streak of less than stellar book tour weather continues!). We’ve been in a bit of a drought for a while now and while rain is great, Texans aren’t necessarily the best drivers when it rains. So, I’m a bit bummed because I was going to make the hour(ish) trip from San Antonio to go see you guys, but don’t want to chance things when we’re expecting 2-4″ on the direct path to Austin :( Have a safe trip & bring a raincoat!

    This is a screen cap of what we’re expecting
    https://mail-attachment.googleusercontent.com/attachment/u/0/?ui=2&ik=f07ad8e7e6&view=att&th=13c12f1e9b34318c&attid=0.1&disp=inline&realattid=f_hbmz2xze0&safe=1&zw&saduie=AG9B_P_v2lXDC3yY4M1tT0tESzxq&sadet=1357568203310&sads=D1X1ohXLSJMG1xmPmDGbNlycMVQ&sadssc=1

    Reply

  30. Jamie D says

    Hi Youngsters! Not sure what cable provider you have, but Directv has a special remote (called an RF remote) that works THROUGH wood, etc. so you can put your Directv box in a drawer/cabinet/etc. Other providers may have something similar, but it is only $25 to get a Directv RF remote.

    I need to see a BANGS update too! Your instagram followers are going crazy!

    Reply

  31. Eva says

    Reminds me of when we found our TV console at a thrift store :) We were living in the Netherlands, with a two month old baby and no car… so we walked across town for a whole hour to go to the best furniture thrift store in town that was open only for a couple of hours every Saturday. When we got there the place was so crowded that we couldn’t even take the pram in with us, so we took turns going in there to search… and didn’t find anything at first, but then I found the perfect piece during my second round… a huge teak dresser, that was a bit wobbly and very dirty and priced only 50 euros. We bought it and had it sent home for another 10 euros only to find out it was a bit longer than we thought so it didn’t fit in the stairway leading to our apartment so it actually had to be lifted up onto the roof and taken into our living room from the balcony. It scrubbed up real nice, and has since moved with us all the way to Iceland :)

    Reply

  32. Rachel says

    I have a dresser similar to this that I use for our tv stand. I took out the middle drawers and painted the inside a dark orange, so we’d have a space for the dvd player and my husbands xbox. The side drawers are great for hidden storage.

    Reply

  33. jenn0021 says

    I love this post! And I am especially fond of the name you chose for her. Our dog’s name is Mia. :)

    We tend to find our furniture at thrift stores or online through Kijiji (like Craigslist). We very rarely buy anything new. I can’t wait to see the finished product!

    Reply

  35. Ginny@ Goofy Monkeys says

    I love it! How do you guys deal with painting furniture in the winter months? I have 3 pieces that need paint jobs and I have missed the opportunity to take it outside…

    Also do you a comprehensive furniture painting post? I know you’ve done your fair share of painting stuff but I’d love a post sometime that pulls together your experiences and gives tips on how to paint furniture that’s stained/finished, previously painted, etc. Whether to sand/prime, deglosser, brushes vs. rollers…. Maybe you have this already.

    Reply

    • YoungHouseLove says

      Oh yes, there’s a tutorial on how to paint almost any piece of furniture on our Projects page (we basically use the same method every time and it explains when we sand, etc). Hope that helps! As for painting in the winter months, we just read the paint can and see what temp it requires (sometimes it’s just over 50 degrees so we have warmish days like that and I pull the trigger). Hope it helps!

      xo
      s

  36. Kitty says

    Great find! I tend to be the one who finds furniture, mainly because my Husband is of the belief that what we have is enough and isn’t aware of us “needing” other furniture (with 3 unfinished rooms I can assure you we do!)

    My usual haunts are sales groups and the local thrift stores furniture shop. I look for good, solid wood that will either clean up nice or take paint well.

    Reply

  38. Anika says

    It’s been a little while since you guys had a thrift store furniture redo post, and always find it so interesting to see what you guys do with a piece. Your comments about what made you pull the trigger even with the wobbly legs was helpful too: sometimes in thrift stores it’s hard to know what is fixable and what is a lost cause. Can’t wait to see what Mia looks like with some cleaning up!

    Reply

  39. Andrea R. says

    Ive rarely been that lucky to find awesome furniture! Seems like it would sell as soon as it was posted to craigs list or displayed in the thrift store! Awesome score with Mia! And no, we dont name furniture, but when we were house hunting, we named the houses to keep each other straight which house we were talking about.

    Reply

  40. Paige says

    OMG, I SO thought you guys were gonna show us Mia all done and ready for the tv. I will wait, patiently, I suppose! Great piece. Awesome price. Go you guys!

    Reply

  42. Jennifer says

    I love that dresser and what a deal! A few months back we bought a similar 9 drawer, mid century dresser from craigslist for our tv, and I love it. Ours did manage to make it inside the house, but it needs to be refinished badly on the top and sides. You can sort of see it here:

    http://www.jjmodern.com/2012/12/06/christmas-time-is-here/

    As for the media components, I have also had the idea to hinge one or two of the drawers for easy access. But then you have to open it every time you use the tv. You can purchase IR Systems, which is just a fancy name for sensors that stick to the fronts of your hidden components and all connect to a central sensor. The sensor is small, inconspicuous and can be mounted to the top of the dresser. It really works well! This is an example of one:

    http://www.crutchfield.com/p_051ELM501/Sanus-ELM501-IR-Repeater-System.html?tp=1899

    Reply

  44. Liz O says

    What’s going on with that dresser underneath! that looked really nice too. Funny, I actually was just mentioning to my BFF that I need to find a new dreser for my son who will be moving into his big boy room so the nursery can once again be a nursery… I’m not sure where the good thrift stores are around here. Anyone know anywhere good in the Philly area?!?!

    Reply

  46. Taya says

    Yay! Love how you guys find pieces of furniture and repurpose them! My husband and I recently got a sideboard made of solid maple for our dining room after scouring Craigslist for a little more than a week. It definitely needs a little tlc in the form of sanding, staining, and poly but will have to till spring since it’s officially too cold here in CT to take anything outside for refinishing. But I definitely followed your Craigslist tips when searching!

    Can’t wait to see Mia all spiffed up!

    Reply

  49. Gretchen@Boxy Colonial says

    Ooh, I love it! I love that thing sitting under it, too. And that dresser next to it looks like it’d be a good thing to fix up. I think I need that thrift shop to move here! Can’t wait to see it all fixed up!

    Reply

  50. Liz E. says

    You guys seriously have the best luck! I check out our local Restore (not quite regularly, more like on a whim…I’m sure I miss some good stuff with my current system haha) and a few other places less frequently. I’m so excited to see what you do with Mia! I have a huge love for furniture and furniture-refinishing so count me p-u-m-p-e-d. Judging by what can be seen in your picture, I think I would have had to take the one below Mia home also!

    Reply

    • Leah says

      I think you have good luck too! I have tried to shop for furniture at thrift stores and never found anything right. Then again, I might just not have the eye for it yet, especially since we live in an apartment and don’t have much room for refinishing.

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