Young House Love

Home Decorating & DIY Tutorials

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Frosting The Glass Doors Of A Media Cabinet

When Courtney sent over her awesome entertainment center transformation we just had to share the goods. Here’s her letter:

YHL always inspires me because you find ways to tweak or repurpose the resources that you have rather than blow the budget on something expensive. I’m not a fan of clutter and have tried multiple ways to hide the shame that is the DVD collection in my entertainment center (I’ve covered the glass doors with wrapping paper, but this required opening the doors to use the remotes for the cable box and DVD players). Then I came across these cut-outs at Michael’s that are used for scrap-booking and thought they would make great stencils. Down came the wrapping paper and up went the stencils (I used 3M General Purpose 45 Spray Adhesive to hold them in place) so I could frost the glass to hide the mess but still allow for remote controls access. I protected the wood frame of the door by placing plastic bags around the perimeter and just sprayed Rust-O-Leum Specialty Frosted Glass spray in a semi-transparent finish (about two coats while still wet). Ten minutes later it was dry and ready to use (see more details over on my blog). Thanks so much for your dedication to YHL and to your followers; it makes my day to see what you two accomplish and it inspires me to do the same in my own rental! – Courtney

Here’s one side of her entertainment center before the big transformation (see the door on the right?). The left door has the stencil stuck in place but has yet to be sprayed…

Frosted DD1

… and here’s everything after the frosting spray was applied and the stencils were removed. Pretty darn amazing, eh?

Frosted DD2

Wasn’t that functional and beautiful solution a stroke of genius on her part? Thanks so much for sending the photos our way Courtney. We love that the remotes still work through the newly frosted doors and it all looks so chic and high end. The entire piece is elevated by this crafty little solution. What do you guys think? Didn’t she use that frosting spray like a champ? Anyone else out there interested in frosting their entertainment center doors after seeing this stunning transformation?

Psst- Speaking of frosting things, check out this step-by-step tutorial on how we frosted the windows in our very own basement.

Comments

  1. lauren says

    I would have never thought to frost the glass doors- great choice! Also, I just want to say that I love, love, love those colored coded books on the surrounding shelves. All my bookshelves are colorcoded so I always notice when other people do this to theirs as well :)

    Reply

  4. Tricia says

    Looks nice… I also think it looks tidier to put DVD’s in baskets sized just right for them, like I do. I also recently went thru mine and donated a bunch of unwatched ones to the public library.

    Reply

  5. court. says

    J&S,

    Thanks for posting my project! I’m glad to hear that at least someone appreciates my neurotic color-coding of my bookshelves (Thanks, Lauren!!). Maybe we should start a support group!

    Reply

  6. Carol N. says

    Love this idea! Hmmm, that is giving me some wonderful ideas for a couple of glass doors that I have where the insides are not a pretty and ordered as I’d like. Thanks, Courtney and Youngsters!

    Reply

  7. rachel says

    neat concept, but it’s not great to leave the doors shut when the DVD player et. al. are turned on. they can overheat, which shortens their lifespan. it’s ugly, but it would be best for your appliances to open the doors when they’re in use (which would remove your remote problem).

    Reply

  8. Katherine says

    These look great! We are getting ready to frost the doors on our Billy bookcases from Ikea (we added 3 of them in our alcove in our kitchen and pretty much tripled our storage space!). I would love to do a pattern like Courtney’s done, but I don’t think the scrapbook patters will work for big doors like these. What else could we use?

    Reply

    • YoungHouseLove says

      Katherine- Any stencils will do, even something that you DIY. You could try to use blue painters tape (or green frog tape) to create a pattern on the doors to your bookcases or even cut stencils out of things like cardboard or acetate from a craft store. Hope it helps!

      xo,
      s

  9. Stacy says

    I was thinking of something like this for french doors. Well I actually just have one going out to my back covered patio that the 2-story house behind me “could” see in.
    Has anyone done this?

    Reply

    • YoungHouseLove says

      Hey Stacy,

      A while back we saw some awesome lace-like window film that was applied to french closet doors to obscure them. Perhaps you can look around online and in craft stores for patterned window film to achieve the same effect?

      xo,
      s

  15. kami says

    did you do this on the inside or the outside? i’m guessing inside, but i couldn’t tell. also, does the adhesive just wash off?

    it’s adorable! i’m copying!

    Reply

    • YoungHouseLove says

      Hey everyone,

      We’re so glad you’re digging Courtney’s smart little frosting project! Don’t forget to head over to her blog for more details and the answers to your questions! Courtney has already dropped in to see what everyone is saying over here, but if you have any additional questions (that you can’t find the answer to over on her blog) we’re hoping that she’ll stop in again with that info for ya. Stay tuned…

      xo,
      s

  16. Tori says

    This is awesome! I actually need to frost the window next to my front door (partially because I think it’s more functional than window coverings, and partially because I’m too lazy to go looking for window coverings), but it never occurred to me to do a cute, funky pattern! I think I have a new item for my home’s to-do list : )

    Reply

  18. Kayt says

    First of all, that’s an awesome project. She did a great job!

    Second of all, that’s my exact entertainment center, from a local store in Colorado. Creeepy. We should so switch, hers is much nicer than mine.

    Reply

  21. Amanda in Boston says

    Wow, this looks so good! Makes me want to run out and buy something with glass doors just to do this. I am thinking that those stencils and spray paint could also be used on a piece of canvas to make a cheap DIY print!

    Reply

  23. Barbara says

    I never have any luck finding that frosting spray. Ever. Any time I’ve gone looking for it – not there. Any suggestions?

    Reply

  24. theclassywoman says

    I love the new look of the entertainment cabinet!! I am in love with that moroccan pattern. I have used it as framed art in our home and love the idea of using it with the frosted glass.

    Now I’m going to have to stop into Michael’s to see if I can find that scrapbook cardstock pattern. I would love to use it on a mirror I have. :)

    Reply

  25. Laura@PARING DOWN says

    Hobby Lobby has some great patterned stencils in harlequin diamonds, bamboo, fleur de li, etc. These are large pieces and priced about $17. They’re in the aisle with the more traditional stencils and paints. That’s the same aisle as the spray paints, which includes frosting spray.

    I’ve also purchased frosting spray at Home Depot no problem.

    I’m really interested in this project because of my huge, ugly, bathroom shower window. It’s not opaque enough but it’s a huge eyesore!!!

    Beautiful project!

    Reply

  29. Christine says

    Um yeah! I love this idea! I too have a massive collection of DVDs and entertainments equipment (I’ll blame my boyfriend here). He likes to ‘see’ everything and I hate the clutter. This inspired me so much- I love the pattern too.

    Reply

  32. court. says

    Hello, Hello!

    I’m so happy to see that my project has started an avalanche of questions and has inspired bigger projects!! Sliding glass doors?? Amazing. Hop over to my blog and I’ll give the details.

    Oh, and here’s a thought. Why not use a few yards of LACE and spray over those for bigger projects. That would look ridic!!

    Reply

  33. Dana says

    What a wonderful idea that looks much more expensive than it actually was! Budget and functional constraints make for unique solutions… this is one of them! Yay!

    Reply

  35. Laura says

    As usual it is amazing! You guys do such a great job. I have seen that tile at Lowes, and it looks great!

    Good luck on the bean, my dd is 16 going on 17, birthday 5/18!

    Getting ready to drive, yikes!

    Toodles,

    Laura

    Reply

  38. Erin @Cultivating Home says

    I think the frosting looks great. Good work! You can make your own stencils using clear contact paper. Place it on your surface and cut out your design, removing unwanted pieces. Cover it in etching cream, let set, wash off, and remove remaining paper. Very easy to do (Martha Stewart has some good posts on this as well).

    Reply

  39. Christin says

    This looks fantastic! I’ve done the frosted glass thing before – but never with a stencil. Very creative and inspiring! It gives the entertainment center a totally new look!

    Reply

  40. Brittany says

    The frosted glass definitely adds an extra touch of class. Another technique I’ve seen (on Trading Spaces maybe?) is to replace the door inserts with metal mesh. Not only does it allow for the use of remote controls, but it also improves airflow around electronics, and it comes in a variety of finishes (like copper! patina = YUM) I had my doubts about frosting spray, but now I’m itching to stencil my bedroom windows for some privacy.

    Reply

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