Hello from lockdown! I don’t know about you guys, but I’ve been using my time in social isolation to knock out a few big projects that I’ve been putting off and thought I’d share the most recent one with you all.
A few months ago, after years of saving and preparing, I finally managed to pull together enough to buy my own place. It’s not huge, but it’s all mine and that means I get to decorate it the way I want…and the quarantine has been the perfect opportunity to get things on my to-do list done!
One thing I knew I wanted in my place was a spot for me to display all my Halloween themed dishes and serving ware I’ve been collecting for years…
As you can see, I’ve managed to built up a pretty large stash of items I truly love. Unfortunately, due to lack of space, they’ve been sitting in either the basement or in a box in storage.
So many boxes… 
Full disclosed…this is only about half. There’s still more…
I knew I wanted a way to display them all (or as many as I could) in one central place that was also easy for me to access so when I have dinner parties, I could pull them out and entertain in style.
I did a little research and realized with a bit of upcycling and repurposing, I could turn an old entertainment center into a perfect buffet-style display case. The only catch was, I had to make sure whatever I found was affordable as closing costs are F*CKING expensive and I had cleaned out my entire account. Time to turn to Facebook Marketplaces.
It’s easy to find entertainment centers online. The hard part is finding one that was what I wanted both aesthetically and for a price I could afford. It took about a month, but I finally found one that fit both my criteria!
The guy selling it was downsizing in prep for a move into a smaller space and this beast was too big for his new place. I had seen other people selling this exact same entertainment center on the marketplace, but it had always been way out of my price range, going from anywhere between $800-$1200…way more than I could afford.
Luckily this guy was in a rush and wanted to dump it as fast as possible and had it up for $200. It took two trucks and some disassembly, but I managed to get it home and into my place. I have a wall just outside my kitchen that was exactly the right size and the unit fit perfectly.
Of course, my supervising team had to make sure I put it together properly.
Next was to figure out how I wanted to rearrange the unit and what was going to go where. I put a photo of the unit into my computer and used photoshop to mock up some ideas.
After I got done mocking up my plans, I started utilizing the space I already had that didn’t need modification…the display shelves on either side. I used these for my plates, bowls, and glasses.
Bonus, all the included lights work perfectly and illuminated all my items! SO fancy!
One thing I knew I needed was drawers for my silverware. I spent some time looking online again and found this antique vanity for $50.
I brought the vanity home, gently unscrewed the legs (carefully stashed away for now for future use) and set the now legless vanity into the center of the entertainment center where the TV would normally go.
It fits PERFECTLY!
I put all my silverware away, so excited to finally have them all in one spot.
Eventually, I am going to line all the drawers with felt, but for now, this is good enough.
I started putting things into the unit, seeing how it all fit together so I could figure out where I needed shelves and more storage.
In order to put in shelves, I knew I would need to have a way to support them. Rather than run the risk of drilling into the wood and screwing it up (trust me, I have done things like this enough to know I shouldn’t trust myself to do it right) I found a cheap bookcase online for $10.
The unit broke down into two smaller bookcases, each about three feet high. I disassembled the bookcase and put two of the side pieces into the entertainment unit to support a long shelf that would run the entire width of the interior where the TV had originally gone.
The last trip I made before the lockdown was to Home Depot for a 72″ long black laminated shelf board.
The interior space was exactly 62″ wide, so a little trim with a saw later and the shelf fit snug as a bug.
Time to put everything in its place!
This is still technically a work in progress, but I’m so happy with how it looks so far I wanted to share and hopefully inspire anyone else who is stuck at home to find a fun way to alleviate a little cabin fever. Future upgrades include wanting to put a wine bottle holder into the cabinet space down at the bottom so I can stash my booze there.
Another future upgrade includes replacing all the knobs and pulls on the unit with these perfect little silver bats I found on Etsy.
I also want to refine the shelves in the center so they’re more integrated, but for where I am right now and for the price I paid, I couldn’t be happier!
So how much did this entire adventure cost? Let’s add it up!
- Entertainment Unit $200
- Vanity: $50
- Bookcase: $10
- Shelf: $15
Grand total: $275
Not too shabby! Of course, my borderline obsession with buying Halloween and horror-themed serving platters, dishes, silverware, and other staples means there are still more pieces in storage than I have room to display here. Which means…it’s time to destash. So keep your eyes peeled…I think I’m gonna have to do a virtual yard sale sometime this spring.
Until then, I’m so happy with how this project turned out and have to ask you all…what are you working on these days? Anyone else stuck at home with projects on your to-do list? Show me what you’re up to and stay safe!
Looks great! Hope you and your trusty helper are safe and happy.
One thing, though; if the shelf you put in is made of some sort of composite such as particle-board, it will tend to sag in the middle, in the worst case even shortening the boar enough to slip off the supports.
An easy fix is to glue and screw (belts AND braces) three supporting strips underneath. Aluminium strip is fine. It can be sprayed black to hide.
All the best to you and your readers.
KerissP.
Ahahah! You are SO right! In fact, I do have a piece of matching wood that is going to be used to help brace it up but I still need to trim it down so for now, my resin Baby Yoda sculpt is jammed under it to keep it from sagging. 🙂
It’s coming together so well! I can’t believe the prices you managed to pick these up for. No way would we find anything in as good condition here. The dressing table gave me some idea of scale. Your unit would literally take up the whole of one of our walls!! lol looking forward to seeing how you fancy it up… it’s going to be awesome. Sue x
It’s HUGE! The wall is 96″ wide and I have about 8″ of clearance on each side so it’s MASSIVE! It took a bit to get it into the space but I’m so happy with how it turned out. I admit, I checked out your blog and your corner cabinet for some good inspiration before I started.