Love the look of farmhouse furniture, but don’t want to spend a fortune? This DIY farmhouse TV stand is a great way to add charm to your space on a budget!
Have you ever seen a piece of furniture that you just fell in love with but didn’t want to spend the
money to buy it? In this tutorial, I’m going to show you how to take a piece of broken-down
furniture and turn it into a beautiful farmhouse TV stand – for a fraction of the price!
Not only is this project easy and inexpensive, but it’s also a great way to upcycle an old piece of
furniture. And I am sharing some ways to get the exact look if you don’t have an old piece of
furniture to makeover. So gather your supplies, and let’s get started!
You Won’t Believe this Farmhouse TV Stand Transformation!
We got a new TV recently and I searched for a rustic TV stand to go under it for the longest time. I could never find one that I liked (within my budget, anyway) then one day I was walking through our barn and I remembered we had this old work bench that a friend gave us. I stopped and looked at it and realized it was the perfect size and shape and best of all it was FREE!!
The question was, could this be saved? This thing was a beast and in super rough shape! The top was covered in old paint, oil can marks and grease.
The paint was peeling all over.
The inside was covered in carpet and mouse poop. Mouse poop can carry Hantavirus Disease, so if you come across this situation, make sure you wear a mask and gloves when cleaning it. You can find more information about it Here.
I’ve done a lot of furniture flips such as this DIY Coffee Table Makeover and this Antique Hutch Makeover, but this DIY TV stand was going to be a ton of work!! But did I mention it was FREE??
What Do You Need to Make a DIY Farmhouse TV Stand?
Sandpaper
Sawzall
Belt sander
Furniture stripper
Spackle
Paint color of your choice
Paintbrushes
Polyurethane or top coat of your choice
Step 1. Clean & Prep
We started by removing the casters on the bottom and used a sawzall to cut the middle leg off. We also had to cut a small slice off the back to make it sit evenly on the floor.
Next, this bad boy needed a good cleaning. We removed the doors, ripped out the carpet and got to work. I vacuumed it out thoroughly and then sprayed it with cleaner and literally hosed it down inside and out. Again, make sure to wear gloves and a mask when using the cleaner and anywhere there may be mouse poop.
Step 2. Finish the Top
Once it was completely dry, I started working on the top which was a job in itself. I used paint stripper first and that took off a lot of of it. I applied the stripper to the top with a foam brush and let it sit for about 20 minutes. Then I gently scraped it off with a putty knife into some newspaper and a paper bag. I add shredded newspaper to the bag and let it dry. Once it’s dry, you can throw it in the garbage.
I wiped the top of the piece off with a dry cotton cloth and let it dry. thoroughly I removed the remaining stains and paint on the top by sanding it first with the belt sander and then with a palm sander.
.
Once I got underneath all of the layers, it was a pretty oak color. There were small touches of paint here and there but I liked the rustic feel so much I decided to leave it. I wanted to add a finish on it but not something that had any type of sheen. My husband found this matte finish at Home Depot and now it’s my new favorite.
I used a foam brush to apply the one coat.
It’s perfect for a rustic look like this, covers great, leaves a soft finish and it dries in no time.
Step 3. Paint the Farmhouse TV Stand
I used the palm sander on the rest of the piece. You should wear a mask when sanding as you never know if something like this or something very old has lead paint. An easy way to identify if the piece has lead paint is with these 3M Leadcheck Swabs.
I quickly realized I really liked the way it was looking with the rustic distressed finish underneath the peeling paint. Unfortunately, the latch was missing on one of the doors, there was paint missing on the top of one side where a board came off and there were holes everywhere. I would have to ” target=”_blank” rel=”nofollow noopener noreferrer”>spackle so much and touch up the paint in too many places so I needed to paint the entire thing.
I’ve been really into blues and greens lately and had some paint left over from a few other projects like this Thrift Store Table Makeover and this DIY Farmhouse Buffet Makeover. in the shades I was looking for so I mixed up something similar to the original color.
Unfortunately, it came out a bit brighter than I wanted. I even tried dulling it with some antique wax but it just didn’t feel right.
TIP: Antique wax adds a warm, warn look to the piece and dull a piece to make it look more “antiqued”. You can see how I used it on the Store Table Makeover.
Plan B.
I ended up buying something a bit more blue, Benjamin Moore Caribbean Teal. It was not quite as greenish as I was looking for originally but it’s a lot more subtle than the first color I tried. Turns out, I love it!!
I have decided to not add pulls for now because the doors open easily without them and I kind of like the simple lines of it.
This farmhouse TV stand was a ton of work but definitely worth it in the long run. It’s the perfect size for the space and has tons of storage. I love the way it adds color to the space and calm or softness at the same time. Stay tuned because next time I’ll be sharing the full family room makeover!
No time to DIY, you can still save money and find cute farmhouse tv stands at Walmart.
It turned out beautiful! I envy your creative thought process!
Thank you so much, Karen!!
Love this!
Hi Kathy! Thank you!