TV Armoire Upcycle: From Outdated to Outrageous!

Remember when TVs used to be stored in bulky furniture like this?

With the advent of flat screen TVs, these armoires became beached whales in dens and living rooms across the country. That begs the question… what do we do with them now?

Hang onto your hat because this answer’s gonna blow your mind!

I saw the idea for converting these armoires into bookcases in Jen Crider’s terrific furniture redesign book, Amazing Furniture Makeovers (©2019 Page Street Publishing). Crider is well-known for her blog Girl in the Garage®. When an armoire almost identical to the one she repurposed popped up on Facebook Marketplace, I just had to try this. I tweaked a few of her steps, but I give her all the credit for the fabulous concept.

Step One: Gutting

First I removed the doors and their sliding tracks. Since I was going for a more contemporary look, I also removed the drawer handles and matching decorative handles on the sides and the traditional shell-like emblem on the base.

Next, I tackled the guts by yanking out the miscellaneous wiring and the turntable. I patched all the holes left behind with wood filler.

These armoires were designed to accommodate TVs that spilled a lot of wiring out the back and generated a fair amount of heat needing ventilation. So you’ll usually find one or more unfortunate holes in the back. I removed this flimsy rear panel entirely.

Step Two: Primer and Paint

After discarding the unnecessary bits and pieces, this is the framework that remained. For priming and painting, I removed the drawer that provided access to the auxiliary tech (VCR, cable box, etc.).

After sanding, I primed the armoire with two coats of Zinsser BIN® shellac-based primer. This would prevent bleed-through of the cherry stain. Then I applied two coats of Farmhouse Paint’s “Classic White.”

Looking better already!

Step Three: The Drawer

After priming and painting the drawer, I attached oil-rubbed bronze cup handles. This more contemporary style meshed with the updated vibe of the bookcase.

These armoires often have drawers with false fronts that drop down so your remote control can send a clear signal to your tech. Great to change the channel, but not so great when you want to pull the drawer open. If you look closely on each side, you can see where I inserted a screw at the rear of the slotted swing mechanism. This secured the front in a vertical position.

Step Four: The Shelves

Two shelves would reasonably fit in the open cavity. Crider’s book employed a fixed shelving system, but I decided to go all out and make my shelves adjustable. That meant getting a new toy!

This is my new Milescraft CabinetMate® drill jig. No doubt you’ve seen this peg hole system on many types of furniture and cabinetry (probably in your own home). Supported by movable pegs, shelves can be placed at a variety of heights.

I completed this step prior to attaching the back of the bookcase so I’d have easy access to drill the rear peg holes.

Step Five: The Back

Once the peg holes were completed, it was time to attach the back. Crider’s example used a farmhouse-style shiplap, but I wanted something a little simpler and more lightweight. A neighbor was giving away a full sheet of beadboard, so I claimed it, cut it to size, and painted it to match. I used my Surebonder pneumatic staple gun (you knew I’d work it into this project somehow, didn’t you?) to affix the beadboard to the frame.

Now all that was left was to install the pre-made white shelves I purchased and trimmed to fit.