Media Cabinet Makeover {DIY Paint Color}

At The Farmhouse, the television sat in a place that was designed for it: between the built-in bookshelves, in front of a window.

But we couldn't bring the built-in shelf along with us, so we were in a quandary about where to put the television in the new house. I was so excited about having a fireplace and mantle, and I wanted that to be the focal point of the room. I did not want to ruin that space (and miss all of those decorating possibilities) with a screen. Before we moved, I arranged the furniture over and over in my head (finagle the book shelves to accommodate media? set the television on a table with the other "stuff" on an old wooden box or a stool underneath?), but nothing seemed right.

We eventually decided that Ron should build a tall media cabinet, with doors to hide all the "ugly stuff" when not in use. But...we have projects galore, and this one would need to wait.

Then Kati's eagle eyes spotted this piece at a barn sale.

Yes, it was turquoise (which is a lovely color...but not with my decor!), but it was $49! Sold!

We brought it home and set up all the media components, put the baskets of DVDs and Wii remotes inside, and there it sat for several months waiting to be transformed (and sticking out like a sore thumb). 

I suppose it was okay that it took me a while to get around to it, because that gave me time to choose a paint color. Black? Tan? Barn red? Red over tan? Red over black? Tan over black? Green? (Yes, I really did consider all of those options.) Then one day I saw a photo online of a blanket chest painted in a brownish red and I loved it. Later that same day, I visited a friend and she had a jelly cupboard that was also brownish red, and I knew that that was the color for my media stand. The only problem was that I didn't have a paint strip or a color name to go by.


Here's what I did:

1) Got out a bunch of my craft paints.

2) Mixed and swirled on a paper plate until I had several possibilities.

3) Painted the possibilities on a wooden paint paddle.

4) Took my paint paddle to Home Depot (I clearly marked the chosen color on the paddle) and had them use their spectrophotometer to create a paint in my very own custom color!

I felt like a bona fide decorator...and you can too!

Do you have anything that needs a paint makeover? Have you ever considered creating your own paint color?