We may have been the last family in Canada to still have an old clunky box tv. Okay, maybe not the last but we definitely held on to it for a long time in a room we rarely watched tv anyway. Recently we decided it was finally time to upgrade the room to modern times and get rid of the eyesore that included the large tv entertainment unit that it sat in.
Personally I was more than happy to see it go and couldn’t wait to toss it out, but my husband had other plans. I’ll admit I was skeptical at first. I really just wanted it out of the house, but since we had been talking about buying a bookshelf for the boys room anyway, I was willing to give it a try as long as it went into the closet. I didn’t want anymore floor space taken up in their room or have their furniture more un-matchy.
How to turn an old t.v. console into a bookshelf
First things first we had a large hole in the back of the unit, where the back of the tv went through that had to be covered with some foam board so the books wouldn’t fall out. Next, we removed the shelf that was in the compartment below and moved it up to the tv opening to create a second shelf. Now we had two levels to fill with lots of books, and trust me, we own a lot of books!
The bottom compartment we now use as ‘stuffie storage’, it’s a place where all their various stuffed creatures can sit and the glass doors are ideal because the boys can still see them even when they are tucked away.
The small shelf at the top is holding some c.d.’s and special items like their piggy banks.
The unit turned out to be perfect! We couldn’t have bought a shelf as versatile as this, it holds everything and cost us nothing!
If I had known I was going to love it this much I might have given it a coat of paint lol
Repurposing an old piece of furniture was great for our budget and the environment. It just suits our needs perfectly and definitely has a new lease on life for a few more years.
Have you ever re-used furniture for another purpose?
Your hubby is so clever. It looks great and cost nothing.
It probably works better than any bookshelf too because it gets the stuffed animals off the floor as well!
I love this so much! So clever! (And you are definitely not the last one to have a big old boxy TV still kicking around. Sigh.)
They are so big and clunky, they take up too much space don’t they? Now that our tv is on the wall and the unit is gone, we have so much more space in that room!
It looks great!! looks like it was made for that space, and aren’t you happy, you got to save yourself some money..whoohoo!!
For sure! Buying something that big would have cost so much money!
It did turn out well. Always nice when you can re-use something instead of having to get rid of it. Plus it saves money if you don’t have to buy a new piece of furniture.
That looks super, I just love it when an old piece of furniture (also often better built than today’s furniture) can be given a new lease of life, it really does look great.
I’m so glad that we have the thin, light TVs now. Those old ones were awful to move! This is a clever idea. I’m sure those old consoles can be picked up very cheaply if not for free if you don’t already have one to reuse.
Great re-purposing project!