STEREO CABINET MAKEOVER = BUFFET TABLE

Then....                                                                                                 NOW!

I spotted this cabinet across the parking lot at a garage sale, I thought it was a buffet table and I got really excited... It would be nice in our dining room (AFTER a makeover). When I got closer and actually tried to open the the drawers, I realized that its actually an old stereo/record player/8-track player. YIKES. I decided to buy it anyhow. It was $10 and the guy even loaded it into my van (and provided a bungee cord when it didn't quite fit!)

$10!

 To John's ultimate disappointment, the record player didn't actually work, but I wasn't planning on keeping it anyhow, so I didn't mind a bit.

I removed the back and gutted out as much as I felt like of the inner wiring/equipment. I also fixed the flip-up lid (over the record player) that wasn't sitting quite right by adjusting the hinge in the back. 

Back of cabinet, mid-gutting

Even though there is no door/drawer access from the front, pulling it away from the wall will give access to whatever we put in the back. But of course whatever we put back there would need to be something I wouldn't be getting out frequently (KEEP READING TO FIND OUT WHAT I PUT BACK THERE!)

I haven't gotten to it yet, but eventually I will also remove the record player, which will give us some room to store items (like tablecloths or whatever), on the top shelf (accessible through the flip-up top).

The next step was to paint the outside of the cabinet with black chalk paint (plaster of paris, water, and black interior house paint) that I mixed myself using the huge bucket o' plaster of paris I bought a few projects back. Black chalk paint is pretty flat looking until you distress and/or wax:

Painted with chalk paint

 Next, I distressed the edges with sandpaper and waxed the whole thing with clear wax:

Distressed & waxed

 A close-up! 

I had enough room in the bottom section of this cabinet to put my emergency water storage (FEMA & the Red Cross recommend storing 3 days worth of water for drinking/cooking/hygiene in  emergencies that might affect the local water supply). Better safe than sorry! I had recently purchased some mylar water bags that go inside special stackable boxes from Emergency Essentials. These are easy to stack in a closet or somewhere else out of the way (like a huge stereo cabinet).

Emergency water storage inside the not-very-accessible bottom section

UPDATE: The dining room table is dark, and so is the piano, so I felt like it was a little much. I repainted the body white and kept the top black. I also coated the top with polycrylic clear coat.