Turn Your Vintage Dresser into a TV Cabinet

Ok, so I love old vintage dressers. I find them all of the time in antique stores and at local flea markets. My better half banned me from buying anymore vintage dressers, so I had to come up with a fun project that would make him appreciate my obsession with these charming old piece of furniture. You can make this simple TV cabinet out of almost any dresser. You should expect to spend about $50 in materials, excluding the cost of the vintage dresser.

Overall I think you should be able to transform the vintage dresser into a TV cabinet in one day. You don’t have to rush though!

To Turn a Vintage Wood Dresser into TV Cabinet You Will Need:

1 Wood Dresser
Jig Saw
2X4’s
Tape measure
Primer
Paint
Paint rollers and Brushes
Sander or Sand Paper
Piano Hinge
Magnetic door clip
Sheet if Birch or Pine Plywood (cut to size)

Ok, so my favorite thing about this vintage dresser remodel is that you get your vintage furniture and he gets his TV. The bonus is you can shut the door and hide away his TV any time you want.

Now, the first step is to remove the drawers.

Now, use your jig saw to cut the entire front piece of wood inside the main frame of the dresser. These are the wood slats that the drawers slide into.

Now, use your sand paper to sand down any rough edges.

Now, you need to remove your drawer fronts from the main box of the drawers. You can again use your jug saw to do this. This will be unique to each dress, but some dresser may be assembling so that you can simple pull the front panel off the drawer.

Sand down the back of the front drawer panel until it is flat and smooth.

Now, measure the main opening on the body of the dresser.

Cut you birch or pine plywood to about one inch longer and wider than this opening.

Now, attach each of the drawer fronts from the vintage dresser to the front of this birch plywood. You can simply predrill a hole through the plywood and into the back of the drawer front. Screw them in place.

Now, you need to attach the new front of the dresser with the piano hinge. I Like to lay the dresser on its back, flat on the ground.

Attach the hinges to the front left of the wood on the dresser. Now, have a friend help you hold the new “door” in place. Hold the hinge up to the new front where it will attach. Use a marker to mark through the hole where you need to pre drill holed. Predrill small holes partially though the back of the front panel. Now, use small screws to attach the hinge to he back of the panel.

Go ahead and close the front panel of your vintage dresser. Decide where you want to install your magnetic clip that will hold the front door of your vintage dresser TV cabinet shut. Install this simply buy install one side of the magnet to the dresser and the other piece to the matching space on the back of the door. You can find these magnetic door hardware clips at any hardware or home improvement store in the door cabinet door hardware isle.

Now, stand the vintage dresser up. You need to decide if it needs a shelf to put the TV on or if it is already the right height. If you need a shelf then measure eth inside width and depth of the dresser. Cut your 2X4’s to fit this.

You can attach the 2X4′ inside the dresser by install L bracket sunder them. You could also drill in from the outside of the dresser and screw them in. You will need one 2X4″ on the back and one on each side. Now, cut a sheet for birch ply wood to fit inside of the dresser. Place it on e 2X4″ brackets you made.

Now, you can sand the entire vintage dresser and prime it out. Now, paint it in milk paint, house paint, or any finish you choose. It is important to paint the entire piece to make it look cohesive.

Finally, use your power drill with a 1 ½ inch drill bit to drill a few holes in the back of the vintage dresser. This will allow the cords of your TV to come out the back!

You’re finished!