Before, During, and After: The Playroom Wall Unit

As you can see by the date, we redid this wall unit over 4 years ago. It was a hand-me-down piece from my mom. She bought it in the early 80's when medium oak furniture with rounded mouldings was the choice of every budget decorator. When she gave it me some 10 years ago, the finish was dried out from years of neglect. We took it home and I promptly slapped on the black paint. What the %#*& was I thinking?

I had a great time removing the nasty, paint-stuck front mouldings with my hammer and pry-bar. I got to be Psycho Mom for real that day! But the fun quickly ended and the real work began.

I think the boys would have loved to keep this thing flat so they could use it as a fort. Lucas thinks this picture makes his butt look big. Yes, he's definately his mama's boy!

I originally wanted to move the wall unit downstairs to the garage to paint it. But the thing weighs like 500 gazillion pounds! When first moved in, Q and the two movers had a very difficult time getting it upstairs to the playroom. At that time, Q informed me that if this thing ever leaves the house, "it will be out the window in pieces!"

Primer, primer, and MORE PRIMER!!!!!!

One week, six coats of primer, two coats of white paint, and three trips to The Depot later...

Now it's Quinton's turn. He gets to play with his new miter box and power tools!

Success! The Finished Product. And it was all done without spilling any paint on the carpet.

The close up detail.

Fast forward four years. The wall unit now has paint nicks and chips (the moulding we used was MDF), and is covered in crayon. I think it might have melted Popsicle juice stuck to one of the shelves, too. I'll spiff it up someday--when the boys quit taking snacks and writing implements to the playroom.