DIY Entertainment Center

I hope everyone had a wonderful Thanksgiving holiday! Tyler and I headed back to our hometown to celebrate with family and were able to finalize a project that has been in the works for several months. It's so rewarding to cross something  off the to-do list, isn't it? Tyler has been working on a ton of projects at our house, but he and his Dad have also been working together to build an entertainment center for his Mom.

A few months ago, Tyler and I were at his parents house and we started talking about their living room. I threw around a few ideas that could easily update the space without a lot of time and effort... or so I thought. :) Tyler's Mom started researching a few ideas after we left and found a DIY entertainment center on Pinterest.

Photo via Ana White

She suggested Tyler and his Dad take a stab at building it for her as a birthday gift. The plans looked simple enough, so we planned a weekend to return home and knock the thing out. Easy-peasy. Well, one weekend turned into two weekends, two weekends turned into several late nights, and finally a few months later it was wrapped up. Isn't that how all projects go? Needless to say, a lot was learned on this DIY. I don't think there were any tears, but there was definitely some blood and sweat spilled!

Here are a few in progress photos:

Tyler even built the top from scratch. He sanded, glued, sanded, filled, sanded, sanded, and then did a little more sanding. I swear he was down in our basement for over 24 hours just sanding the thing. To finish it off, he applied some stain and then we were able to assemble everything!

The final product turned out even better than I expected!

Just look at that smooth finish. I guess all of the sanding paid off. :)

They even built the barn door sliding hardware from scratch.

It's amazing how such a simple piece of furniture can really tie a room together. It feels fresh and brand new! Plus, what a great bonding experience. :)

We completed several other projects over the weekend as well, so stay tuned for some more updates in the next few days!