DIY Entertainment Center turned Mud Closet

I try my best to re-purpose furniture I no longer need. I enjoy creating something new out of something old :)

I had an old school entertainment center that I've owned since I was single (looooong time ago), I couldn't decide if I should just sell it or make something new. What would I make?? I saw so many cute entertainment centers turned into children's play kitchens, etc on Pinterest. My kids are really too big for that though.

I ran across tutorials about how to build your very own "mud closet". Hmmm...mud closet to finally have a place for all the book bags and shoes? And I have an entertainment center I'm not using? LIGHT BULB!

Here is what my old entertainment center looked like beforehand:

I removed all the doors, the terrible old school looking trim at the top and removed one shelf, to be reused on the bottom.
I asked my husband to please "buy a piece of wood" for the backing lol (this is actually 1/2 thick MDF in case you're wondering). He measured and cut the entire piece for me then nailed it into place. Thank you hubby :)

I filled in all the holes and any areas that had grooves or nicks with spackling. Once dry, sand the areas down so its nice and smooth. I also lightly sanded all surfaces so my paint would apply better. Don't apply paint to shiny or ultra smooth surfaces, it doesn't stick well.

I painted my new mud closet a deep green. I used Behr latex paint. If I had to do it over again, I might have actually used an oil based paint. I believe it would hold up better to constant abuse. But so far my mud closet it holding up nicely and we've been using it for a year :)

My last touches were to line a few of the shelves with contact paper for durability. The thought of my kids tossing heavy book bags across my nice new shelf made me want to cringe lol. I also added self-adhesive craft felt to the back so when placed up against my living room wall, it would not cause damage/marks.

And presto! New Mud Closet! 

We got a lot of use out of this mud closet, but eventually passed it own to new owners as we made way for a newer "mud closet" from an armoire!