Armoire Upcycled to Entryway Mudcloset

I have struggled for years to keep the front entryway organized and neat with shoes, book bags, umbrellas, husband's junk. I really hated seeing it all. It's a nightmare for someone who dabbles in OCD :/ 

My original plan was to make a mud closet...and I did! See my earlier post here where I re-purposed an old entertainment center into a mud closet. Not bad for my first try. After a couple years of constantly barking orders for someone to straighten up the mess, I decided I wanted an armoire to hide the mess!

I searched and searched for just the right one with the right price. I finally found this TV armoire. Isn't is pretty? I really loved the red and would have left it that color honestly had it matched anything in my home, but sadly it did not. 

I chose a dark blue that would contrast well with our rather loud living room wall color. I created my own chalk paint and had to apply three coats to cover up that red well. You can check out my DIY Chalk Paint here with application instructions, plus I posted a previous article that includes how to apply wax here. You will need to apply wax to protect your new finish. 

Since the armoire's backing had a huge cutout for a TV we replaced the entire backing with a beaded hardboard wall panel from Lowes. I removed the bottom shelves the armoire came with so we'd have two large spaces to accommodate shoes. We bought two new baskets from Michael's to hold shoes for a more appealing look. This photo predates all the extra materials that have accumulated, but isn't it looking great? My family thought it was fine as is, without doors. Yes, it's nice, but the doors are the entire point!  

The doors were just begging for a little something extra. I really wanted to stencil cherry blossoms but I just could not find a stencil that I thought would work well. If I ever find one, I may just completely redo the doors. 

Anyway, I found a stencil that I was content with at Micheal's. I wavered between stenciling in white or yellow. Finally opted to go bold and chose Pale Yellow in an acrylic paint. You can visit my tutorial here for a simple stenciling method which works well with larger stencils. On this particular piece with small details I found using a stencil sponge worked better. I spray painted the original knobs with Oil-Rubbed Bronze by Rust-Oleum. 

Now we have a lovely inexpensive armoire for our entryway that not only hides all our daily belongings, but also is appealing to our decor :)