Trash to Treasure: Converting Old Computer and TV Stands Into Coffee Stations
Don't discard that outdated piece of furniture. Convert it to a coffee station instead.
A couple of issues ago, in Courtside Coffee Coffee Corner, I included a video on decorating your coffee bar for Halloween. I figured that if you like coffee, you deserve a coffee bar.
Over the years, I’ve written about coffee bars for several publications. My favorite interview was with Nancy Macon, longtime owner of Just Repurposed consignment furniture shop in Hanceville, Alabama.
I recently learned Macon was retiring and sharing her business space with an antique shop owner. Macon carries all kinds of furniture in her shop, but she had particular success repurposing discarded TV and Computer amoires. She converted them into coffee stations.
Remember those heavy, oversized armoires that were must-haves when wanted to hide your oversized television and desktop computer monitors? Well, those things are ideal coffee stations.
So, if you have one of these parked in the garage or hiding in the basement, consider repurposing it.
One super cool hack Macon shared with me was that they drilled a hole into the top of the units and placed a light fixture — a bulb on a cord — there. This simple accessory adds so much ambiance.
What makes these pieces ideal coffee stations is that they have plenty of storage for supplies, accommodate electric cords, and are easy to repaint.
Another tip Macon gave me was to use Dixie Belle chalk and mineral paint. I’d never heard of the paint—I’m a Benjamin Moore devotee—but she swears by Dixie Belle to paint repurposed furniture and used it on all the converted pieces you see in these pictures.
You don’t have to limit coffee station transformations to armoires. Macon transformed old wash stands, which were used to hold wash basins and towels, into beautiful coffee bars. You can convert any solid piece of furniture with a flat top and storage into a coffee station.
So before you spend a ton on a fancy console, or even a couple of hundred at a discount retailer, look around the house. That ugly dresser hiding in the back of the closet could be repainted and repurposed into a luxury coffee bar.
