As 2021 comes to a close, I wanted to share my hands-down favorite furniture flip of the year. Earlier in the summer, I picked up an old record player for $10. It was missing all the good parts, patched with a mismatch of wood, and literally had grass in the bottom. 

 

 

Despite all of the flaws, I knew it had some potential. I held onto it for a bit until I saw the furniture flip contest hosted by The Makers Challenge. I love participating in their challenges because it really gives me the chance to think outside the box and try something new. The theme of this particular challenge was color and I was completely stumped at first - I love accents of color but to paint a whole piece? Stumped! However, I decided to use this little record player and turn it into something completely different.

 

 

I knew I wanted to keep the original fabric and metal accent from the speaker, so I removed them and cut off the front frame on the bottom to make a hinged door. It was so difficult to get that off and I pulled out an arsenal of tools to make it work. Since I was busy wrestling it off, I didn't take too many progress photos, but I also removed all of the old shelves and pieces from the inside and patched up any holes with wood filler.

 

 

I used almost all reclaimed wood for the interior. I planed down barnwood for the shelves and built a wine holder for the bottom. That was also a new challenge to get it to fit snug and I won't lie - I had to remake it twice to get it right.

 

 

I really wanted to save the original pattern on the doors but the veneer was damaged and I just could not find a way to fix it. After hours of extensive Google searching I also couldn't find a replacement, although I did find something similar. At this point, I had to decide on a color and I drew inspiration from my vintage Pyrex bowls. I love the muted tones and decided on a burnt orange. I used Cosmic Sunset and Copper Pot by Clark + Kensington - the lighter color is on the exterior and the darker orange is on the inside of the doors. For the inside, I mixed a hint of the orange with white for a toned down version, but still keeping the orange theme. The whole piece was sealed with Walrus Oil Furniture Butter to preserve the finish.

 



For the front, I got a little crazy and added this unique paper I had been holding onto. It is by Idlewild Co. and I got it at MADE in Jackson Hole, Wyoming. As someone who was initially afraid of using color, I just love how the paper brought it all together.

I added two continuous hinges on the drop down door (similar to a piano hinge), round knobs on the front, and a t-shaped knob on the door. I went way out of the box by also adding a secretary desk hinge / drop front hinge / lid support hinge - I still have no idea what the actual name is or how to install them, but I knew I had to have one for the drop down door on the front.

I love the contrast of the mixed metals by using gold accents against the bronzed design of the speaker and the original door hinges. I used a sheet of beadboard for the back and love the natural look. Here are some links to what I used to finish the piece (this post may contain affiliate links):

From Amazon:



Although I didn't win the furniture flip contest, I am so pleased with how this piece turned out. I tried a lot of new techniques with this one and it has gained a permanent spot in my home.