In our old apartment, the room that would eventually become our daughter’s nursery didn’t have a closet. It did, however, have an old tall entertainment center built to hold a television much larger than today’s flat screen styles.
As I thought about how to convert the room into a nursery, I took a closer look at the entertainment center. We had given away the television that had once sat in it so it was pretty much just extra storage.
With its large empty space, drawer and cabinet, I realized it could easily be transformed into a closet of sorts for my future daughter’s tiny clothes. I bought a cheap shower curtain rod, hung it across the large space meant to hold a television and, voilà, the nursery had an armoire.
Today’s hint is to consider doing a similar transformation if you’re in need of more closet space. And you don’t need to already have an old, empty entertainment center unit sitting around to do the trick. With flat screens making media centers designed for old televisions a bit dated, you likely can just buy an old, cheap entertainment unit on a site like Craigslist.
The nursery armoire I created.
I’m not the only one who likes this frugal closet making trick. One blogger commenting on the site Rookie Moms mentioned how she and her husband are also “using an old entertainment center as an armoire for clothes and books.”
But what if you’re not in need of a closet? There are other ways you can upcycle old entertainment centers into something more useful for a nursery or playroom. For instance, Anne Marie of the blog Twice Lovely transformed a free entertainment center she got off Craigslist into a play kitchen. Tricia at Zoom In, meanwhile, turned an old entertainment center into a puppet theater and other ideas I came across online include upcycling the centers into toy storage and craft closets (check out this Pinterest board for more ideas for upcycling entertainment centers).
To be sure, my hack probably works best for baby clothes (because they don’t take up much room) or someone with a small wardrobe. In addition, when transforming the units, you may have to deal with covering up holes in the back where electric cords used to pass, if the holes bother you. They didn’t bother me.
What are your tips for frugally making nursery and playroom furniture? What have you done with outdated entertainment centers?
That’s a great idea for all those little clothes!