Mille-Fleurs TV Armoire
It’s a little hard to feel transported back in time, if you’re sitting in a Victorian room under a looming home entertainment system.
 
Now some people do convert old wardrobe closets or china cabinets into entertainment system storage. In my case, this was already a TV armoire, but was slightly damaged in a furniture store clearance area. I liked the art nouveau leafy design at the top, and the fact that the television didn’t have to be the focal point of my room. But as you can see in the picture above, at left, it was seven-foot-tall and very, relentlessly beige. As-was, it felt a little like having Larry Byrd hovering in my living room, unwilling to take a seat. Or like trying to socialize with guests under a Stonehenge monolith.
 
Taking inspiration from William Morris tapestries and my Pre-Raphaelite prints, I broke up the beige by picking out architectural details in the armoire using Folk Art paint (under $1 a tube at Michael’s!) in dark green. I also used gold leaf paint in the shade, Renaissance Gold.
 
On the arched doors of the armoire-- also using Folk Art paints-- I copied a Medieval mille-fleurs tapestry from an image I pulled off the Internet.
 
And in case you’re not confident about your painting skills, have no fear-- neither am I. But the nice part about copying a medieval tapestry is that medieval artists didn’t use perspective, shading and depth the way the later masters did. This takes a lot of the pressure off! Plus I took many, many photos along the way, so in case I had to undo something, I would know where I was before things got ugly. Of course, if you’re still not comfortable with the concept of painting, consider either decoupaging a scene, using rub-on transfers, or stenciling may be an appropriate option. Any can be an effective focal-point for your armoire.
 
The whole project took a little over a month of work in irregular two-hour increments: and most of that was actually in painting the body of the armoire, not the mural itself. When it was done, I sprayed it with a clear overcoat, so the paint would resist chipping and scratching. I used Design Master. But if your project is in whites or pastels, Deft has a particular good topcoat to try; it doesn’t tend to yellow as much as some protective topcoats do. It’s really fumey, though, so you’ll want to work in a well-ventilated area.