I found this midcentury sideboard at Community Action Resale Holland Thrifts for $10 but it needed some TLC. 

The shape reminded me of the Arhaus Finnley sideboard that costs $2,999 which was WAY out of my budget but I had a vision to make this piece work in my home. 

So, I sent my husband Mitch to pick it up and the guy at the counter said, “Oh I’m so glad you’re buying this; we didn’t know what to do with it.”  He couldn’t see beyond the yellow tinted color. I couldn’t wait to transform it.

I used Minwax gel stain in coffee and found that applying it with a foam brush worked the best. 

When I used a bristle brush, the brush strokes showed. I ended up doing 3 coats on the front

and then added 2 coats of polyurethane warm satin with a cloth. I had added in some mineral spirits to the can so I could easily apply it with a clean cloth.

This truly was a simple DIY and we added it in our sitting area of our unfinished basement. When using gel stain, you don’t need to sand before using and you definitely DON’T sand in between coats of the stain or polyurethane.

I wanted a beautiful piece of furniture that I could hide my kids’ Nintendo Switch, puzzles and games. When the kids aren’t using it, I can easily close the doors and it hides all of their toys.

It’s absolutely perfect and I love the midcentury vibe! I may end up getting a marble top and adding legs but for now I’m happy with how it looks. Have you ever used gel stain?