Refurbish an Old Mid Century Modern Radio by Marilyn

So we took a trip to Topeka, Kansas this summer to visit Kaleb's grandparents. And while we were there reminiscing on how we love antiques and 'garage sale'ing, Kaleb's grandparents mentioned that they had some old items in their garage that needed a new home.  When I came across this Mid-Century Modern General Electric radio in their garage, I fell in love with immediately. The only thing that I wanted to change about this radio was the wood grain plastic panels. While I find these panels pretty awesome the way they are, they don't really match any of our rooms or decorations. I decided that this would make a good office radio and decided to change the color to white. Since I didn't want to damage the original panels, I opted not to paint and decided to use white removable contact paper instead. This actually worked out perfectly because the paper was easy to apply and I can always remove the paper should I decide to. So next time you go 'garage sale'ing or inherit old items that are different from your every day taste, keep an open mind. See the potential in everything!

What you will need for this simple tutorial: old radio with plastic panels, contact paper of your choice color, scissors, and exact-o knife (not pictured).

Wrap your paper around your radio and cut the amount you will need to cover the whole thing. I cut mine in sections. I cut one piece to wrap the 3 showing sides of the radio, 1 piece for the bottom, and one rectangle piece for the outline of color on the face of the radio. When you are wrapping your radio, do your best to keep any air bubbles from forming. You can re-wrap if you need to. And when you are finished, use your Exact-o knife to trim any edges off or holes that will need ventilation. And voilà! C'est finit!

Photography by Marilyn Nimz