The Jewelry Armoire

For a long time, I've wanted a jewelry armoire for my bedroom. It seems like they appear on store shelves everywhere around Christmas time. This Christmas, I noticed a pretty and simple white one for sale at Target. At about $70, I thought it was a little steep, but it was not far from my mind during the Christmas season. I assumed that come January 1, the price would tumble, but it was not to be. It wasn't until sometime in March that I noticed it on sale for 50% off!

I scooped this bad boy up during one of my twice-weekly runs to Target primarily in search of groceries. I had it at home for a few weeks before getting organized to put it together. I finally opened the box and this is what I discovered:

I had just about everything one would need to assemble this armoire. Those cardboard boxes contain two legs each and at the far right of the frame, you'll see the instructions. So what am I missing? Oh, that's right: ALL of the hardware!

Not easily discouraged, I considered returning the entire thing to Target and demanding a different one. Unfortunately, enough time had passed that I suspected all of the other ones would have been sold already. More importantly, I had essentially shredded the box in my quest to remove the pieces I had and search for the missing tiny hardware baggie. Instead, I called the telephone number on the instructions and requested a replacement hardware kit. The guy at the other end of the phone was very apologetic and accommodating. Before long, this arrived:

So, one Saturday morning, I gleefully ripped into this envelope to get things underway. By that point, the armoire's shell had been lying on the floor in the living room for a week, so I was ready to complete the project and move on.

I finally have everything I need, including the conspicuous blaze orange bag, with this super-helpful label, "HARDWARE." Nice one, Target.

Things actually went fairly smoothly once I had the hardware. The assembly for this product is quite simple. First, you attach each of the four legs, with the cabinet part upside down on the floor. Once that's complete, you'll attach the top - a hinged lid with a mirror inside. I had no trouble with the legs. But, when it came time to put the mirror on, I pawed through the hardware bag a couple of times before realizing that I STILL didn't have the right hardware. That's when I discovered this:

Um... yeah. What on earth does this have to do with my frilly little white jewelry armoire? No idea. They must have sent me the hardware pack for what I can only suspect was a Mission-style end table or nightstand, because this was the only handle in the kit. My complete review of the contents of the hardware package led me to realize that I did not have the three small screws needed to add the top to the hinge.

So, I dragged it off to my bedroom and set it up, where it looked like this. Charming, isn't it?

I considered calling the Target hotline back, but ultimately decided it wasn't worth it. I was actually quite convinced they would once again send me the wrong hardware. I discussed the issue with my dad, who has all different kinds of bolts and screws in his workshop at my parents' house. He actually didn't think he had anything that would work.

I convinced him to let me bring back one kit that he has with lots of different sizes and styles of screws. I figured that, before walking into a hardware store looking like a complete moron, I could at least give it a try.

Okay, I've got the board with the pre-drilled holes and the whole kit!

Alrighty - it looks like we have a winner! Seriously, all I did was try different sizes in the pre-drilled holes. I was definitely cautious about using one that was too big, because I didn't want to push through the holes and cause the board to break. (Yes I know that its at a weird angle in this photo - I removed the screw, placed the lid on the hinge, and then replaced the screw, making sure it was going in straight!).

I was a little nervous that these screws were bigger than recommended, so I put all three in and turned them a little at a time, just to be sure everything was lining up correctly. I lucked out big time!

Once I put it back into place, I realized I had a little bit of a problem:

 Yeah, my cute little pink Blah Blah princess is now blocking the lid from resting against the wall.

Okay, here's the finished product! I got Blah Blah princess out of the way. She'll be finding a new home and I'll be doing some updating of the art near the armoire - I'll be sure to keep you posted!