Wednesday, January 18, 2012





 
our house was built in 1958 and it lacks storage, in a major way.  my husband constantly gets frustrated b/c we have piles everywhere...i have to admit, i am a pile maker.  i have stuff piled in lots of places: the kitchen corners tends to have phone chargers, lip gloss, pacifiers, and bananas in a nice organized pile.  my desk's alway is piled w/ magazines, receipts, coffee cups, bills, etc....and toys are in every corner of living area and sunroom.  so what i have discovered is that every piece of furniture that we buy, needs to offer storage so i can have a happy husband and to try hide my piles of stuff!  that being said, i started thinking about built-in's on either side of our fireplace.  i saw this amazing transformation w/ ikea's billy bookcases and thought that might be a great solution and cost efficient.  but its all open shelving and as much as i love styled bookshelves, it doesn't really help hide things.  then i spotted these beauties that are in Pieces and i was in love.  i quickly sent the picture to my dad to see if he could help me and luckily he called saying that he would be able to build them for us and finger's crossed it won't break the bank!  i added them to my LR and sent the pic to warren and he was definitely on board...his one request was that we didn't store pillows on them- ha!!  now i am dying to get started.....

*images courtesy of centsational girl, matters of style/ pieces, me

12 comments:

  1. love the butterfly wall chart...and your assistant busy on her ipad

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  2. i am such a pile maker and my desk is the worst place. i thought getting a bigger desk would help...not so. now the piles are bigger and there are more of them. i really need hidden storage so i'm thankful for your post today. good luck!

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  3. I have the same issue, I think our house was built the same year. I'm hoping to figure out how to do a built in around our fireplace, somewhat similar to this. I'm looking forward to seeing how it turns out. :)

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  4. That's when our house was built. Storage is always a great idea!

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  5. They seem perfect! I agree, it's odd to store pillows on them, though!

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  6. That'll look great. The longer I've lived in our home, the more I've realized that our furniture can't just look good- it needs to function like crazy. Hope it works out!

    Jenna

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  7. Yes, storage is good. I'm thinking of mirroring a built-in cabinet in my living room that currently just has glass. It would hide things much better. Oh, and I love the X detail - very sharp. Might have to steal that one. Yours will look great! Can't wait to see your finished product!

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  8. Adding my 2 cents: It bothers me that the black of the fireplace isn't repeated anywhere else in the room. Is it, and I just can't see it? The black fireplace and TV will definitely be "lightened" by the mirrored cabinets. Because it's such a petite room and the fireplace wall is so heavy, I'd suggest making the bottom cabinets taller to both allow for more HIDDEN storage and also to balance the heavy black in the fireplace. I'd make the bottom mirrored cabinets go closer to the height of the mantle...a cabinet and a half. I'd also make the pulls for the cabinets black to tie it in with the fireplace, or put something else in the room that is black besides the art...a stripe on a pillow...anything!

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  9. oh those built-ins look amazing! and the room will look so much more polished when you have those bookcases on each side. great idea! PS - your living room is TDF with the missoni-ish chevrons and those two stools. SO good to see a glimpse into your home!!!

    Bethany
    http://www.powellbrower.com/

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  10. I have parents that build everything also! My mom is helping me with an upholstered headboard and my dad is helping with our master bedroom furniture. I'm so lucky they say yes!

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  11. I couldn't agree more, a house with storage is a heavenly thing. So, good luck with your mini renovation. How wonderful to have a father who is clever enough to build you some bookshelf/storage! They look gorgeous.

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