Room Makeover!

The subtitle of this blog entry should be The Domino Effect. The makeover to be discussed came about because of a larger makeover in the works. We are having custom cabinets put into our dining area. Up until now, we've been using a couple Crate and Barrel cabinets to store our dishes (small kitchen, few cabinets...boo!), which has been working fine, but with a built-in, we'll be able to take out a cabinet to open up the kitchen and still gain in overall storage. But I'll post all about that when it's completed (I'm sure you can't wait!). The important information here is that we no longer need those cabinets.

Initially, I put them up on Craigslist and got several responses that same day. However, as I was driving home from the gym, I got to feeling sad about letting the cabinets go; after all, Alex and I had used wedding money to buy them, and I'm a sentimental kind of girl (and have a thing for Crate and Barrel). I was trying to think where in our little place they could go, dismissing room after room, only to have an "A-HA!" about the living room. Sure enough, they fit perfectly on either side of the fireplace.

Oh ooops. Quick sidenote here (although still "living room" related). I bought a shade-less lamp at a flea market over a month ago for $10. I finally bought a shade for it. I love it. It replaces a small, boring lamp you can see in a later picture.



So, here's the right of the fireplace. Fine, but the chair (which replaced a larger leather chair now happily residing in my room) is small for the space and no one ever sits there because it feels so far away from the rest of the room.


Here's the left of the fireplace. We just bought that tall DVD shelf, realizing that our media was a little out of control. This purchase is one of the very, very few quick "home decor" purchases I've made...I normally sit on stuff and think about it for about a year. Should have followed my usual "M.O." as we don't need it anymore. Oh well. Anyway, I've never liked this area...media components always feel like clutter to me, and I generally dislike media cabinets and don't want to spend money on the ones I do. So, here was our IKEA solution.


Now here's the dramatic "after"! Alex drilled a couple holes in the back of the cabinet for all the cords. He's a lawyer and a handyman. And very much taken, in case anyone gets any ideas. The crazy kid in the picture is also taken; although, if you catch me on the right day, that could be negotiable. I'm still fiddling with what will go on top...


This should have come earlier...shows the room the middle stage...with one side done.


And finished! The room feels much cozier, organized, and surprisingly larger. When our kitchen cabinet is done, we'll have DVD's and such stored in the right cabinet rather than dishes.



Bonus:
1. also reorganized the toys--they are now almost all hidden in wicker chests under the stairs.
2. doing a room makeover that only cost $10, the price of the "hole saw" drill attachment.
3. being productive on a Saturday makes my honey very happy.

*why is the above list hyperlinked? that's the bonus (apparently) of moving text past a photo. Thanks, Blogger! :/