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Monday 30 May 2016

ikea hacks: billy bookcase built-ins

One of my favourite decor features are built-ins. Not only are they multi-functionaloffering precious storage and space to display your favourite books, family photos, souvenirs, etc.but they can add value to your home, giving it the look of a custom build. If you don't have a carpenter in the family, built-ins may seem like an expensive and daunting task, however, one of my favourite Ikea hacks to peruse on Pinterest is the millions of different ways people are transforming the Billy Bookcase to look like a built-in.We attempted this in my parent's previous house, installing a set of wall to wall bookcases with doors in the dining room. We were looking for extra storage since both myself and my Bubi had moved in, bringing a lot of our belongings with us. These units held a ton of stuff, and kept things accessible when we needed them, or hidden when not in use. For some reason I never took a picture of them styled and in use, but managed to snap the below shot just before we moved. 

Now that we've officially moved everything into our new house, my parents and I are hoping to use the Billy Bookcase once again to create built-ins in our kitchen/dining space as well as a pair to sit on either side of the soon-to-be-built fireplace in the living room. Our first experience with the Billy was good, but I think we can customize them even more to look less like the Ikea staple and more like a custom piece of millwork. 

As inspiration, I've rounded up my favourite 5 Billy Bookcase hacks:

Bliss at Home via BHG Blog 


 Orlando Soria via Lonny 

 Suzanne's Colour in Harmony Room via Apartment Therapy 

Laura's Living Room via The Makerista 


Love these, but cannot find a source -- if anyone knows where they're from please let me know so I can credit them. 

Wednesday 11 May 2016

One Room Challenge: Week 6 Reveal



Six weeks have come and gone, marking the end of this season (and my first time participating in) the One Room Challenge! And it was just as fun and stressful as I had imagined it to be. A huge thank-you goes out to our host, Linda of Calling it Home, for organizing such a unique event. Over 200 Guest Participants (myself included) and 20 Featured Designers have been linking up each week (or in my case, most weeks) to share our progress and cheer each other on. Our challenge was to take one room in our home or a client's home and re-decorate it in six short weeks--easier said than done, but not impossible!

Let's recap...

Here's a before pic of the room I chose to redecorate. Super boring, slopped ceilings, and zero character.



In Week One I had introduced my space and pulled together a mood board that showed some of the furniture and accessories I was planning to use, while also giving a general sense of how the space would feel. I drifted slightly after spotting a pair of linen and sage floral drapes, but for the most part managed to stay on-course with my vintage-farmhouse-cottage-bedroom.

Week Two was a bust, nothing was accomplished.

Week Three I went shopping and luckily only managed to return a few items. For the most part, this space was compiled with furniture we already owned. Newly purchased items included the table lamps, drapes, faux-fur rug and bed linens.

Week Four I did some DIY'ing and refinished my Bubi's nightstands in a custom shade of Peony & Plum Dust Paint. I later also refinished an old MCM-style dresser with Peony & Plum's Dust Paint in Warm Black, both pieces were sealed with bee's wax.

Week Five was pretty slack, as again nothing got done. But Week Six my carpenter (aka, my dad) was able to put the trim up!! It was a trickier task than either of us had imagined, as the cottage is pretty old and therefore had some wonky plaster walls. But after two solid days of measuring, cutting, nailing, DAP'ing and painting, we were DONE and ready for the furniture and accessories.

One happy mistake was that because we are still in the process of moving into the new cottage, I wasn't able to move my bed in time. It wouldn't fit in my dad's truck, so it had to be put off until our official moving day. The headboard pictured actually came with the house, and as much as I want to hate it, I kinda like it! It may stick around...

The one major project that had to be put off until a later date were my sliding barn doors. I wanted to install two: one for the closet and one leading into the room. The plan is to add dormers to each of the upstairs bedrooms, and this could potentially affect the wall the doors would be on :( so rather then spend money on something that may have to be taken apart, the barn doors are being put on hold.

Overall, I had such a great time pulling together this space. I am currently out of town, so will have to wait until the weekend before I can enjoy those ironed sheets! A huge thank-you to my dad, Rick, who really isn't a carpenter, but totally could be. He's actually more into stone, as you can tell from his fab blog, Rick Minnings Cultured Stone :)

Looking forward to browsing all of the other beautiful spaces in the One Room Challenge , see you next round!



 

Pardon the blurry pics, they were snapped on my iPhone