Thursday, January 28, 2016

Our Great Room Bookcase Project ...

Happy Thursday, friends!

I wanted to share a little bit more about a project we did in our great room before Christmas ....

For several years (whether in this house or our last), we've had this buffet under our TV.  While it worked really well in the niche in our last home, I just felt like it was a bit lost on the wall in this house.

In an effort to fill up the wall a bit better, we wanted to add custom built bookcases, but they would've cost more than we wanted to spend on this project.  That's when we turned to Plan B.

BEFORE:  


And AFTER!  Thank you, IKEA ... once again, its selection and affordable prices helped us bring our vision to fruition!


We purchased four of their Billy bookcases (2 tall and 2 short), along with two of their extenders.  We also purchased doors to go on the bottom half of the tall ones and to cover the entire bookcase on the shorter ones (photos from IKEA.com): 
While we love the look of the Billy bookcases just as they are once you put them together, we decided to "beef them up" a little bit to give them more of a custom look.


We did that by adding crown molding to the top (thanks to our neighbor, Colt, for cutting our molding for us), along with picture lights (IKEA).  I then added lattice molding to the fronts and frames of the shelves so that they appeared a bit thicker.  I then finished them off by adding black knobs to the cabinet doors in place of the white ones that came with them.


You "know" I enjoy having more shelves to play with where I can add little goodies such as ceramic horse bookends ... pretty faux greenery ...


or cute arrow art and metal orbs.


I just had to have this cute wire basket (TJMaxx) ... hoping I can find one more just like it!


At night, the picture lights help illuminate that side of the room, which used to be a bit dark.


On the weekend evenings, when not with friends or watching sports in the "man cave," you can find us right here.


One more time ... 


And, AFTER!  


The new bookcases join the two other projects we did in here ... beefing up the fireplace and adding a new chandie.  Oh how I like affordable home improvement!

As always, thanks so much for stopping by,

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31 comments:

  1. It looks wonderful Becca. Ikea, what did we do before we discovered it? Luv the horse head bookends. I live in The 'Horse Capital of the World' , would luv a pair of those .
    Happy almost weekend!!
    Hugs, Gee

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  2. Now it looks so much better, elegant and cozy
    Hugs Kuni

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  3. Wow, Becca. That looks so good!!! Love the lights, too.

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  4. Oh wow, that looks fabulous!! How are the picture lights wired? I would love to use them here. I wish we had an Ikea nearby!!!

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  5. Hi Becca! Love this; finishes off the room beautifully (of course I didn't expect anything less than beautiful when I saw you posted!) Have a fun day - Jeannette

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  6. These are gorgoue. I love how you designed them and the lights are a wonderful addition.

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  7. They look great, Becca, and are perfect for that spot!

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  8. Looks fabulous! Where do you get your decorating inspiration from? Books? Magazines? I would never have a vision like you do....putting things up in such creative ways. Keep the pics coming! I love to see your improvements.
    Janice

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  9. Really fresh & pretty!! I love how much space you have now to decorate & the TV looks awesome too..you know when someone says that , it was an awesome project!! Happy weekend Becca!!

    Paige.Rose
    from
    www.TheQuaintSanctuary.blogspot.com

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  10. It looks beautiful and that is something I would love to have. I also like the horse bookends, so cute.

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  11. Your new look is awesome! I love IKEA. We are going there for our next project, the mud room! What area of your house did you put the sideboard? I just love that piece of furniture. I've been scouting everywhere for it or a similar one for my kitchen! Happy Weekend!

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  12. Love it Becca, Great idea! It looks like they were built in. Well they kinda were. Very creative!

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  13. Thank you so very much, Paige, Janice, Suzy, Jeannette, Kuni and the cape on the corner! Have a wonderful weekend!

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  14. Thank you, Nancie! Have fun at IKEA designing your mud room ... love their cabinet selection! The sideboard is now in our foyer ... for now, anyway! ;)

    It's actually the base of what used to be our "hutch buffet" ... we removed the "hutch" part many years ago. You "might" get lucky on Craigslist or even at a antique/thrift store buying an inexpensive hutch buffet and just removing the top if you see a base you really like. Good luck!

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  15. What a wonderful transformation, Becca! If I didn't know better, I'd think you were having a bit of an affair with IKEA! I think IKEA has something for just about everyone, me included. I've seen the Billy bookcases used in so many ways, and they always look great, especially when crown is added. Great job as usual, Becca!

    Warm hugs,
    Carol

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  16. What a magnificent project and transformation Becca!....truly looks like a most beautiful built in. And of course you decorated the shelves so wonderfully!!!...I am sure you cannot stop staring at this beautiful wall of cabinetry!!!

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  17. LOVE this! I wish we had a wall to do something like this. Beautiful work, Becca. Sue ~ x ~ The World of Suzy Homemaker

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  18. Becca, I had visited before and seen this but hadn't commented...What a difference! And you did such a beautiful job! It looks professional and really makes the room!
    love and blessings~
    Lynda @ Gates of Crystal

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  19. I love this! Infact I will be doing almost the exact same thing. I have just one question, did you just paint the wall behind your tv or did you do something different? I love your blog and your style. Thanks for posting!
    Rachel

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  20. What a fantastic idea! These made a gorgeous "built-in"! You have a gorgeous home and I love your style! Your room looks amazing!

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  21. Where did you buy the blue, yellow and green pillows used for the coastal living room make over! I love them!

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  22. Love your style. Where did you get your new chandelier and your floor lamp. I am looking for those very styles.

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  23. Hi Becca! My husband and I came across this post through Pinterest and we feel in love with the design so much we're going to try it for ourselves. I was wondering what you are using to hold up your TV on and how you connected it to both bookcases. We live on a Military base and housing doesn't allow us to hang our TV like we'd like, this is a fantastic alternative though! (:

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