Wednesday, March 30, 2011

Easing myself back in

When we first bought the Behemoth the view from the front door looked like this.

Once we started taking down fabric & mirrors we discovered a built in shelf. 

Why the previous owners covered it up with the mirror I have no clue, except for the fact that there were like 50 mirrors in the Behemoth when we moved in.
I knew that I wanted to tackle a project at the Behemoth this past weekend and I knew that this little shelf would be the place to start. I started by painting the background Woodlawn Bedroom Grey (the same color as the ceiling in our living room).

Then, I found a design I liked and printed it at 180% it's actual size.

I cut the design out & traced the design on the wall with a pencil.

Then I filled in the outlines with gold craft paint from Michael's.

Erased the stray pencil lines, et voila, a fancy pants built in.

And of course I had to grab some goodies from around the house to style it up.

I spy a little bunny from this wonderful lady, a penguin clothbound & a photo from this talented blogger

All in all I am absolutely thrilled with our built in redo. I love that it's a little unexpected and dresses the space up more, and the view from the front door isn't half bad either.

24 comments:

Unknown said...

This is SUCH a neat idea!

Banan said...

i love it! your so crafty!

ErinMSW said...

Built-ins make my heart smile. I cannot believe the previous owners would've covered that up! Your redo looks great!

Jessica said...

That built in is adorable!! Why they covered it up is beyond me. Love how you painted it. :D

Krysten @ Why Girls Are Weird said...

Please come fix my house! This looks amazing!

Layla said...

This rocks!!! I love the colors, the stencil, all of it. Why in heck would they cover up a built-in???

steph c said...

It looks great, Cole! Again, you come up with such fab ideas.

PS. Is that tree on the right wall the one that has all the birds you can put around it? If so.. totally have that in our living room ;)

Deidre said...

This is so very cool!

Also, I love the built in shelves. why would any one cover that up.

And also why wouldn't the old owners take all their mirrors...that seems weird.

Mere said...

Oh I love that DIY idea! Looks great

Meghan said...

It looks fantastic! I really love how it all flows together so nicely!

Married In Chicago said...

So weird! Why would they cover up such a cute little nook with a big, ugly mirror?

Either way, I love your mini-makeover! The gold looks awesome.

ilene @ muchloveilly said...

whoa! that is really cool - i'm impressed!!!

we should celebrate with some popcorn ;)

Autumn @ Autumn All Along said...

I don't understand why anyone would cover up a built-in cabinet...although people put nasty linoleum on top of hard wood

Lauren @The Little Things We Do.... said...

this looks so great cole! i'm so impressed with your stenciling. you got skillz lady! i would never be brave enough (ahem....or talented enough) to take on something like that. it looks so great!!

A Lost Feather said...

so cute so cute so cuuuttte! i absolutely love it.. that is crazy that the previous owners hid the little shelves. it looks great they way you redid them :)

mj said...

I love your fancy pants built in. So nice.

Anonymous said...

This is sooooo gorgeous Cole!! You clever lady! Can't wait to buy my own place so I can work on projects like this!!

Wedding Day Tree said...

Thanks for sharing your diy project! I love seeing projects like these :) they always inspire me :)

Dana Richards said...

You are so creative with your home! I love it! I also love that Jus is so open to all your ideas, I know that if I told Keith I wanted to paint a gold design on the wall he would be a little weary haha

Scientific Housewife said...

Wow, that looks great!

Lauryn said...

Loving the awesome DIY! Built-in bookshelves are my favorite. I hope my future home has them!

Erin said...

It looks wonderful!! The stenciling was a perfect idea.

Cheray Natalie... said...

That looks great! Love the pattern you traced on so much! It gives the room an added pop of colour!
x

rachelinaustin said...

So cute! I love it!!! <3