Living Room FINAL REVEAL

It's pretty dreary here but I'm feeling mighty cozy in our finished living room.  Last time I shared the couch side, and today I'm here to bring you **trumpets and fanfare** the TV side!

When I started thinking about my plans for this year the living room honestly wasn't even under consideration, but it became clear that my patient husband was quietly pinning over the one thing he wanted to buy for our house - this TV.  So before starting anything else big, I made him a deal.....he could get his TV, if I could get my couch - DONE!  I'm trying to get him to write a guest-blog on all of the smart-home features we have been implementing in the house, but for now what's important to me is that it's super thin, we only have to use one remote to control everything, and the boys can easily use it.  Win / Win / Win

Faux Leather Chair is from IKEA | Throw Pillow is from Target

To highlight this beauty I knew I wanted to replace our old media cabinet with something much more open.  Our old one really was great (and it will be going to a new loving home) but it was a little bit too short and blocked out the light from the second window.  Once we took it down the whole room immediately got a lot brighter!  Before we could even start planning the new media center, we had to get that thing up on the wall.  If you're interested in how we did this check out this How To from Young House Love which has links to everything you need.

Next, I got to work on my new favorite piece of furniture which I built using the Grandy Sliding Door Console plans from Ana White.  It's almost 8 1/2 feet long and takes up pretty much the whole wall between the two windows so it's incredibly impressive in person.  I made a few modifications from the plans to 1) add extra shelves to the two middle bays and 2) make the end bays open so the boys could still hide in there (I love making furniture with special kids functions!)  Those baskets are from Homegoods, and if you've never tried to find two matching baskets at Homegoods you haven't stood on the brink of insanity!  But considering that anything that came close to the size I needed was running around $50 - $100 a piece (!!!) it was worth it.

This was my first time using barn door hardware and I'm really amazed with how easy it was to install and how wonderfully it slides - I used this kit and order an extra set of door hardware to accommodate the two.  For the finish I wanted to do something two-tone that was darker and balanced out the white shiplap so I used Sherwin Williams Urbane Bronze for the frame (I just ended up buying a sample jar and it worked great!  Best part...only $8!) and Rustoleum Varathane stain in Early American, which I also used on the picture ledges.

Barn Door Hardware + Extra set of Hangers | Wood Stain is Varathane Early American | Glass Vase and Floral Stem from World Market

As the wall came together, my design for the upper shelves changed a lot from my original plans which included vertical structures made of black pipes that would hold up the shelves.  Once we started building them out though it became clear that it would be EXTREMELY OVERWHELMING!  So we started to scale back and we finally settled on just going for my old favorite floating pipe shelves - two on the side and one stretching across the top.  I stained these also in Early American and used some spare 2x8 boards that I had.  I've started to fill these up (the glass vase I just got from World Market and it's GORGEOUS and the Clock I picked up at Michael's on super sale when I realized that I wouldn't be able to the see the digital clock anymore - whoops) but I'm keeping the top shelf purposely bare.  I've always loved hand-made pottery and vases and I think this is the perfect place to start to collect them.  I have a little blue one that I bought in a shop in Pittsburgh, a fav find at Target, and I went searching for an old antique crock to use a vase for some climbing ivy (which I heard are easy to keep alive soooooooo.......we'll see).

I started to show you the picture ledges in the last post, but now they're looking a little bit more lively!  I'm thinking about writing a post sharing how I go about planning an art display because I've heard from some friends that adding something like this to their own house can be a little intimidating - and I can understand why.  The versatility of art ledges is what makes them one of my favorite options - I can easily swap in and out family pictures and seasonal decor without having to worry about holes in the wall.

My main requirement was to have a space to display the boys school pictures and you can see them tucked into each side along with a collection of made, found, and bought pieces - including some cheap finds from the antique store, an old water color of my dad's, sentimental pieces from my grandparents and brother, as well as that outline of Pennsylvania that I whipped up Thursday afternoon.  SPOILER ALERT:  I also have some cheap placeholders up there for now, including that feather print that literally just came with one of the frames!

I'll share more tips when I write my larger post but if you're looking to start your art collection here are a few places to start:

Minted - This site is amazing and carries original art from current artists in all shape and sizes and also includes the option to include framing.  You can get lost in this site for hours so my advice is to start a Pinterest board to collect all of your favorites and just Pin anything you love

Frambridge - I just used this site for the first time to frame the antique etching in the above pic because many of the design bloggers I follow rave about them.  They offer framing services and you can either upload digital images, or you can send in physical pieces, and they will help you pick the best options!  Totally easy to work with and the final product is awesome - and I only paid $100 for everything!

Michael's - Hands down my favorite place to find frames.  If you haven't been recently you need to go and check out their new collections because they are beautiful, super unique, and available in a lot of different sizes.  Also I just saw they have a coupon for an extra 20% off sale items today only SO GO!

Both throw blankets are from Target....the Striped Blanket is out of stock but here's another one I love| Sweater Knit Throw Blanket

To finish off the space I built a few small projects including a small blanket ladder and a really simple box to sit behind the couch and hold some fake flowers. Again, I am not a plant lady and I have no shame in using artificial plants.  I do find that it's very hard to find good artificial flowers especially large ones, so I like to use things that have a lot of texture as they look more natural - I can't tell you how many people have asked me if the fake sprigs I have on my kitchen table are real...that's success in my book

Couch is from Interior Define | Rug is from West Elm | Lamps are from CB2

I grabbed this "sweet" panorama to give you an idea of how the whole space works together.  I am so happy that I ended up moving this room up the list because this really is the space we spend most of our time in together - now it feels calm and cozy instead of a mash-up of our old furniture and kid clutter.

BEFORE:

  

AFTER:

Wow - I haven't looked at that before picture in a really long time! LOL

Living Room Next steps + Shiplap Tips and Tricks

First some quick housekeeping -  If you haven't noticed, I've been slowly making some changes over here in preparation for a really exciting project I'm going to join this fall (I promise I will tell you all about it soon) and the biggest change was that I've decided to brand this little project of mine with a name - so I am happy to officially introduce you to Hilltown House!  I've got some more changes planned to the look of the page (and am very lucky to have in-house support to help make that happen - thanks husband) so look out for those too.  I've also started to post a lot of progress pics on Instagram (and I am waaaayyyy too into InstaStories) so check me out there to @LindseyJoyDIY

  In the words of my girl Liz Lemon "THINGS ARE HAPPENING!"

Ok, now that that's taken care of, let me introduce you to Living Room v1.5.  For Xmas, my husband gave me 3 weekends to use at my discretion where he would take the boys somewhere far away and I could spend my time tackling some of the bigger projects in the house.  Last weekend I decided to cash one in and spend it on some of the Living Room Checklist items - the Shiplap Wall, the console table, and the picture ledges.  So as soon as 5pm hit on Friday afternoon I got started!

I know I've been promising a ShipLap break down for a while - so here it is!  There are a hundred blogs out there with ways to do this (and there is always the options of going for actual shiplap or reclaimed wood which are of course AMAZING) so I'm going to share with you the tips and tricks that I've learned after doing 3 of these.

First - I use 1/4" plywood use for floor under-layment that I get from Home Depot for about $12 for a 4x8 sheet.  I have them rip it down into 12" strips and then I use my table saw to rip those into 6" strips.  Use a sanding block to get rid of any rough edges or splinters.

Use a stud finder and mark out where your studs are on the wall as that is where you will primarily attach your boards.  It is a very good idea to KNOW WHAT'S BEHIND YOUR WALLS especially if you are thinking of installing in a bathroom or anywhere that has plumbing.  You don't want to end up putting a pinhole into a pipe and starting a slow leak!

Next - it's time to start attaching the boards to the wall. In this case, I started from the bottom for reasons I'll get to - but if you can I would recommend starting from the top left corner and install much like you would floor boards - stagger the size of the starting piece so you have a very random feel to the layout. 

I use my Ryobi Brad nailer and alternate between 1 1/4" nails (to attach directly into the studs) and 5/8" nails (for the ends of boards and anywhere that pops out).  To keep the space between the boards - I just use pennies.  As I go along I find that I don't need to use them for every row, but they help keep everything even, especially if you're doing this solo.

For any outlets, make sure that you use an Outlet Extender box (you can find in the electrical section of the hardware store - they usually come in two packs).  You will need to pull the outlet out from the wall (make sure you turn off the power) and slide through the box.  The top and bottom of the box should rest on top of the plywood - I use a jigsaw to make my cut and you'll see above where I cut the top a little short so I inserted a small strip of plywood behind the blue box to even it out.  Then you can re-attached the outlet with the longer strips provided.  This whole process will allow your outlet to sit flush with the shiplap wall.

Remember that reason that I started from the bottom of this wall?  Well here it is - way back when we installed the new floors, we ran the speaker cords for our surround sound system underneath the boards in hope of one day re-connecting them.  I was originally going to furr out this wall using 1x2s, but since the cord was really thin I decided to see if I could just run behind the boards.  I stapled it to the wall to keep as flat as I could and besides an extremely slight bump in some of the pieces, it's really un-noticeable.  And I'm so relieved to report that the speakers are working just fine!  SUCCESS

Once you get all of your boards up - it's Primer time!  In some tutorials they will prepaint their strips before they install - but after some trial and error I've found it much easier to prime and paint once they're up on the wall unless you have a flat, dust-free place to paint (i.e. not a garage or basement floor).  The primer doesn't have to be perfect, but you do want to get good coverage to make the painting go a lot easier.  After that, I use three coats of Sherwin Williams Pro-Classic in Extra White, Semi-Gloss finish (which is the same paint I use for our trim).  I am actually really digging different color ship-lap these days (especially black!) and considered doing a different color, but the white ties in really nicely to the fireplace.  I've seen tutorials where they use wood filler to make a really clean look - which I also really like the look of - but after getting mine up the wall I was really happy with the rustic look of slightly un-even boards and the nail holes so I purposely left them - but if you want something cleaner then go for it.

Next on the agenda - the console table!  I wanted to build a console table that ran the entire length of the couch and also included storage and a place to plug in my laptop.  I looked through a few ideas but ended up coming up with my own design, and the best part is that I used mostly scrap from my garage to build it!

I used a combination of leftover 2x6s and 2x4s to build some simple frames that would hold the top, but since they would be hidden behind the couch they could look totally wacked.

I also used some scrap playwood and built two boxes that would fit in between the frames and serve as storage and a place to hold an power cord.

On the two ends I built some small bookshelves to add some more interest and also give the kids more space to play with their toys.  I also ended up drilling holes to accommodate the electrical cords.

Once I had all the frames cut, I layed them out in the space and then cut 1x12s for the top and for the two flaps that would open to the storage boxes.  I stained them in my favorite Briarsmoke Varathane to match the coffee table and used my nail gun to attach.  I used some black gate hardware that also matches the coffee table and gives it a little bit of interest.

I still want to add some type of planter and track down some cute coasters - but I'm really happy with how this turned out.  It's already been so nice to have a place to put drinks and not have to worry about the kids or the dog knocking it over.  The lamps are from CB2 and add a nice dose of modern simplicity to the room.  They have a floor lamp version that I'm debating getting, but I have a weird aversion to floor lamps that I'm not sure I can get over.

The last project I tackled was adding some picture ledges to the sides of the fireplace.  Last summer I tacked the fireplace and the built-ins, and as much as I love how it came out, it always felt like something was missing.  After playing around with a few options, I decided that some wood picture ledges would be perfect.

You can buy versions of these in a lot of stores, but they are so easy to make I urge you to try them!  Here is a simple tutorial from Shanty 2 Chic to check out - make them any size or color you want and you'll feel like a rockstar (mine are 4 ft long and I used Early American by Varathane on them to add some warmth to this wall).  I'm not done filling these babies up but I will share when I'm done along with my tips for styling picture ledges.

By the time the boys got home the room was looking much different.  Since the last time I checked in there have been a few more additions besides the new couch from Interior Define.

The new rug is from West Elm and I am obsessed with it.  It's a nice flat-weave wool with a lot of texture and I just love the interest it adds.  They have it in a lot of different colors and sizes and I could buy one of each and feel perfectly happy with that decision.

I also finally started to stock up on pillows for the couch, and tried to grab some pics but someone was not feeling moving out of the way, and I was ready to be done.  The solid gray ones and the macrame are all outdoor pillows from World Market, and the blue striped and multi-colored ones I picked up at HomeGoods to tie in the colors from the kitchen.  Right now it's pretty neutral in here, so now we need to add some fun and some color!

And just like that - the weekend was over.  It was A LOT of hard word and I basically went straight through Saturday without stopping, but it was all so much worth it.  And getting pictures like the one below of the boys having an amazing time with their dad made it so much easier to keep going

Someone asked me on FB what's next - and my reply was "the other side of the room" LOL  So this weekend we will start making the steps to install the new media center, and I still need to finish off a few touch-ups, but we are so extremely close to this room being completely done it's crazy!  Here's an update of what we still have left to do for those of you playing along at home:

1.  New Couch and Pillows
2.  Build new Coffee Table 
3.  Add Shiplap Wall behind couch / hide speaker wires
4.  Build Blanket ladder (I'll share this next time)
5.  Build console table behind couch / hide cords / new lamps w/smart bulbs
6.  New rug from West Elm
7. Window Trim
8. Hang TV and hide wires
9. Build new media center
10. Add floating shelves around fireplace
11. Add art, accessories and plants