Friends! Our dining room built-in has gone from drab to fab. All it took was some bright white trim paint, a little shelf editing… and about 40 man hours of blood, sweat and tears. Well maybe not blood & tears but you get the drift.
If you're following me on Instagram (which I hope you are... wink wink!) you know that we started painting a few weeks ago. If you're new to the blog here's what we were dealing with. Our house is over 100 years old and all the trim is Antique White. uuuuurrrghhhhh. Truth be told, I didn't appreciate the grossness of the antique trim until we decided to strip the dining room wallpaper. It was really hard to pick out a neutral wall color because the trim was basically beige! Painting ALL the trim in the house is the biggest task on this year's Summer project list. Luckily most of the second floor is already white.
But now I'm loving the choice of paint color (Benjamin Moore Carlisle Cream) and how the bright white trim pops. Notice anything new about the ceiling? Yup we tackled that, too. Well, Andy did… I'm much too short for that job.
Let's take a look at how I styled the cabinets. I've mentioned before this definitely isn't my strong suit. I'm learning to edit myself when decorating but it's been a process. In fact for a little recon, I created a Pinterest Board dedicated to styled shelves and bookcases that I swoon over. It's been a big help to look back at what I've pinned to see what styles I gravitate towards for inspiration.
This cabinet has to remain functional since storage space is limited. Most of my Grandmother's china is stored in the lower cabinets but I kept a few serving pieces out on display. I also need a safe place to store my crystal wine goblets. A valued tip I picked up is to group like objects. So I made a few crystal groupings on the shelves and stored the rest in the lower cabinets as well. I added some texture and color with this boxwood from Homegoods to help break up (not literally!) the monotony of all the crystal.
I also added some personal touches like this photo of my mom and dad on their wedding day next to the champagne flutes they gave to Andy and I for an engagement gift, a watercolor of our hometown Pasadena and my most favorite treasure - my Grandmother's rose bowl.
We also stripped the 106 layers of paint from the built in hardware and spray painted them matte black. I love the charm of this original hardware and the contrast it creates against the bright trim.
And there you have it. A beginners attempt at styling a built in. I'm sure I'll change it over and over before I'm completely happy with it but it's a start. I'm certainly open to constructive criticism and helpful tips from my readers. So have at it and let me know your thoughts! xoxo
The DIY Dreamer * Hit Me With Your Best Shot at Just a Girl and Her Blog * Work It Wednesday at The Turquoise Home * Inspire Me Please at Liz Marie Blog * The Inspiration Gallery at Craftberry Bush * Weekend Bloggy Reading at Serenity Now *
