The Built-ins, Part I.

Hey all! I feel like I have been writing this post forever but have yet to hit publish. This is the story of one of the biggest renos we have completed in our house. This is the main wall in our living room. It originally looked like this.

*cue sad "loser" horn* It was less than impressive and we knew when we bought the house that we would be doing something to this space. We originally planned to put in just a fireplace. A gas one. Which posed a bit of a problem since we dont have gas run to our property. Between the gas company wanting to tear up our front yard, and the gas-fitter wanting an arm and a leg, we decided to go for a built-in electrical fireplace. The hubs and I went back to the drawing board...literally.

One night, as he napped, I drew out what I wanted. Thankfully, the hubs and I are super handy (and I'm lucky to have super handy parents nearby!) that we were able to take this drawing,

and turn it into a reality! In my next post, I will get into the how-tos of building your very own custom built-ins (ikea hacks & Youtube videos!!) but for now, I will leave you with these beautiful finished photos. What kind of renos have you always wanted to do?! Feel free to share your design dreams in the comments!!