Project Fauxdenza and A Bust

I am so happy to report that project fauxdenza is a wrap! This past weekend we had our contractor Dmitriy back to cut down the extra 3/4 inch overhang. If you've been following me on my blog for a while, you would know this is probably my first mid-century modern corner in my house, and I am loving every bit of it. 

Those artworks and accessories are there temporarily until I collect enough pieces to create a gallery wall above the unit. 

This was the basement hallway before the fauxdenza. Those two Hollywood Regency Chippendale style faux bamboo chairs in the picture are on loan to a TV mini series called "Marilyn" (as in Marilyn Monroe). The show will be on ABC in the fall, and rest assured I will be vigorously looking for them in each and every scene. 

And this is the after. I will need to take better pictures when I have more time to play with the white balance. There is no window in my basement hallway so I always had to use the "Tungsten setting" to offset the warm (yellow) lighting. It would appear the setting has been overcompensating and consequently most of the pictures turned out to be too blue/cold. 

See how much difference 3/4 inch of the overhang made? This was the before with one inch overhang. 

This is now with less than 1/4 inch overhang. In hindsight, I wish I had pushed the envelope by making it completely flush in the front.

I opted for push-openers over pulls or knobs to complete the cleaner minimalist look. 

This past Friday after a meeting I wandered into a HomeSense nearby (Heartland). It was one of those random browsing trips as I had nothing in mind to buy, but guess what I found - the Apollo of Pantheon bust that's going for over $300 here and here. I've seen a smaller plaster version of it at HomeSense, but not this one. This handsome Greek fella stands 21" tall, and is as solid as a rock! 

Look how perfect he looks on my foyer chest? 

Laundry Mudroom Closet Organization

It's been a pretty relaxing weekend for us. It started with a "uplifting" golden-spoon facial for me at my regular spa hangout (have you tried it? It's amazing!). 

Then a few dips into the hot springs in Scandinave Spa Blue Mountain up in the Collingwood area.

We were all energized and refreshed when we came home last night, and today we tackled a small project. 

We have an entrance into the house through our laundry room from our garage, but unfortunately that means our laundry room is also our mudroom. And this tiny multipurpose room has a tiny closet - seriously I don't know what the builder was thinking - this is a 5,000 sq ft house we are talking about - and they couldn't have planned a bigger closet in this high traffic space?!

We have so many closets throughout the house including a massive wall-to-wall one in our basement, but I hate to spread off-season shoes and accessories throughout them. Because out of sight out of mind, I probably won't remember to bring them out and wear them again next year. 

Our tiny mudroom closet

The laundry/mudroom is sunken. The height of the closet is at least 13 feet so we have a lot of vertical space we are yet to put to use. 

So today we made good use of this piece of premium real estate by adding a second shelf in the closet. 

A simple shelf made a big difference - not only was I able to pack away all the winter boots and accessories in the same closet, I was also able to display some dressy heels which I don't wear every day. 

The second shelf also made room for in-season stuff. 

I just realized how many scarves I have for one season! Sunglasses and scarf are what I won't leave home without. 

And now all the clutter is behind one single door. I don't need to worry about forgetting what I have stowed away in other closets any more. 

The opposite wall is the main laundry area. Chaos averted, order restored. 

Basement Craft Game Room Design

Lately when I was in my husband's man cave enjoying movies over a beer, I couldn't help but noticing the empty space right next to it that's yet to have a purpose. My plan was to leave it as a flexible space: may it be for craft, games, or in the future play room if we ever decide to have kids.

The area highlighted in grey is the space I referred to. As you could see from the following plan, it's right next to the entertainment room, and together they are essentially one huge open living space. Despite the fact that the room is odd-shaped and a corridor run through part of it, it still offers pretty good usable space with a long L-shaped wall. The window was perfectly situated in the middle.

Here are the options I am tossing around to utilize the space.

Option 1: Built-in base and upper cabinets with a desk in the middle. My easel goes in the corner. Add a harvest table for crafts and games.



The built-in cabinet and desk combo would look like this:

Source: Young House Love

Option 2: Utilize the entire L-shaped wall and run base cabinets through.

I am not sure if I need that much storage (or can we ever have enough?) since I already have this big bunker on the other end of the room.

Option 3: this is the most stylish option with a built-in banquette flanked by base cabinets. It offers ample seating and storage.

So which option would you go for? Any other suggestions?

In the Mail Today

The other day I noticed the surface of the nightstands in our master bedroom have a whole bunch of minor scratches thanks to the "accessories" hubs piled on it. Being a neat freak and perfectionist, I just couldn't let the situation worsen but have to do something. I came across these lacquered herringbone trays at Indigo and ordered two of them while they are on sale.

So, clutter problem, solved; Scratch problem, solved. Hubs' got a tray to keep all his daily gadgets.

I also got one for my side of the night table, but I am yet to decide what to put in it. Every little thing of mine is out of sight in the drawers. :-)

Hack Ikea Billy Bookcase into a Built-in Unit

Just like a lot of you, I lust a wall-to-wall built-in bookcase/shelf/unit in soft white paint. Not only will it serve as a focal point in any living space, it will also provide ample storage to hide away any clutter. When I was handed a $10,000+ quote for one in our basement, I was determined to explore lower-cost alternatives.

It didn't take long before I locked my search down on Ikea Billy Bookcase. Here are what you need and a step-by-step guide to hack the Ikea Billy Bookcases into a sensational wall-to-wall built-in unit:

Depending on the length of your wall, you will need 5 x extra deep (15 3/8") Ikea Billy Bokocases. I chose the 15 3/8" one over the standard 11" for more shelf space. You really can't put much on the 11"-shelf other than books.

I like to keep clutter out of sight, so I opted for 8 x Billy Olsbo doors to cover up the bottom shelves. The open shelves above will still allow me to display pretty accessories. 

To complete a more "built-in" and integrated look, you will also need crown moulding, flat base moulding as filler for the in-between space, any paintable caulking to touch up nail holes and gaps, and of course a pneumatic nail gun and air compressor.

Our wall is 171" in length. Ikea Billy Bookcase each is 31.5" in width. After some simple math following this formula: (Wall Length - 31.5 * Quantity) / (Number of Fillers) = Width of the Filler (or Flat Base Moulding).

Our calculations lead us to 2.25" gaps in between the Bookcases. You can also get a MDF sheet to cut them into desired width. I prefer the Flat Base Moulding as it comes in a convenient 8' length. It's also thick (5/8") enough to take nails in.  

You will then punch nails at a downward angle from the bookcase to secure these filler mouldings in place. Add the crown moulding over the top, patch up the nail holes and gaps in between, and you are done.

Not counting the time we spent on assembling the bookcases themselves, the entire hack project took us about six hours. The toughest part was by far to level each bookcase unit, after that, it's only a matter of cutting and securing mouldings in place.

Cheap n Chic: Glam Magazine Holder

As I was searching for a magazine holder for my master bath, I came across this:

This very glam, very Chanel quilted magazine holder by Global Views. It's available through a few online retailers such as Wayfair at $447.50.

Our very own Bouclair carries a similar quilted faux leather magazine holder, available in two sizes, at cheap-n-chic prices of $24.99 (L) and $19.99 (S).

Guess which one I ended up buying?