get your shake on!

A few months back, I started working with a client on the family room of her 1972 rancher.  We’ve come a long way since then, whitewashing her brick fireplace, beefing up her built-ins and trim, painting the walls a beautiful steel gray/blue and adding window treatments and a gallery wall.  Like any major overhaul, it takes a lot of time, patience and dough to finish a project of this size.  While there is still furniture to be purchased, wing back chairs to be reupholstered and French doors to be replaced, one of the focal points of this room I’m most proud of is a refinished set of built-ins original to the house. 

Arched tops and flimsy, uneven doors below really dated the room and did nothing to reflect the personalities of the young homeowners. To make matter worse, a professional painter repainted oil-based paint over latex, which promptly peeled and chipped off anytime you hit it.  Despite my client’s wish to rip the entire thing out of the wall, I convinced her to keep them in place an, instead, make some huge changes and additions.  Here is what the built-ins looked like before:

First, we sandblasted the cracked paint off the countertop and then added some large, Shaker-style doors to cover the upper shelves and new doors below, complete with hidden hinges for a cleaner look. With four children, the homeowners can store toys, board games, movies and books out of the way. Crisp white paint and oil rubbed bronze hardware complete the look and make the entire unit look competely custom! 

The left door slides open to reveal a flat screen TV-a beautiful alternative to hanging it over the fireplace:

What a difference new doors make below:

I don’t know who’s more excited with the outcome – me or my client!  Stay tuned for finished pictures to come!  Hope you’re all having a wonderful week!