For over a decade, one of our revolutionary mantras has been “the middle is pointlessBasically, if your home is in the middle of Reno, completely unfurnished, or otherwise lost, don’t worry. Do try it. See what you like and what you use. Living with something for a short time (or long time). Throw it in the trash in the hope that the perfect, finished home will be finished soon (it always takes years to get to that point!). Keep evolving your space in a way that makes you happy.
This particular corner of our bedroom was a perfect example of that mantra.
First, BOY rewinds this corner because it’s long. This is how it looked just after I moved in 3 years ago.Work with what you have.’ At the time, we had future plans to build a closet there (you can see Rendered in this post), but later much larger closet system Elsewhere instead). Again, this is a good demonstration of holding an idea for a while and making course corrections as you go along.
For clarity, the left side of the photo above is the same wall as the fireplace in our bedroom. See the gray dresser in the lower right corner that has been cut away? It’s the same one in the photo above.
This is an interesting corner for several reasons. The first is that the walls are not perpendicular (more on this later in this article). It’s a very clearly pronounced acute angle. Nothing comes close to 90 degrees (or 98 degrees, RIP). The second factor is the clear visibility from the kitchen or living area.It always felt weird to have guests looking directly into our bedroom, so we tried to make it look as un-bedroom as possible.
You may also know this corner as it works well if your later determined location decides you need one of the second bathrooms. did (perhaps permanently – Click here for details) But for a while, the thought of that future possibility lingered in that corner for fear of “when everything changes later, and if it’s the bathroom, why bother?” frightened us from improving anything with These built-ins around our fireplaceI didn’t end up making the right side completely flush, assuming I would eventually add a wall there and that’s where the future bathroom would live.
So, for a while, this corner looked like this. The dresser itself looks pretty nice when you stand so close that you can only see it through the doorway…
…but in the context of the whole room, this little “moment” didn’t make much sense.
Even a little scooped from the sitting area to the right of that doorway, the dresser just looked a little odd sitting next to that built-in cabinet.
Was this the end of the world? no! We lived with it like that for about a year. And eventually it became clear that they were “holding” this corner for possible future bathroom plans. less likely by the day…so instead of waiting for the distant future to get something more useful out of that place, it made me think a little more about what I actually wanted from that corner in this moment.
It was great to explore other, more permanent solutions for this space. Even if you suddenly decided you wanted that bathroom in 2029 or something, there’s literally nothing you couldn’t put back together in a day (cabinets and shelving are hardly permanent installations). has led us to a solution we like because it (1) looks great from the kitchen, doesn’t have a large bedroom, and (2) adds a ton of functional storage (both hidden and open) .
This change has three main elements:
- expanded ikea vesta cabinet So they’re really wall to wall
- Incorporated them with trim & counter top (worth the effort for that custom look)
- Added 3 Long Floats ikea rack shelf on them
I considered a few other options (such as a more elaborate built-in hatch with a glass top), but ultimately I liked the clean, modern look of this corner. Also, it feels like it will serve us for a very long time (if you’re taking a bet, I’d bet you’ll never add a bathroom).
I was really lucky that IKEA’s stock Besta size fit this wall perfectly. As you can see below, the walls meet at his non-90-degree pinched angle, which felt like a small miracle. They fit in so well that you can quickly gain another 70 inches of storage by adding 3 more cabinets (!!), repeating the same steps as before, Make your Besta cabinet look built-in (add baseboards, fill gaps, top butcher block).
If you scroll up the photo, you’ll see that when I extended the counter to fill in that weird pinched corner, the area quickly stopped looking “off” (and in a video Shelly later recorded , you can see the details of that corner). director). Wall-to-wall countertops can cover many weird wall/corner problems! The end cabinets are wide enough to get things in and out.
In fact, the one cabinet shown above houses everything that used to be in the blue inlaid dresser. This move means that we now have the equivalent of two bonus cabinets here. Not to mention the vertical storage you get with the three shelves. on them!
Speaking of those shelves, we took a very scientific approach to figuring out what to do with our newly installed cabinets/counters. I bought one, but didn’t get to hang all three right away. Thanks to lifting things, painting walls with painter’s tape, and painting Instagram photos (again, very scientific) decided to use all three.
The three felt like they filled the space well without each shelf being too narrow or too widely spaced. I have two tall bookshelves upstairs already filled with lots of books, so I liked the idea of using these for a few books, but I also like plants, art, and other things that I like every day. I was able to combine what I wanted to see.
I mentioned two other bookshelves upstairs, so here they are. As you can see, we love adding art and plants to our bookshelves almost everywhere. They’re Ikea Fjalkinge shelving units (yes, more Ikea!), and while it’s true that before we released Book Police, there were about 50 great-looking hardcover books on these shelves, there’s also a whole Besta . A fireplace-side cabinet in our room is stuffed with your favorite paperbacks and other books.
Ok, back to my bedroom and how I completed this quick update. People on Instagram often ask Sherry what drywall anchors she uses for projects like this.For a load-bearing shelf like this, it’s best to use at least one or he two studs (actually as many as possible), but these 75lb EZ Anchor anchor It is also ideal for spots where studs cannot be hit. It’s so easy and quick to install that it’s become our go-to wall anchor.used These precise anchors You won’t go anywhere to hang these shelves.
Remember, our goal here was more space for hidden storage and beautiful things we wanted to see + a view that didn’t scream, “This is our bedroom!” from the front door. So I’m very happy that I ended up with something that ticks all those boxes.
Also, for those worried about what Sherry can get her hands on (for some reason she’s always asked), she can easily get anything on the bottom two shelves. increase. Chair. and a stepping stone.
This video is for those who want to see the entire bedroom and get a feel for how this new corner solution fits into the whole room (and how nice the view is from our kitchen door!). This details how to add height to an entire room and draw attention to it (the bookshelf balances out other tall items in the room). You can see how much storage space you get thanks to her hyperactive index finger.
Note: You can also Watch this video on YouTube.
To completely wrap this post up I wanted to finish one more before and after of sorts. Remember this view from the top of the post?
Now it looks like this (if you’re wondering where the mini-split went: this mailbox fill in).
It feels so good to ‘understand’ this spot that has been stuck for nearly 3 years. Easier on the eyes and more functional for us. Not only did you get 2 Vesta cabinets worth of storage space (and 3 floating shelves worth of vertical storage space), but if you change your mind, nothing is that expensive (yay care!) or permanent. I am completely relieved to know that I am not. (Yeah, driver) You can’t undo it later.
Other floating shelf projects
If you’d like to check out more floating shelves we’ve added (or made your own!), here are some other posts to help you find the right solution for your space.
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