You may have noticed the new rug in the pictures of our new TV stand.


It's here, and after a little time adjusting to it, we love it!  We've done some rearranging of rooms during the kitchen remodel, (which I have updates on I swear), so I can't show a full room photo yet, but here's a sneak peek.


It took some getting used to because it is thick.  The knots are very knobby and it's a little weird at first.  I have pretty tough feet since I hate wearing shoes, but it wasn't exactly comfortable.  After a week or so we got used to it though, and now, it really is quite comfortable.  The knobs are like little massages on your feet.  It's also a really warm color, and adds a lot of texture to the room.

I've bought a couple new pillows, along with some of the layers I already had in the room including the leather furniture and faux sheepskin rugs, and it's finally coming together.  Much to Mike's dismay, this combination could really use some metallics, maybe gold or bronze!

I've been trying to change up the living room since we moved in.  We are heading in the right direction (for now) when we bought the new rug, and we're getting one step closer with a new TV stand.


Using dressers as TV stands isn't anything new, and mid-century dressers are all the range right now, and that's why I was surprised I was able to find this baby on Craigslist, local, and for $40!  It's not solid, with laminate veneer, and a plastic type top, but it's the right size and look that I wanted.  It's got a couple nicks and one piece of chipped laminate on the bottom middle drawer, but we're working on how to fix those.  The old black unit was great, and held sentimental value since Mike built it years ago for the townhouse we lived early in our relationship, but it had worn out it's welcome.

 
It was too dark, and the storage, while plentiful, wasn't that useful.  It was really deep, and behind those baskets sat 2 rows of DVD's, which we never used.  What sold Mike on getting a replacement was gaining a few inches depth wise, so that when you came around the corner you didn't risk hitting your shins.  We listed it on Craigslist for $50 and delivered it to it's new owner nearby.  Depending on how you look at it, I made $10!


We did have to modify it a bit to have the same function as our last unit had.  Behold hinged drawers:


I came up with the idea and Mike executed it.  We also drilled a couple 1 1/2" holes along the back of the drawers for all the cords and ventilation.  We haven't used the PS2 or the DVD player, but we've noticed the Wii gets a little warm.  We don't have cable so we watch Hulu Plus and Netflix through the Wii, so it gets quite the workout.  We usually leave the drawer front up and just open the drawer a couple inches to prevent overheating.

The drawers hinges are spring loaded and heavy duty.  They allow the drawers to lay completely flat.

  

The only issue Mike had was cutting the fronts off.  Sine the drawers are wavy, he had to cut along the bottom.  This doesn't change the use since it still flips up to sit flush, it's just something he had to take into account.


The other modification was fixing the hole in the baseboard from when we moved in and had cable installed.  The jerkface who came to install it drilled right through the baseboard while Mike was in the basement.  It split the wood and cracked the shoe.  Mike filled it and I repainted and now it's good as new.  I only had a phone pic that showed the hole, (we've also added the surge protector to one of the drawers so it doesn't sit on the floor):


The dresser is about 6" less deep than the old unit and makes the room feel much bigger, especially when you come around the corner.  Our shins are very thankful.

The TV sits higher than it used to, but I like it a little higher.  Mike has always liked it low so that it's eye level when you're laying on the couch, but he's gotten used to it.


Someone else approves, and that's what really matters around here.

Earlier this week I shared the basement bathroom reveal and showed are new bathroom shelves.  Now I'm back to share how we made them.



I had put together a couple inspirational pictures of shelving that I liked awhile back and while they we're all on the industrial/rustic side, they all had one major thing in common, all had distressed wood shelves.

Clockwise: 1 | 2 | 3 | 4

I looked around for different brackets, but kept coming back to the inexpensive Ekby Bjarnum brackets from Ikea.


I had grabbed a couple sets a while back in case my search for other brackets came up short, and while I thought about painting them black for a minute, (to match my inspiration photos above), I thought they looked fine the way they were.

The problem was I wanted reclaimed wood shelves.  Not just any wood either, I now was committed to finding wood that was exactly 1" because that's the thickness of the brackets.  No pressure.

I spent a couple months researching some local reclaimed wood sites, and was all ready to hit up some backwood barns, when Mike shared a tip that blew my mind.  Seriously though, it was probably most shocking because I spent months thinking about this project before he told me.  So, here it is, how to get the reclaimed-wood-look from a box store.


Everyone can go get a piece of lumber, distress it, stain it, and call it rustic, but the problem is the thickness.  A typical 1" x board is actually only 0.75" thick.  Our secret: stair treads!

Stair treads are 1" thick, not nominal, actual.

Once Mike told me this, I had new stair tread in the garage within 2 days.  The only prep needed is one edge comes with a bull nose edge, so we used our table saw to rip it down to size.  Since the brackets are 7 1/2" and the treads were 11", this was necessary anyways.

Once we had it cut to size we went to town distressing the heck out of them.  Mike and I had way too much fun with various items from the garage.  Our arsenal included a giant chain, mallet, hammer, and wire.  We whipped, dropped, pounded the wood until we got the level of distress we were happy with.  I lightly sanded all the edges and sides and stained 2 coats, (using Minwax Special Walnut), and finished with a coat of poly.  Mike helped install the brackets and we were good to go.


I love how beat up the edges look.



I used some items we had around the house, and bought a few more to load up the shelves with accessories.

 
The plants, baskets, and towels are from Ikea.  The basket was an etsy find, and the soaps are all homemade.  The green bottle is an old Chianti bottle without the basket that our neighbor gave us.  We never knew how to display this since it rolls around, so the antlers were a happy accident since I just grabbed something to keep it stable for a second.

We both love the new shelves and for the cost ($10 for the stair tread (edited: they are actually $20, but we were able to cut in half to get both shelves from one sheet) and $10 for the 2 sets of brackets), we really couldn't be happier!