Before and After: Living Room Built-Ins!

Before I even bought my house, I dreamed of a Craftsman style home with built-ins surrounding the fireplace. So when I found my place, those immediately went on the to do list... after the bedrooms, kitchen, bathroom, heating / air conditioning, electrical, backyard, etc etc etc. 

More than three years later, I FINALLY got my built-ins, thanks to my big brother Monty! Here is a little reminder of the "before" (this picture is pretty old, sorry):

And here is a picture of the pre-decorated "after":

Again, apologies for not cleaning up before taking the photo. I was just so excited!

Some people (not me, obviously) were concerned that the shelves would make the room seem smaller. But since they're only 8 inches deep, and painted the same color as the walls, they didn't seem to reduce the space at all. In fact, I think the horizontal lines make the room seem wider. And I definitely have a lot more storage! Everybody wins!

A huge thank you to my brother Monty, you're the best!