A large box that carried all of our mirrors from our apartment to our house was just big enough to hide the router, a slew of cables and a big power strip with tons of wires plugged in, safely out of reach of little Greta. The speakers we placed right next to the box to keep her from crawling in and pressing that lit up red button on the power strip. On occasion, she wiggled her way in there and DAILY she threw the dvd player and Apple TV behind the speakers so she could knock over the speakers and sit on them. It was a mess. We have had our eyes open for a solution for this headache, and on our Ikea trip, we found just the thing.
The Varde cabinet we actually found in the kitchen section, but it had everything we wanted. It was floating which opened up the floor space creating some more visual real estate. It had a frosted glass front which meant we could put our dvd player and Apple TV inside and use the remote without having to open the cabinet. Lastly, it didn’t have drawers that Greta could open easily and empty….also, it came in white. :) We actually put the open shelving in the kitchen up the same night we put this together, which made for an interesting date night. But the results of both were well worth it.
Thanks to a recommendation from our friend, Mike, we channeled all of the wires and router into the laundry room area creating a clean, wire free, safe zone in the family room. And it will be no big deal to gather all of those wires neatly in a cabinet in the laundry room down the road.
So now, it looks like this:
Sans handle, with two little holes where one used to be (I still need to patch those). Truthfully, I like it better without the handle anyway.
Here’s a little peak inside. If our electronics could talk, I am sure they would be thanking us that they are safe now and will no longer take a beating every day.
The room still needs a lot of help. A large window cut out of the far wall. Window treatments. Pillows. Lamps. Some baskets under the media cabinet for blankets and toys. Accessories—!!! But, you know us. We take it one task at a time. Just know, this is no “after.”
Our wood grain Shaker cabinet fronts were designed for busy, high-traffic homes like ours. Clad with durable textured thermofoils, this line is compatible with Sektion, Akurum, Godmorgon, and Besta cabinets from IKEA. It's the perfect, practical way to add the warmth of wood to all the rooms of your home.
We have teamed up with Loloi to create a line of rugs that are as affordable as they are beautiful. This collection houses a great mix of traditional and modern rugs, in cottage-y colorways, as well as vintage-inspired beauties that you’ll want to roll out in every room.
We partnered with Stuga on a line of hardwood floors — The Ingrid is really livable, and the color is very neutral. It doesn’t lean warm or cool, it’s that just right in-between. We have really loved putting it everywhere in our house. It’s the best jumping-off point for design, no matter your interior style. In addition to being beautiful, Ingrid is really durable — we have three kids, and we always have a home construction project going on. Ingrid stands up to it all.
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Befores, afters, mood boards, plans, failures, wins. We’ve done a lot of projects, and they’re all here.
We have a long-standing relationship with DIY, and love rolling our sleeves up and making it happen.
Even when you don’t want to rip down a wall, you can make that space in your home better. Right now.
A reader recently asked me if I’m starting to fully embrace traditional style and whether we still consider our house to be a “modern Colonial” and why. It was a really great question and so timely — I had really just been thinking about my approach to this home and how my style has changed […]
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Get Around
Make yourself right at home
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awesome idea!
xo dana
thewonderforest.com
Gahh I forgot about the baby grand, AND that Robert Frost on the wall! This was a great shot to put everything into perspective!
…Its like your appliances have a little garage
It looks amazing! I LOVE the idea of a FLOATING shelving/entertainment unit! Who would have thought??? You guys are geniuses….