Our Styled Credenza: Industrial-chic Meets Dia de los Muertos.
September 27, 2012 — Written by Julia Marcum
We’re back, as promised, to share all of the final details that went into above and on our DIYed fauxdenza. Styling is always so fun. Especially when it is a surface that can be styled and re-styled with changing seasons. Last night, we got the base of the styling done. The lamps installed (more on that in a minute) and our gallery hung. We also plopped our big, 20 pound wood ball from Indonesia…okay, HomeGoods, on there and called it a night. Oooo, a rare night shot.
In the morning, I still loved the industrial simplicity of the styling–we really try to keep things clutter-free around here–but I thought the left side could use a little somethin’ somethin’.
And that “somethin'” turned out to be petite roses from our front yard, a short stack of magazines and books, and a skull. The roses and skull next to each other give off a bit of a dia de los muertos vibe. Which I dig. Would it be completely inappropriate to keep Skully around all year?
Underneath the cabinets, he ran 2 six-foot extension cords (one from the outlet to underneath the first lamp and the other from underneath the first lamp over to the second) and then he secured the plugs artistically like so:
Ha! No one can see this, thank goodness. He did use heavy duty staples to carry the extension cord to the second lamp.
The big, wooden ball next to it is also a HomeGoods find. It is massive and weighs around 20 pounds. It was $30, and luckily Chris was even more excited about it than I was.
As for what is hanging out below, I mentioned the mini roses are from our garden. As much as I abhor our big rose bushes, the mini ones are very, very sweet. I plopped them in a small juice glass and called it good. I stacked Skully ($5 at Target. My secret is out.) on top of two great books and a stack of National Geographics (we have a ton of those) turned around so there is just a hint of their signature yellow exposed.
This view of him makes me laugh. Say, “Cheese!” He’s so friendly.
What do you think?
interior define
We designed the Charly line of sofas, chairs, and ottomans with perfect proportions for comfort — with wide arms, a loungey depth, and stylish and practical lumbar pillows. Available in 70 kid-friendly, pet-friendly fabrics, this line was created with families in mind.
Collaborations
learn more
next
Semihandmade
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.
Collaborations
learn more
next
Loloi
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.
Collaborations
learn more
next
STUGA
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.
Collaborations
learn more
next
SHop all
What We're Right Now
What We're Right Now
Looking for our favorite things? A place to shop our home room by room, or just catch up on what Julia's wearing / loving right now? Browse the CLJ shop.
Loving
Portfolio
Design
Befores, afters, mood boards, plans, failures, wins. We’ve done a lot of projects, and they’re all here.
BROWSE BY CATEGORY
let's break this thing up
We have a long-standing relationship with DIY, and love rolling our sleeves up and making it happen.
Projects
Even when you don’t want to rip down a wall, you can make that space in your home better. Right now.
read more
read more
read more
02
01
03
looking for inspiration?
Almost daily I get asked what I would call my home style. I don’t like to box myself in, but I definitely lean Modern Traditional with an emphasis on comfort when it comes to our home. This especially came up when I shared our Powder Bath Reveal on the blog. I think it changes slightly […]
SEARCH THE BLOG
We've been doing this since 2009 and we've posted a whopping 24145+ blog posts and counting. You might need a little help searching, huh?
looking for something?
find stuff like:
Can We Send You Our Love Letter?
Another way for us to stay in touch! Joining our weekly newsletter gives you access to exclusive content, never-before-seen photos, your questions answered, and our favorite DIYs. Sign up below!
Follow Along on Instagram
Welcome to our online community where we've posted home, DIY, style, renovations, and family since '09. Renovating our #cljmoderncottage in Idaho and headed for new adventures in Raleigh, NC. #cljfam #cljtransformations
@chrislovesjulia
Links
Get Around
Make yourself right at home
Portfolio
Design
Casual Friday
Projects
Lifestyle
Gift Guides
All Posts
Shop
Hi Julia! I’ve been looking over your post on the Credenza setup and I was wondering what size are your black frames? Thank so much!
I think they’re 12×12
Perfect! Thanks so much for the quick response!!
It turned out so nice!! I love the pink flowers with the dark wall and the frames are perfect! Good work!
It turned out so nice!! I love the pink flowers with the dark wall and the frames are perfect! Good work!
nice! I have the same Target skull :)
That skull spray painted a rich gold would be totally appropriate year round.
I’m obsessed with this. I love the industrial look of the lamps, paired with the earthiness of the wooden ball. You’ve got femininity with the roses, and edge with the skull. Finally, we’re big readers in our house, and the site of stacked books and magazines is the most romantic touch. *I* think :)
Here’s some girls’ bedrooms on Remodelaholic… Just sharing since you were contemplating the same recently: http://www.remodelaholic.com/2012/09/home-sweet-home-budget-girls-bedrooms/
This looks awesome. Those lamps are so unique! Don’t you just love Home Goods? I cannot wait to see how you style this space as seasons change and holidays come and go. Nice work!
Oh my goodness! I completely forgot about that!
Nice!
Must be a coincidence! “Good to Great” is Chris’s, recommended by his brother and “The Alchemist” has been one of my favorites forever, it seems. Great books!
Ha! We read the same books. I have Good to Great sitting on a antique piece in my foyer…too funny. Looks good!
Ha! We read the same books. I have Good to Great sitting on a antique piece in my foyer…too funny. Looks good!
Ha! We read the same books. I have Good to Great sitting on a antique piece in my foyer…too funny. Looks good!
I love it! Out of curiosity: my husband noticed the books on the table are the same as the required reading for one of his business classes here at BYU-Idaho. Coincidence, or did one of you take that class?
This looks so good! I love the frames.
Didn’t Skully teach us Scripture Mastery one summer?
Aw, Thanks Ashley!
It looks fabulous! I love absolutely everything about it, like seriously!
I think you should keep the skull year around! It’s funky and fun! The frames look incredible. You guys do good work over there.
I love the friendly skull!! Friendly skulls make me smile. My skully is favorite part of halloween decor. I don’t like the ones that look scowly – happy ones like this guy are where it’s at ;)
It looks great – but I don’t love the skull…its fine for halloween I guess, but I just dont like skulls – I’ve never understood that trend. But thats just personal. But otherwise I think it looks gorgeous. I didn’t comment yesterday, but that dark wood on the top and sides really makes it. I love it.
Oh, yes. We talked about that in this post:
https://www.chrislovesjulia.com/2012/07/okay-maybe-wall-isnt-coming-down.html
We still can’t wait to overhaul the kitchen, but that wall will be staying in place.
I take it the wall will for sure remain through the kitchen demo then?
I love it! I love skulls. And I’m a big fan of the Dia de los Muertos look. You did good! I can’t believe those lamps were so cheap. Home Goods is my fave!
beautiful! and the flowers are a nice touch
Okay, so I bought the skull for Halloween decor–but I just love him! Hahaha. I’m sure he won’t stay there year-round, but he might stick around longer than the other Halloween stuff does.
Looks awesome! Just the right amount of styling. And the lamps are really fun, loving the industrial vibe these days.
Love times a MILLION. Those lamps. Perfect. The frames!? So chic. The skull!?!? Is he permanent or just for October??? Lol. No but I’m serious. Hahaha.
That picture at night is roooomantic!!!!
Good point! They are usually only on for an hour or two in the evenings, but I hadn’t even thought about that. Thanks, Karen!
Looks so great!! I love the way it turned out.
I know at our house we had a lamp by the thermostat and it made the mechanical system think it was wayyyy hotter in our house then it really was (I guess having the lamp near the sensor). It might be a good idea to put LED bulbs in them to cut down on the temperature or just leave them off most of the time.
LOVE it! I was seriously so impressed by your first picture that I skipped to the bottom to comment before reading the rest of the post haha Off to read it and be jealous of your wooden ball! :)