Alongside the new bathroom, we have also been renovating our living room and to make the most of the space we have. Yes, the whole house has been a building site and chaos, but it’s so worth it. We decided to get a local carpenter in to design these beautiful bespoke shelves as the space we was quite unique and ‘standard shelving’ didn’t seem to fit, no matter what we tried. I haven’t taken a photo of both sides yet as they are still work in progress, but just to give you an idea of what it looks like, we have a Victorian Fireplace and either side of this, we have a little alcove which is now filled with shelves, with a cupboard underneath and they not only look beautiful but they are so practical too! Having the shelves there with all our books makes the room just look so homely, I love feeling warm and snuggly in my living room and even though it’s made the room feel a bit smaller, it’s worth it for the snug-value (yep, thats actually a thing…. well, it is now.)
We have also ordered a new sofa from Habitat (more on this coming soon) and I’m planning on making a ‘comfy crafting corner’ which will be my little haven to escape from the world into a realms of endless balls of coloured yarn, gorgeous notepads and colouring pencils. Doesn’t it sound dreamy? I cannot wait. Renovating takes a long time so we are slowly getting there, one stage at a time.
So, back to the shelves – they look just fabulous at the moment with our books, however I feel like they still need a few unique items to add a personal touch and really make them personal to us and our house, so I got scouring the internet for ideas and found this lovely site called Uncommon Goods. They are a US based company, but the good news is that they ship to the UK. They seriously have some of the most gorgeous homely items I’ve seen in a while (and fun gifts, stationery, garden stuff… everything!), plus they have a great ethos for producing handmade goods where possible, without harm to any animals or people. Perfect! So, I got shopping….
Like always when I’m shopping, I can never stay on track with picking specific items, so this little ‘wishlist’ which was meant just for the shelves, turned into a couple of other cute additions for around the living room too. What do you think?
Tricolour Wall Pot | Heart Marks the Spot Pillow | Valley Hanging Planter | Cork Globe | Pottery Oil Candle | DIY Cinema Lightbox
I just love everything on that site, but these are some of my favourites. You can tell I have a real natural/handmade theme going on, with the blue toned pottery and planters, I just can’t get enough of succulents, and want to add a few more plants around the place I think having lots of plants creates a really nice atmosphere and vibe in a room. For our new sofa, I want to get a mix of cushions in various colours and styles and just fell in love with the ‘Heart Marks the Spot’ cushion, I think it would love fabulous on our new sofa. The pin is detachable, so you can chose the location your heart lays – it’s such a cute idea. Lastly, I love the customisable element of the Cork Globe and DIY Cinema Lightbox, plotting travels and trips on the globe and cute messages on the Lightbox, although the temptation to write rude words or funny things for when Vee comes home would be too much! Ha.
So, thats where we are at for the moment with the living room. I’m sure I’ll be posting an update soon as we begin to add personal touches to the shelves over time.
Post written in collaboration with Uncommon Goods,
however all opinions are my own
Sounds lovely, I’ve been thinking about putting shelving up in the alcoves in our bedroom (because aside from the little bedside cabinets it’s wasted space!) but for some reason it hasn’t occurred to me to do the same in the front room, which is directly below our bedroom. Thanks for the inspiration and looking forward to seeing yours when it’s all done! xx
I thought about the bedroom first too, luckily it was Vee that came up with this idea for the living room and I think it looks fab! Let me know what you decide to do! xx
I love the shelves! I think that it’s sometimes such a wise investment to get a professional in – especially for odd shaped spaces! We had a carpenter come round to look at fitting new doors to our fitted wardrobes and knocking through the wall above to maximise space – so exciting to get something totally bespoke! Look forward to seeing your crafty corner when it’s finished! 🙂 B x The Sussex Girl
Gorgeous. I love the fireplace too. I’m planning to make a feature wall but it’s quite large and I’ve never papered before lol.
Love the shelves, it does look so homely. Always good to see other people’s decor. I’m trying to sort out the study at the moment and need to sort out shelves for all the books.