I know, I know this post has been a long time coming. Remember WAY back when I posted my living room makeover after pics, I mentioned there was still a corner that wasn’t shown? Well now here it is! I had to wait to do all the component posts first because they all lived in this corner and I wasn’t about to jump the gun.
This is where the Bird Cage Lamp fits.
And the Re-purposed Plant Stand
And the Up-cycled Baby Gate too!
OK – Here’s the before. I moved the wine rack thingy to another wall and aside from the chair which stayed put, there really wasn’t anything else in this corner.
And here is the after. Now, it’s a wee reading corner! There’s a place to set your coffee and a spot for magazines and up on that ledge there, is where I’m going to store books. I need to figure out something really cool for there. I could just put up some shelving but I don’t want it to feel too stuffy. I’m kinda stumped for now and the books are just growing into a pile up there. I’m sure sooner or later I’ll find a nifty book storage thingy that will fit just so. Anyway, what do you think? I think it’s much better. I read Little H’s bedtime story in that chair and she loves that we have a reading corner!
ooh. I love it! The lighting looks great too.
I love that birdcage lamp!! Did you buy it at a store?
I bought the cage in the garden section of Winners (Our Canadian version of Marshalls) and married it to a hanging lamp kit. The cage was meant to hold candles or a plant I think. It was pretty easy to make and the instructions are here
I love it! It looks like it’s from a magazine – so posh!
I love the way your reading corner turned out. I’ve also been trying to rearrange out living room to give us some more functional space.
It looks awesome! I love the bird lamp. I could only hope my living room looked this put together.
It looks fabulous and I love that you used your re-purposed items to bring it all together. The print on the curtains is lovely too.
Just perfect. Love, love, love it! 🙂 What an ingenious idea to use the baby gate as a rack. I would have never thought of that. I really like the “new” corner.
The magazine rack is a brilliant idea!
This is awesome, Heather! I turned out really great. Such a quaint little spot for snuggle time.
You did a great job! I love how chic and cozy it looks!
One thought for your oblong book cubbyhole there:
1. Get a 1/4- or 1/8-inch thick plank and some corner molding from Home Despot or other handyman store of your choice. The plank should be a little longer and a little wider than the space available. The molding should be the same length as the plank.(Sorry for the haziness but I don’t know the dimensions involved).
2. Cut out each end of the plank so it hugs the wall, each end extending a little past the book hole–like putting a puzzle piece in between two other pieces already in place.
3. Sand the plank to silky smoothness and paint plank and molding according to decor and taste.
4. Glue plank onto bottom of book hole, glue molding to underside of plank and the wall. You now have a shelf extending a little past the cubby hole. Buy a couple bookends of your choosing and you now have a useful book cubby.
Sorry for the vagueness of these directions but I’m not a handy person myself, and am attempting to describe something my father did with a ledge in his home. I don’t know how deep the cubby hole is, so you’ll have to get other planks to fully cover the depth of the cubby.
Yeah, after reading this, you’re going to have no idea what I’m telling you to do here, are you?