Our Dark + Moody Library Reveal

 

I am so excited to share this newly finished space with you all. I meant to have this post up much earlier but today got away from me, so I wanted to at least post some finished pictures of our newly finished front “library” room. This room would be the formal living room in our home, which is such a waste of space I think in today’s world! We have turned it into a space that makes more sense for our family with these built-in shelves, you can see where this space started if you scroll down.

 

 

After the ups and downs of the last month, I wanted to tackle a fun project in our home, something that would change things up a bit but not be an overwhelming DIY project. Paint is always the easiest way to make a change in a space, so I decided to make a quick update in our front “Library” by changing the walls to a darker color. The paint color I chose was Kendall Charcoal by Benjamin Moore, because I knew it was a dark moody gray. I will say in my space it has green undertones so I warn you of that, but it is definitely a very dark, charcoal gray. This was a quick project because there isn’t much wall space, so it was perfect to knock out in a day.

 

 

You have probably seen our DIY bookcases my Dad built from IKEA Billy Bookcases. If not, those posts are HERE {reveal} and HERE {how to build them} if you need to catch up. These are my very favorite project in our home, but recently I have been feeling like the white shelves weren’t standing out enough against the pale gray walls in the room.

 

{this room about a year ago}

{today}

Adding the dark paint was just what the room needed, I definitely think the shelves now stand out against the gray walls in a way they never did before. I am still tweaking the shelves and the styling, but that is a never ending project around here 🙂

 

 

This room holds my sister-in-law’s piano, she’s currently on stage in Chicago {go Rose!} so she doesn’t have room or the lifestyle to be toting around a baby grand. We are happily storing it for her until she settles into a permanent location. It is a bit of a space hog in the room, but I hold out hope that while it is under our roof one of our children will develop a love of music just like their talented Aunt. So far it hasn’t happened, but we’ll see!

 

 

I switched around the Bergere chairs that were in here {I may sell them, not sure yet} and moved up this simple IKEA sofa we’ve had in our basement; I just added new bright white slipcover and a few throw pillows which gave that a new look. I still need to work on the lighting in here but for now, it’s a perfect spot for a glass of wine or to relax with a book.

 

 

I also moved my art print from Minted in here, much as I loved it in our family room, I couldn’t ignore that the colors of the painting called out for a darker background. I love how the scale of the painting and the mix of the tones in the art look over the white couch.

 

 

I can’t believe the change in this room, the space started out like this {below} when we moved in just three years ago.

 

{before}

{after}

I moved over our gold bar cart over from the Dining Room, I’ll do a follow-up post with the details on this, but I love how it looks under this antique mirror. The light wasn’t ideal today for photography but I think the gold on the cart looks great in this little space right by the front door, cocktail anyone?

 

 

I also did a quick rug switch, moving the Fables rug from my Dining Room in here. I like the traditional style of it better with the mix of the shelves and the wood tones of the piano. You can see how our dining room looks now, I have posted some pictures of it over on our Instagram feed.

 

 

I’ll leave you with a few more pictures, and stay tuned for the follow-up on the bar cart with more pictures of the room and that easy DIY.

 

Rug–{from Joss & Main} but currently available HERE

Couch, Black + White Pillows–IKEA

Bench–Target–Similar HERE

Art Work 

Throw Pillows, Tray, Shelf Items, Pillows–HomeGoods

Bar Cart–Similar HERE and HERE

*******

See the Bar Cart Makeover Post HERE.

{sharing this at Inspire Me Tuesday!}

 

XO,

 

 

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