Tiffany's Living Room - part 2

Part 2 of my recap of Tiffany's living room redo. Yesterday was all about furniture placement, art and lighting. Today I'll write about the other side of the living room -- the entertainment unit and surrounding area.

When I arrived, the tv was on the entertainment unit and though there were deep shelves tucked into the sides of the unit, they were empty. Two small and thin bookcases flanked the tv. Tiffany had done an amazing job of de-cluttering recently so there wasn't a whole lot in the bookcases. A bunch of dvds, candles and some books were what we had to work with.

I wish I had more before photos of this space. It's just that when I started moving things around I had no idea that the end result would look so drastically different! 

The biggest issue with this area was that there was too much space between the entertainment unit and the bookcases and the short height and narrow depth of the bookcases made them look ditsy when placed near the solid entertainment unit. The wall that the furniture was up against was long, too, and it needed some visual weight so step 1 was moving the two bookcases together and pushing them closer to the tv giving the illusion of an elongated entertainment unit.

Once the bookcases were pushed together, a large piece of art was in order. We found the perfect piece at Target. The size was great and it had all the right colors. I then staggered the shelves of the bookcase and styled them with items that Tiffany had on hand -- mostly cookbooks, DVDs and candles. The gilded frame (soon to be filled with a fun photo) was a new purchase from Home Goods. 

Leaving some parts of the bookcase empty was intentional. Bookcases chock-full of books look great, but so do sparsely filled bookcases that are artfully arranged. I wanted to fill, though, the shelves on the sides of the entertainment unit. Tiffany had hesitated putting her DVDs there since the shelves were so deep but by placing them along the outermost edge, you don't even notice the un-used depth. They look like a perfect fit.

Nesting tables went on the other side of the tv with a small stack of books and a pretty vase on top. Tiffany had these tables (there are 4 total) all grouped together and placed along a different wall. The carvings on the tables are really pretty and by separating them and positioning them in 2 groupings next to the tv unit, they give the whole area more presence and, just like the bookcases on the other side, they help to make the entertainment unit as a whole look much bigger. 

Looks good, right? The most exciting thing about this room redo was that so few new things were purchased and yet the space was completely transformed. Come back tomorrow for one more room redo post!

*****

bookcases from Ikea

green vase from Room Service

artwork above bookcases from Target