Hi! Did you have a nice weekend? 😀
Our adoption caseworker, Meredith, emailed on Friday and said that we are only lacking one more signature on the paperwork that will legally make Sweet P our son, so we are excited to see what this month *hopefully* brings! Can’t help think about 2-26. (Read these posts if you’d like to hear more about the *possible* significance of that date: 2-26 Part One and 2-26 Part Two)
On the home front, we’re sticking our Stikwood on the newly-built cabinet and fireplace frame later this week. Which reminds me, when I posted this video last week:
…someone left a comment on Instagram that said, “I love the decor, but I’m confused. Why is she so small compared to everything around her?“. Made me giggle when I re-watched the video from her perspective- ha!
I thought I’d share a couple of photos that show more of the room a little better today to clear up the confusion. First, here’s a pulled-back shot of how every thing is laid out:
Note: The planks on the right side of the fireplace are painted Simply White, but the planks on the left side of the fireplace still only have primer on them. Kevin’s going to finish painting them this week. Oh, and we’ve decided that we will plank the wall on the far left one day, too, since everything else is so symmetrical.
Note: Notice I said planks. Our boards aren’t shiplap, they’re tongue-and-groove planks. Shiplap, by definition, is “boards that have been milled so that the top and bottom of each piece has a rabbet joint, so they can be stacked as siding“. Here’s a good illustration of what that looks like:
Okay, now back to the height of the built-ins.
The ceiling in our living room is 10 feet tall and I’m 5′-5″. I wanted the cabinets (there will be another one on the left side of the fireplace eventually) to be just a little shorter than the mantel, A) so we could fill them with LOTS of shelves and really put them to good use), and B) so the fireplace would “win” as the focal point of that wall.
I also get a lot of comments about taking the built-ins all the way up to the ceiling, but I don’t want to do that for three reasons:
1- Like I mentioned, I want the fireplace to win as the focal point.
2- The ceiling is 10-feet tall, and those spaces are 5+ feet wide. I feel like the last thing I need is a wall full of cubbies and shelves for displaying hundreds of decorative items that we really don’t need, and that will probably just collect dust anyway. I feel like what I need is storage that really works hard for things we really use. I’m picturing the built-in cabinet on the right filled with toys, and games, and puzzles, and books, and various things that Kevin and I need to store and have easy access to. The built-in on the left will house the TV and whatever else we decide to store below that. And, yes, we’re still planning to build the tall cabinets on the opposite side of the room to store my work stuff in, too. (The living room didn’t know that it would also serve as an “office” one day, but it’s much less expensive than adding an office on!)
And the third reason I don’t want to extend the built-in cabinets up to the ceiling is because:
3- With the exception of the doors, the built-in cabinet on the right side of the fireplace is already done! 🙂
Alright, excuse my messy hair (I had just gotten back from playing in the park with a 4-year-old friend), but here’s a shot of me standing next to the built-in cabinet on the right:
Unlike in the video, you can see the ceiling and the sofa there, so maybe that will also help answer the question about why I looked so tiny in it? 😀 I’m so excited to blog about the (Reclaimed Weathered Wood Gray) Stikwood we’re going to stick to it next Monday.
And, y’all, just for fun, we propped some of the (Sierra Gold) Stikwood (in no particular order) up against the wall to see how our soon-to-be sliding shutter is going to (kind of) look and I just LOVE it!
Lots of fun stuff to keep myself busy with while we wait for word about our Sweet P’s decree. It’s coming any day now, y’all. I just know it! 😀
At 4:23 a.m., it’s a great way to start the day, praying for 2-26 and feeling your joy!
Layla, it all looks so great in there and I’m so excited to here your good news about the adoption. 😉 Yay! Can’t wait to here how you like the stikwood as I’d like to use it in a built in in our son’s room.
My heart leaps with the anticipation of Sweet P’s arrival! Would you share how you layer your artwork?
Chills, reading back and reminding myself of 2/26. So genuinely excited for you! And these builtins couldn’t be a better distraction, they are perfect and can’t wait to see your room completed!!?
Love everything but the sliding doors maybe a little too much going on
Guess it’s a personal preference thing, Karen. I’m pumped to get those babies up and slidin’! 😀 They’ll be several inches shorter than they look in that photo too, by the way. 😉
It isn’t our place to be fault-finding toward others. One wouldn’t walk into her house and say what you just said, I hope, so how can anyone think its alright to type it? It IS a personal preference, as Layla says. I love the look of the sliding doors, by the way. And if I didn’t, I just wouldn’t comment.
Great news about Sweet P. Thanks for explaining shiplap. Most bloggers I read are planking walls with lumber (using spacers) and calling it shiplap when it really isn’t. After commenting a couple of times, I let it go.
Oh man oh man, I am SO pumped about the final product. It’s SO STINKING CUTE!! Love a good built-in shelf! ❤️
Congrats on Sweet P..so exciting!! I was wondering if you could tell me the name/maker of the vinyl product you used for planking beside the fireplace?
Thank you, Kimberly! And I’m not sure of the name/maker anymore (I threw away the boxes!), but any building materials liquidator or major home improvement store will have them! XO
I’m so excited for y’all and praying for that final signature to happen now!
Your ideas for your built-ins are perfect! I like that you’re keeping them lower so the fireplace shines. The sliding shutters are going to be awesome!!
Lol — I hadn’t noticed you looking particularly small till you shared that comment.
Praying that last signature comes quickly!
Question — where did you get the three pillows on the couch nearest to you in the video — a solid grey, blue pattern, and then the other grey/white one?
Can’t wait to see the finished wall, as I’m confused. You say the left cabinet will be shorter than the right one? Why are they not going to be the same height?
I love the barn door window idea, so much better than the curtain idea!
I think 2-26 will be your day too! So excited every time we get an update on Sweet P.!!!
Nope- they’ll be the same size. I’ll have to take a look at what part of my post is confusing and edit that. 🙂
And thank you for the kind words about Sweet P…I’m so excited to share the big day with you! XO
OH! There was a parenthesis missing from that paragraph! It should make more sense now. 😉
So happy and excited for you both. You know God does come to us in our dreams!! The significance of this date is really something!! Have a great week..
How exciting! Those built ins are what home decor and DIYer dreams are made of!
Thank you, Emily! I think we’re really going to enjoy having them!
I LOVE that last photo of you with your fur babies. So cute. I think it is coming together really well and love the vision you have for that room. Can’t wait to see it all finished!
I’ve been reading for years, since before you moved in to this new place, and I must have missed that your ceilings are 10 ft until now. The scale without you in the photos totally made them look like they could be 8 feet ceilings! Hah! Or maybe I just have terrible spacial skills. 😉
Layla,
Everything appears to be coming together really well and I’m sure it will be stunning. I’m so excited to hear that Sweet P might be sitting by that fireplace with you, Kevin and the little ones soon. Praying that he will be.
Take Care,
You are so adorable! The fireplace, etc. looks GREAT! Excellent choices! Amazing news about Sweet P! He will filling your home with love and laughter soon!
I thought you looked super tiny in the video, too. 😉 I love how it’s all coming together!
Oh, you really do look like a mini-Layla. Funny. 🙂 Happy for you that you are getting closer to having a little one to snuggle on a daily basis.
Love the sliding door for the window! Everything is looking fantastic!
Thank you, Miranda! XO
shared on my Facebook page…I think I did this last week, oops! I just love your personal style…relaxed and happy.
Hope the final signature comes soon.
So happy that your day is coming soon! I continue to just love where you have taken this room of yours – just lovely. Also, thank you for clearing up, officially, the mystery between shiplap, planks and tongue and groove. I happen to like them all : )
That made me lol when she asked why you are so tiny compared to everything in the room. A lot of houses in my area have the same fireplace configuration with shelves on either side, BUT the ceilings are only 8 feet tall. Without a human in your picture your room totally looks the same scale. As soon as you are in it, I can see how massive your fireplace is. It’s really awesome and I love your tall ceilings. Praying for Sweet P to become a Palmer soon. The waiting is so hard!
So excited for you, Kevin, and sweet P. Sweet P is sure gonna love Alabama. Your house is precious and I love everything y’all have done to it. I want to hear more about the barn plans.
Btw, I didn’t even notice how tiny you looked in the video. But the comment made be lol! I’ll refer to you now as “little Layla” lol.
Fingers crossed for the last signature to happen soon! I can’t wait to see pictures of your sweet P enjoying the beautiful home you’ve created 🙂
I see you are a “Fixer Upper” fan as well. #shiplap
Yes! I love Fixer Upper! 😀 We’ve always been #plankers over here at The Lettered Cottage, but with Chip’s carpentry skills, I’m sure shiplapping is easy-peasy!
…and speaking of our love of planked walls, here’s a post from the past (June of 2008- where does the time go!?) that includes a video of the day we FOUND wood walls in our previous home:
https://theletteredcottage.net/guest-bedroom-renovation/
We reeeeeally lucked out on that project! 😀
The project sounds exciting! Will keep up! Congrats on the adoption – hopefully it happens this month! 🙂
I’m curious what you do, or plan to do with your sunroom? You have mentioned using the livingroom as a guest room and also as a place to store work things, and I’m curious why you don’t set up the sunroom to accommodate one or both of those functions.
Praying that Sweet P gets to come home soon, can’t wait to see pictures of his sweet smile!!!!!
It’s coming along great! Love the animals, as always! The cat looks so chill.
Your living room is really starting to look awesome! I LOVE the sliding window “doors” and it really pops. Can’t wait to see more!!
Lauren | Lovely Decor
xx
There is also a shiplap called nickel gap that is really nice. It overlaps like the picture, but has a nice even gap. My reservation with just using planks is that you have a gap between the boards open to the insulation. There is also v gap, which is nice. I’m hoping to redo my laundry room soon and will us some sort of shiplap.