Summer project to breathe new life into a tired space.
There's a space bridging the living room and kitchen that we spend a lot of time in that needed a little love.
The mirrors help make the room feel bigger and are useful but the white wall was looking aged. I wanted to add some more light and some shelves beside my work desk as well as make it more inviting. Something to tie the desk and chair into the space and further define the room.
This is what I came up with.
Before: Series of mirror panels w/ painted white trim. Tired looking.
Beginning the Great Strip. Arguably the longest part of the project.
Masking rectangle. Approximate ratio of the mirrors.
Shelf backing from Japanese maple. Negative spacing created from height of boards for balance.
Stagger of shelf backing boards match angle of rectangle.
Wall stained, painted and dry fitting shelf backing. The angle of everything follows the staircase in the reflection.
Stain colour test. Blotchy without stain conditioner.
Wrapping bulkhead with walnut 1/4" ply and filling seams with colour mixed wood filler.
Installing electrical, 1 LED pot light per pillar. Pulling power to location was a project in itself.
Lights installed and bulkhead stained. Lights are on a motion sensor switch and dimmable. Auto-off after 15 minutes.
Shelf backing stained and ready for installation.
Shelf installed and project complete. Replaced pendant light with something more modern and added new plant as well. Light and shadow on shelf adds great texture to room.
Dimmable pot lights, dark wood and plants add a lot of warmth to the space.
