Hey there, remember me? I'm the one that promised updates on how to personalize your spec home (or any home really), then totally disappeared. Sorry about that, but adopting a baby can completely throw a wrench in the amount of free time you have! Yep, you read that right. My husband and I have recently adopted a newborn baby boy, and are absolutely loving life right now. That is when we're conscious. Who knew that a tiny adorable little bundle of joy could absolutely destroy your sleep schedule?? (Cue the eye roll.)

But I digress. Today's post is all about how we updated our living room built ins. And by updated I mean ripped out and rebuilt them. If you follow me on Instagram, then you probably saw the finished product in my stories this morning, but if not, I'm breaking it all down right here.

First, let's take a look at the before.

I'll admit they weren't completely awful, but they definitely didn't go with our more modern style, and my husband was pretty disappointed that he could only fit a 65" TV in there lol! Plus, I just really hated the layout. The 45 degree angle took up way too much space, and I had no idea what I was going to put on that bottom shelf.

The solution? Start over. I've mentioned before that neither my husband nor myself are very handy so we began by hiring a contractor that is. He actually worked off a crude sketch my husband drew on a napkin so yeah, I can't say enough about the importance of finding someone skilled when you're ripping things out of your house. We used Angie's List to find our contractor, but Home Advisor is a good place to check as well.

Here's a progress shot.

These built in shelves were just framing and drywall. Although the tear out looked like major construction (and felt like it too) it didn't change the footprint of the home.

We did run into a problem with our design once demo was completed in the form of a concrete block wall we weren't expecting. Since it was structural there was nothing we could do but reconfigure our design. Once our contractor had a new napkin to work with (lol), the rebuilding began.

It's pretty common to run into some surprises when embarking on a construction project, so don't get discouraged. Take some time to rethink your course of action, and talk to a professional if you run into road blocks you don't feel equipped to handle. You might find that the concrete block wall you thought had ruined your design actually made it come together better. That's what happened to us!

More progress!

I had our contractor add sconces above each built in for some ambient lighting, and we went with a marble veneer in the center that we carried over to our living room fireplace (post coming soon!)

Now the reveal!

We could not be happier with the way they turned out! Even though the project took a little longer than expected, and we ran into a couple of surprises it was all worth it. Now we have a family room that not only fits our style, but functions properly. And that’s a win-win.

If you would like help updating a space in your home, schedule your free call with me today. If you would like to check out the rest of this series it all started here, or you can jump ahead to the completed fireplace.