Hip! Hip! Hooray! The day is here! I have been so excited for this project since it was a teeny little idea floating around in my head…and now that it’s finally real, I’m overjoyed.
I’m talking about our fauxdenza! This, my friends, is how to add tons of storage to your living room (or any room)!
If you missed part one about the installation of the fauxdenza, make sure you check it out here. We definitely give some of our best tips for using stock cabinets and hanging them part way up a wall.
You’ll recall that when we left off, our fauxdenza was ‘doorless’.
We decided we wanted a clean look with very few lines and so we settled on super simple, flat front doors with no hardware. The EuroStyle Doors from The Home Depot are really simple to hang. They really only require a screwdriver and you can adjust them to make sure they are all level with each other.
We went with this look because we figured it would draw the eye up a little and add some height to this wall. Of all the walls on the main floor, this one has always seemed to be the shortest and we didn’t want to do anything that would create too much visual stimulation near the bottom 1/3 of the wall. Hence the super simple finish on the fauxdenza. We might add teeny knobs later – but we’re going to keep it as is for now and see how we like it.
The top is a solid piece of pine that we cut down to fit exactly over the cabinets and the doors, so it’s 7 feet long by 12.5″ deep. This is the exact one we used. And yes! We were so hardcore about this project, we hauled out the table saw and made the cuts on the porch in February. Maybe I should change the name of our blog to Plank Wood & Parkas? 😉
We stained it with Minwax’s Early American and we sealed it with oil-based Polyurethane. We didn’t want any marks or screw holes in our top, so we stuck it to the cabinets using No More Nails. Man, that stuff is good!
We plan to use the fauxdenza for books, magazines, extra decor items and serving ware for now – but there is still plenty of space in there for growth down the line. I actually would love to set up a mini-file-folder area to keep all the bills and such. Somehow, even though we have an upstairs office, the bills always end up on the coffee table and I pay them in the living room! It could also be a neat little spot for a hidden cocktail bar for parties. The possibilities here really are endless.
When you think about it, this fauxdenza is like the equivalent of adding an entire wall of kitchen cabinets to the main floor! It’s the same length as our kitchen uppers and everything!
As far as the rest of the room goes, we are sticking with our tried and true Ikea arm chairs (although, I’m actively hunting for replacements), our grey couch and faux patina rug.
I did pick up a few new fun accessories to round out the space. I’m in love with this pouf I found at HomeSense. It’s got a little rustic with the sisal bottom and a little glam with the black iridescent treatment on top. I also bought those glass lamps. (You can see some of my similar style picks if you scroll down a little on this post!)
I accessorized the rest of the room with vintage finds I already had, including our giant crock pot and old butter crate. And of course, I updated our gallery wall above the fauxdenza. Later this week, I’ll have some details on a few of the DIY projects there too!
Here are other posts you’ll love
This post contains affiliate links – see our full disclosure and privacy policy here.
