The Living Room Built-Ins Are Finished! (For Real)

I know that I called these turkeys done waay back when (last August to be precise) but the truth was they were not actually finished. Even after they were featured on Young House Love I still could not find the motivation to finish them! From afar they looked done but when you got up close you could see the unfinished side trim, the missing base trim, and the unfinished crown molding full of nail gun holes and un-caulked seams. Now I wasn't trying to be dishonest and actually did say that they were not finished. My exact words were: "Now I have to confess, the built-ins aren't 100% done. There is still more trim work and paint touch-ups to be completed..." So even back then, over a year ago, I knew I had more work to do but just couldn't find the motivation to do it. Now here we are, mere weeks away from the Christmas buzz and I finally found the motivation! So here are the true Afters I've been meaning to share with you:

For the side trim I used two different types of trim to conceal the areas where the original book cases met the wood we used to bulk them up a bit on the sides so they weren't flush with the wall.

Then it came time to caulk and paint every seam. That was the most tedious part but in the end it was the most rewarding!

Now they are all ready for the next season's decor and a beautiful fat Christmas tree right there in between!

To see how we transformed these fugly creatures:

check out this post!