Thoughts: living room storage

Guys, the kitchen is so nearly done. The end of a project always seems to take forever but the room is looking great, I just want it to be perfect before showing it off.

It’s still only semi-usable – we have a functioning fridge, washing machine, sink, dishwasher (ahhhh!) and oven and hob and for the first time in a long time these are all in the same room. But we still need tiles on the walls, a few shelves putting up (that’ll probably have to wait a while) and a few more finishing touches. We can’t really eat in it yet, unless standing up, because the dining area still needs decorating, but after starting in May we are so near completion and that feels so gooood.

So proud are we of the transformation we’re giving our tired little semi that we’re doing Christmas Day dinner for 10 this year. I wonder how many times I will regret that decision before the 25th?

The kitchen has been pretty all-consuming for several weeks but now the end is in sight we’re beginning to turn our attention to the living room. For a while, I’ve had quite a clear vision of how I want the kitchen to look, but with the living room I’ve been struggling a bit for inspiration.

One thing I do want to make sure we have is a place to put things. One of the hardest things about renovating is that a lot of the time at least half your stuff is inaccessible. Just before we started renovating the downstairs we boarded out the loft so we could store all the unnecessaries up there for a while. The trouble is, you never know exactly what you’re going to need over the next months and even if you don’t need things, you miss them. (Just a few of the things that’ve had me rummaging in the loft recently: vases, DVDs, books, ink cartridges, wrapping paper, winter coats).

Although we’ll probably leave some things up there, because it’s not a huge house, I’m looking forward to gradually getting things down and having somewhere for them to go again.

So, living room storage. Here are some of the images I’ve seen around and kept as inspiration. As you can see, I’m in total denial about not having high ceilings and a real fire sitting in a chimney breast between two alcoves perfectly suited to built-in cupboards and shelving.

// sources 1 House to Home / 2 Residence Magazine / 3 www.urbanwardrobes.co.uk / 4 47 Park Avenue //

With reality in mind, a fairly long sideboard is the best-fitting option. I’ve been scouring eBay for months, hunting a Scandi or mid-century design that would suit the house (70s build, sadly), fit through the door and match my budget. Alas, I’ve not seen anything so far. I don’t really want to spend a lot more than a couple of hundred quid because I don’t want to invest in a long-term piece of furniture that perfectly fits a house we expect to move out of in two or three years.

I’ve considered that we could DIY one: this floating sideboard made with Ikea cabinets is pretty awesome, for example. But then, we’ve got enough to do. This sideboard may be the current front-runner – not the most beautiful thing ever seen but it’s cheap and has a simple, flexible style that will do the job for the next few years.

Have you seen anything around the web that could be what I’m looking for?

*sponsored post