Here is what it looked like when we closed on our house:
Here are a couple in between pictures:
And here is what it looks like now:
For the most part, it is done! Chad did all the building. We purchased unfinished, Amish crafted bookshelves and cabinets. He removed the bottoms of the bookshelves and stacked them on top of each cabinet and viola! He added the plank wall behind the TV and added the molding to the top and along the floor. He also removed the cabinet door fronts and cut decorative metal sheeting to fit so that the remotes work with the doors closed. And all the components (Xbox, cable box, dvd player, dvds, etc.) are hidden. I did all the painting. Notice I used the same mustard color on the back bead board that we used in our Texas dining room?! (It is actually that same paint. We packed it and brought it with us... insert maniacal laugh). You can see how we built those here and styled them here. We still need knobs... which my wonderful mother said she would look for next time she is at Hobby Lobby. Thanks Mom!
The mantle is an antique that we found at an antique fair back when we were living in the corporate apartment! We were told that it was over 150 years old. It is heavy and covered with years of dirt and memories. We stored it in the apartment garage and crossed our fingers that it would fit. Thank goodness it did! We cleaned the mantle up a bit and left it as is. Chad bought old growth barn wood from a 200+ year old barn that was being taken down here in Ballston Spa that is going to be transported and rebuilt... in Texas! How's crazy is that?! He cut the barn wood to fit behind and bump out the mantle a bit.
One last BEFORE:
And one last AFTER:
Quite a change. I am so happy it is done! The finished pictures were taken with my phone, hence the bad quality. I plan to take pictures with my real camera and will then show the entire living room.