The Loft House Built-in Reveal!

The built-in at the loft is 98% done, I still have *a few* touch ups, but that was not going to stop me from styling it up!! I have been waiting for this moment even since I saw this random nook in the loft renovation and KNEW it needed a built-in full of books and tchotchkes. Let’s look at the befores…

So many yellow walls and orange wood in the house when we bought it. For some context, this nook area is on the second floor, it’s the hallway that separates the Art Loft bedroom and the Fisherman Bedroom. The bump out toward the top is HVAC vents that were retro fitted at some point, and needed to stay because they heat/cool the house. When we first walked through the house, I immediately thought that a big built-in would be so fun here, super visually interesting, and hide the venting after-thought.

The After! Not the exact angle (the railing is still there), I just took the picture in front of it because I wanted to show off this vintage bench and all the new storage! Mr Yolo and I played around with a bunch of layouts and ended up here. The thought process: we wanted more storage in the house so used upper kitchen cabinets as the base, then built shelves on top of it (tutorial coming!). It’s a big wall of shelving, so I used this $35 vintage bench to break it up a bit. I absolutely LOVE how it came together.

Here is the view of the whole built-in! The Fisherman room had the same nook, so we carried it all the way through. Walking through the hallway and discovering all the items on the shelves is truly extraordinary. The big addition that I worked on last week was the plants!! I got a bunch of planters from my sponsor, Better Home & Gardens, and had the idea to fill the area above the soffit with greenery! The light from the skylight is so beautiful, I thought it would be perfect place for the plants. I tried a couple different planter combinations and really liked the cream color ones, like the Ceramic Plant Planters and Beige Resin Planter, from their outdoor collection. Then, I mixed in a couple of their Hyacinth Basket Planters (they have a plastic liner). Finally, I filled them all with plants from a local shop!

I did not stop with plants on the top. I also got this Glass Propagation Station Planter, and this Trio Propagation Station, from Better Homes & Gardens. Plus, the sweetest copper watering can, and used some of the smaller Plant Planters for the shelves. Everything beside those items, are vintage or thrifted! The art is a print by Elizabeth Bowman, framed with a thrifted frame.

I just love the mix of the Muted Sage paint and the wood. And the height the plants add to the built-in really turns this once awkward nook into one of the “WOW” moments in the house.

I keep saying I want this Loft house to feel “found”. Like, you could keep looking around for hours discovering all the vintage details. So many items on this built-in were found on my thrifting trip. And it feels so special to see them together in a space we have worked so hard on creating.