Maggie’s Built-ins


We feel like we literally need to refresh your memory because it’s been so long since we chatted about the progress of Maggie’s place. We can’t believe it’s been almost TWO months since we revealed Maggie’s living room.We styled the living room in our friend Maggie's condo. Here's how her designs turned out.Custom made built-in bookshelves and entertainment center in the living room.

Back then, pretty much every inch of her place looked AH-MAZING except for one small part…the blank wall in her living room. Maggie had a shelving unit being built & was waiting for it to be installed so that she could stick a fork in this never-ending living room makeover. When we shared this space on the blog, we promised you that we would check back when the shelves were complete. TODAY is that day when we can finally share the details on these newly finished and very g-o-r-g-e-o-u-s built-in shelves.
Maggie's living room before the custom built in bookshelves. Custom designed and decorated built-in bookshelves. Can you see why we can’t stop oohhh-ing and aaahhh-ing?! The pictures do make these shelves look awesome, but it’s hard to translate how truly stunning they look in real life. Forget watching TV when we’re over here, we can’t take our eyes off of these shelves. #mesmerized

Maggie hired this project out to the professionals, which was definitely more expensive than DIY-ing a shelving unit. But we think it was money well spent because of the value (and storage!) this unit adds to her small city space. The built-in project took longer than expected and that’s why this reveal has been MIA here on the blog for the past few months.

Mini planted succulents.Built-in bookshelves with decorations and lighting. Bookshelf decorations; books, plants and decorative sign.Now that we see the final product, we think this piece was well worth the wait! Plus, waiting for the unit to be done left us plenty of time to collect a lot of treasures to decorate the shelves.

You may be surprised to find out that everything (or almost everything) on the shelves was from:

  1. A garage/estate sales
  2. Goodwill
  3. Target/World Market Clearance sections
  4. HomeGoods

PLUS, none of the items cost more than $19 and most items were only about $1-$7, which makes us love this look even more.

Built-in bookshelf design and decorated with home accessories.

Styling the shelves was really just a series of putting things up there, moving them around, and having fun arranging + rearranging until we loved the look.

Built-in bookshelf and entertainment center with TV.

Bookshelf design details; decorative bowls and vases.Living room wall mirror reflecting the bookshelves.One of the best parts of the new look is how the shelves reflect through the mirror above the couch. Absolute perfection. #hearteyesDecorative books and glass jar on the built-in bookshelf.

Wicker basket with books placed on the built-in bookshelf.

Cable box with decorative boxes to hide wires.We were nervous about the cords/TV box being exposed, but using a few decorative boxes from Michael’s totally solved that issue. Maggie can watch TV without staring at an ugly cable box.Built-in bookshelf and entertainment center styled with thrifted home accessories.
Before hanging this TV & getting the wall unit installed, Maggie was using her bedroom TV out in the living room. Now that the bedroom TV is officially back in the bedroom, we can finally tackle the gallery wall we plan to hang around the TV in her bedroom. Why does this matter to you? Great question. Because once the gallery wall is hung, we can FINALLY share her bedroom on the blog and officially be done with these spaces and out of Maggie’s hair…. for now.

Chicago condo living room design.

Until then though, Maggie can count on these two rookies hauling overย moreย frames +ย moreย tools +ย moreย crap over the next few visits!! And yes, it will probably take a few more visits since we can’t seem to get much done outside of sipping coffee and staring at these new built-ins.Living room entertainment center, built-in bookshelves styled with thrifted home accessories, books, pictures.

Source List

All Books — garage sales/estate sales

Starting from Top Left working Down (Row 1):
White milk glasses — Goodwill
Brown Vase — Burlington Coat Factory
Basket — HomeGoods
Frame — Target
“8” — Crate & Barrel Outletย 
3 Wood + Silver Accents — Goodwill
White Bowl — Target Clearanceย 
Succulents + Wood “tray” — Goodwill (from Target originally)

Row 2 from top down:
Frame ย + White accent votive — Target Clearance
Gold Sphere — Target Clearance
White Vase — Goodwill
White Vase + Silver Candle holders + Joy of Cooking book: Thrift Store

Above the TV:
Clear Dome — Michael’s Clearance
Baskets — HomeGoods
@ sign — Michael’s
Plant — HomeGoods

Row 3 From Top Down:
Basket — my dad’s old shop
Mirror + Wood/Silver Accents — Goodwill
Wood Chess Piece — World Market
Vase — Goodwill
Blue bowl — Thrifted

Row 4 from Top Down:
Wood Statue — Ross for Less
Plant — IKEA
Multi color vase + Succulent — Goodwill
Frame — Targetย 

Bridget&Casey

Playing catch-up? Check out the rest of Maggie’s Condo Makeover here:


The Year of Casey

Hey there!

Iโ€™m Casey Finn, the voice behind The DIY Playbook. I’m a Chicago gal teaching you how to design, DIY, and maintain your home…by yourself! Learn more about me right here.