I Love the Neutral Color Palette in This Chicago Living Room Makeover
During Erica and Chris Ashe’s (@chitownhouse) previous home search, they realized their “perfect” home didn’t really exist within the Chicago city limits and their budget. “Anything that came sort of close was a ‘new build’ and was easily 30% more costly for the same amount of space, and it still was not exactly what I wanted,” Erica says.
That’s often the case with a home search; sometimes you have to do a little compromising — or a little modifying. Erica and Chris have since moved, but before they did, they added IKEA built-ins to their townhome’s living room to give it the style (and storage) they were after.
In this previously published Before & After, they explained how they added shelving using four 32”x80” BILLY Bookcases, four height extenders, two 32”x40” BILLYS with doors, and eight OXBERG doors from IKEA. It all cost about $800, but the savings aren’t all there is to love about this project. Here’s why it’s one of my favorites.
Why I Love This IKEA BILLY Hack
I’m a sucker for neutral decor, and this project is a case study in neutrals done right. There are a lot of IKEA BILLY hacks out there to suit every style, from maximalist to minimalist to modern, and I love this one by Erica and Chris because it perfectly blends the latter two. It’s minimalist and modern, yet still homey and cozy.
To achieve their clean, contemporary look, Erica and Chris chose to forgo any ornate trim, and they went with a crisp white paint (Behr’s Falling Snow) for the walls and matching bookcases. The white color makes the entire living room feel brighter and more spacious.
The black leather door pulls from Etsy are another great minimalist, modern touch; the black pops nicely with the white paint, and I also like the new modern black light fixture. Hardware in a home project is like the jewelry in an outfit, and this Before & After project totally nails the black-and-white look.
For more IKEA hacks that offer a sleek, minimalist look, check out this IKEA VIKHAMMER hack and this IKEA STÄLL hack.