They Customized IKEA HAVSTAs to Create the Ideal Cozy Dining Room for Hosting
“We really wanted a dining room that we could host family and make memories in,” Trina Irwin says about her 1959 home. But Trina and her husband felt they couldn’t do that in the current setup they had.
The room wasn’t cohesive, and while it did have a built-in corner bookcase, it made the space feel more dated than it was. Plus, the current paint color didn’t match Trina and her husband’s design style. “I wanted to really center it on art and nature,” she notes, “while still leaning more mid-century modern.”
She Was Stuck for a Year Before She Saw This IKEA Hack
Over the course of a year, Trina stood in the dining room every so often and “floated ideas until something started to feel right.” But when she saw an IKEA bookcase built-in tutorial on Pinterest, everything clicked into place for the dining room’s new design.
They Replaced the Chair Railing with a Bold, Green Board and Batten
The transformation started with Trina and her husband removing the chair railing and instead adding board and batten. “I already knew that I was going to paint the board and batten and built-ins the Sherwin-Williams’ ‘Rockwood Green’ since we LOVE that color in our bedroom,” Trina explains. She also painted the upper walls Sherwin-Williams’ “Alabaster White” for a timeless look.
However, before Trina and her husband could add the IKEA units, they had to level the flooring so that the built-ins would be even from floor to ceiling. Plus, the couple faced the challenge of finding the combo of IKEA cabinets and bookcases that would fit along the back dining room wall comfortably.
They Painted IKEA HAVSTA Cabinets for Custom Built-Ins
The couple ended up using a mix of IKEA HAVSTA storage cabinets instead of the IKEA BILLY bookcase because Trina thought the HAVSTA “gave it more of a custom look.” They painted all of the cabinets the same green as the board and batten for a cohesive look, like their original goal for the room. However, Trina wishes they had found a way to make the buffet seamless on top. “It was difficult to do with the decorative trim on the cabinets,” she explains.
When it came time for decorating the built-ins, Trina envisioned a large piece of art above the buffet section. But the couple struggled to find one that worked in the room, so she painted the large abstract painting herself. “I’m definitely no expert, but it works for now,” Trina says. Plus, “seeing my abstract painting makes me feel like there’s a piece of me in the design.”
Styling the cabinet shelves was also easier than expected — “I felt I had so many shelves to fill, but they filled up rather quickly and easily,” Trina explains.
They Love Hosting Friends and Family in the Room They Transformed Together
In the rest of the dining room, Trina and her husband added a large table that’s extendable when hosting, and comfy bouclé chairs. While the couple struggled at first to find a rug that worked, they love the statement rug they found.
“My favorite part would have to be how the textures of the rug, wood table, and bouclé chairs come together with the green built-ins,” Trina says. Now the couple is proud of the space they created every time they walk through it, and they love entertaining guests and building puzzles together in the new dining room.
“We get comments on it anytime we have people over,” Trina shares. “It’s cool knowing that we did it all ourselves and together as a team.”
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