{"id":376351,"date":"2026-04-12T20:07:24","date_gmt":"2026-04-12T20:07:24","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/376351\/"},"modified":"2026-04-12T20:07:24","modified_gmt":"2026-04-12T20:07:24","slug":"a-blank-beige-box-living-room-transformed-into-a-dream-luxe-library","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/376351\/","title":{"rendered":"A “Blank, Beige Box” Living Room Transformed into a Dream Luxe Library"},"content":{"rendered":"

Apartment Therapy and Yahoo may earn commission from links in this article. Pricing and availability are subject to change.<\/p>\n

ABOUT THIS BEFORE & AFTER<\/p>\n

HOME TYPE: House<\/p>\n

PROJECT TYPE: Living Room<\/p>\n

STYLE: Colorful, Glam, Vintage<\/p>\n

SKILL LEVEL: DIY<\/p>\n

RENTAL FRIENDLY: No<\/p>\n

A plain, builder-grade home<\/a> often isn\u2019t the most exciting \u2014 but if you\u2019re looking for a blank canvas ready to be customized, it\u2019s a goldmine. Case in point: this beige-filled living room belonging to Lee Braden (Corner of Sunset<\/a>) and her husband. \u201cOur home was built in 1995, and prior to us purchasing it in summer 2019 only had one owner,\u201d Lee says. \u201cThe appraiser summed it up best with the comment of, \u2018nice home, great shape, not a lot of interest or detail.’\u201d<\/p>\n

\"Before:\"After:From a Formal Living Room to a Library of Her Dreams<\/p>\n

The space was intended as a formal living room, but since Lee and her husband had another hangout spot they used, this space sat empty. \u201cIt felt superfluous,\u201d Lee says. \u201cIt was genuinely a blank beige box with crown moulding as the only architectural interest.\u201d<\/p>\n

But that blank box was the perfect place for Lee to bring a longstanding dream to life: a home library. \u201cLibraries have always been my sanctuary and played an important role in my life,\u201d Lee says. \u201cI even married my husband in a library in 2016. I had decades worth of daydreaming of how I wanted my own library to look.\u201d<\/p>\n

With its big bay window and plenty of open wall space, this room was a prime candidate.<\/p>\n

Lee and her husband did the whole project themselves, DIYing nightly once they logged out of work for the day and on weekends, too. They started by building out a wall of floor-to-ceiling bookshelves; little details like Art Deco-style column caps<\/a> and a library ladder with cast iron rungs make the built-ins look extra luxe. The couple also installed four matching dimmable sconces to add some soft lighting to the space.<\/p>\n

\"Before:\"After:<\/p>\n

Finding the Perfect Shade of Green Was Not Easy<\/p>\n

The room\u2019s show-stopping deep green color took a long time to choose, says Lee. \u201cI spent nine months mulling over color samples because I was obsessed with mimicking how an emerald stone reflects light \u2014 darker in the center and brighter towards the edges,\u201d Lee says. \u201cI want people to feel as if they have stepped inside the jewel when they stand in the room.\u201d<\/p>\n

The winning shade? HGTV Home by Sherwin-Williams\u2019s Potter\u2019s Shed<\/a>.<\/p>\n

A cozy scroll-arm loveseat matches the room\u2019s high-end vintage feel, especially when paired with a glass-and-gold coffee table. Lee also added a couple of armchairs by the bay window for seating.<\/p>\n

\u201cI visited many, many libraries and looked at hundreds more before I began this project,\u201d Lee says. And it\u2019s still in the works! Lee and her husband plan to rip out the carpet and replace it with hardwood floors later this year.<\/p>\n

But for now, the little home library is a glamorous and cozy hangout fit for whiling the day away over a good book.<\/p>\n

Inspired? Submit your own project here.<\/a><\/p>\n

Further Reading<\/p>\n

Before and After: Black and White Paint Covers Up a Wood Paneling Kitchen<\/a><\/p>\n

12 Top-Rated Amazon Sofas We Love<\/a><\/p>\n

Try This 2-Second Trick to Double the Storage Size of Your Baggie<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Apartment Therapy and Yahoo may earn commission from links in this article. Pricing and availability are subject to…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":376352,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[31],"tags":[442,498,499,500,501,156,196273,111,139,69],"class_list":{"0":"post-376351","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-arts-and-design","8":"tag-arts","9":"tag-arts-and-design","10":"tag-artsanddesign","11":"tag-artsdesign","12":"tag-design","13":"tag-entertainment","14":"tag-lee-braden","15":"tag-new-zealand","16":"tag-newzealand","17":"tag-nz"},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/376351","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=376351"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/376351\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/376352"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=376351"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=376351"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=376351"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}