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Why More Living Rooms Are Skipping the Rectangular Coffee Table

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Rectangular coffee tables have long filled the space between a sofa and surrounding chairs, but they are not always the best match for how living room furniture is arranged. Curved sofas, sectionals, lounge chairs, and open seating plans leave room for shapes that follow the furniture rather than cutting across it. Round tables can overlap to create more surface area, long ovals can stretch across a wide sofa, and smaller tables can be grouped where they are needed. Stone, wood, glass, and metal also have more impact when the tabletop itself becomes part of the composition. These living rooms show how changing the coffee table shape can address spacing, circulation, surface area, and the relationship between pieces of seating. Two Round Tables Fill a Long Seating Area Without One Massive Surface Two low round tables overlap in front of the sectional, giving both ends of the seating area access to a tabletop. Their different diameters keep the arrangement from reading as a matchi...

She Painted Mountains Across These Old Wood Dressers but Left Most of the Wood Exposed

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Worn finish, scratches, and marks covered this old oak dresser and matching tall chest, but much of the original wood was still worth showing. @urukehu_jess Instagram furniture artist @urukehu_jess kept that oak visible instead of covering both pieces with one paint color. After preparing the wood, she used layers of stain and dark color to create mountain ranges across the lower drawers. Mountains were not part of her original plan. She previously painted a mountain landscape across another old wood dresser, but this scene emerged as she worked. Set together, the two pieces create one landscape, while each has its own mountain scene when separated. Years of Wear Covered the Original Oak Dresser @urukehu_jess Scratches, worn patches, and marks cover the dresser top, with more signs of age across the drawer fronts. Three smaller drawers sit above two wide drawers, while the large mirror rises from the back. Oak grain remains visible through the old finish. Curved corners, dovet...

Man Turns One Wood Pallet Into a Patio Grill Table With Storage

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Small grills still need a surface that puts them at a comfortable working height. Setting one on a low patio table can take over space meant for meals while leaving the person cooking bent over the grill. Dee from Our Clover House shared the table her husband built for their compact grill using one standard wood pallet and scrap lumber they already had. The pallet provided most of the structure, while scrap 2x4s became four 32-inch legs, allowing them to complete the build without buying more wood. Rather than dismantling the pallet into individual boards, he kept sections intact and cut them into new parts. One became the work surface, another became storage across the front, and the finished stand can also serve as a potting table when the grill is not in use. Removing one board saves wood for later @ourcloverhouse A circular saw removes the center board from underneath the pallet before the main cuts begin. Those pieces are set aside rather than discarded because they return ...

He Spray Painted the Oak Cabinets Dover White and They Look Like New Cabinets

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Oak covered almost every major storage surface in this kitchen. Raised-panel doors ran around the sink, refrigerator, double ovens, island, and a separate floor-to-ceiling cabinet wall, while matching crown molding carried the wood finish above them. @pezzottipainting Instagram creator @pezzottipainting kept the cabinetry and spray painted it Sherwin-Williams Dover White using Centurion Wood Coatings 400 Series. Once the oak grain disappeared, details that had blended into the wood became much easier to spot. No new door style was needed. The raised panels, stepped crown, refrigerator surround, appliance towers, open shelves, granite counters, hardwood floor, and original layout were already there. Oak Filled the Kitchen From Floor to Crown @pezzottipainting Raised-panel oak doors surround the sink, dishwasher, double ovens, and refrigerator, with more cabinetry continuing onto the island. Even the refrigerator is enclosed by matching wood panels rather than left as a separate s...

Instead of Flattening This Sloped Yard, They Built Stone Steps Right Into the Hillside

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The side yard dropped from the upper lawn toward a brick patio beside the house, with a short set of masonry steps handling only part of the grade change. Grass covered much of the slope, while the route between the two levels stayed close to the brick wall. Landscape company @wheatslandscape excavated the hillside and replaced that route with a longer set of stone steps that follows the existing grade. Large boulders were set beside the path instead of building tall retaining walls around a straight staircase. Wide stone slabs climb through the slope in several sections, changing direction as the grade rises toward the upper yard. Planting beds, grass, and boulders fill the ground between the steps and house, turning the former side-yard passage into part of the garden. Brick Patio Met a Steep Side-Yard Slope @wheatslandscape Brick paving covered the lower area outside the sliding door, while several narrow masonry steps climbed beside the house. The upper lawn sat well above t...

He Spray Painted the Kitchen Cabinets Etruscan Red and the Gray Stone Counters Look Like They Were Chosen Together

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Gray cabinet doors once surrounded the stone counters in this kitchen, with more cabinetry built into a large island at the center. The renovation kept those fitted units while other parts of the room were stripped back for new flooring, backsplash tile, and decorating. @themobilespray Instagram creator @themobilespray prepared and primed the existing doors before spraying the cabinetry in Farrow & Ball Etruscan Red with a matte finish. Chrome knobs and handles returned after the new color went on. The deep red-brown paint changes how the gray stone counters read across the perimeter and island. Their black, gray, cream, and brown movement now sits against a cabinet color with enough depth to compete with such a prominent surface. Renovation Left the Existing Cabinetry in Place @themobilespray Cabinet doors had already been removed when work began, exposing the wood-toned interiors around the back wall and island. The stone counters remained fitted throughout the renovation,...