Before & After Entry With Superfront

I'm excited to share the big before and after reveal of how our project with Superfront* came out for the entry, which is perfect if you're looking to update your mud room or entry with a stylish storage solution. Organization doesn't have to be ugly! But first, if you don't know who Superfront is, they're a Swedish firm that specializes in designing and making gorgeous quality doors, hardware, sides, legs and tops for Metod and Besta IKEA cabinets. Everything is designed in Sweden and made there, too. They also ship their legs and handles worldwide, with the rest of their products shipping throughout Scandinavia and Europe, so there is no reason not to check them out. If you're like me, and you like IKEA but don't want your IKEA stuff to look like everyone else's, I highly suggest working with Superfront to elevate your Metod and Besta cabinetry. I'm all about customization and making something mainstream into a more personal style statement.

In fact, Superfront can be seen on the pages of magazines like Elle Decoration for this very reason - people are using their products to breath new, stylish life to IKEA cabinets. You can customize your entire kitchen, office, sideboard or entry cabinet for maximum impact. Superfront has many colors to choose from, lots of different legs and a lovely selection of hardware. You can see a little glimpse above of how I pimped my Besta, but would you like to see the big before and after reveal, where I turned a depressing corner with white wood chip wallpaper and a lonely gray cabinet into a statement making entry?

Okay here's the big before and after reveal below. First though, let me lay a few things straight because it's not where I want it to be yet (the decorating part). I want to install a large mirror above the cabinet to reflect light from the facing windows (that you can't see) from the adjacent dining room. That alone will REALLY brighten the entry, which has no windows (only doors leading to other rooms). I also want to add a medium-size plant to the top of the cabinet (far left) and switch out the paper and bamboo pendant light currently installed for a large gold brass light. I haven't found the perfect one yet, so I've been holding off... But the search is on. I also need a new lamp for the cabinet but I can't find the right one so this is also a work in progress. I honestly find lighting such a hard thing to buy, not because there is no selection but because there is such a massive selection and often too much choice paralyzes me.

As for the cabinet, I'm 100% in love with it! It's perfect and I'll tell you why below because there is drama behind every pretty photo.

What we were up against:

In the before photo, there was a radiator on the wall that we had professionally removed since the entry doesn't require a heater - it stays warm enough in the winter. I also hated looking at the ugly thing and knew that once it was out of the picture, I could put a big unit against this wall for storage. Thing is, once we removed it, we had all of those giant metal pipes and things sticking out of the wall. We couldn't remove those, we are renters, so I was having a "moment" when I saw these 4 metal pipes sticking out of the wall. That's why I knew I had to get a cabinet that was high enough to cover them but no so precious that I wouldn't mind drilling through the back of it to fit the pipes through into the cabinet.

Yeah I know, crazy stuff you don't think of until AFTER a radiator was removed.

While in discussion about what to put on the wall to replace the radiator and the gray wood cabinet, we had the walls stripped and then had our Aimee Wilder wallpaper installed. Once that was up, I really started to see a cabinet on this wall that would take up nearly the entire width of it that had a little glamorous edge to it. I didn't want a sideboard that was standard sideboard size (low) because my little boy who would be constantly opening and closing the doors and grabbing our keys and things off of the top. I wanted high cabinets with high hardware so he can't reach up to open the cabinets until he's old enough to know better! And that would drive me crazy so whatever I bought needed to be safe and childproof.

I also couldn't have a wall-mounted floating piece because the walls wouldn't support it since the house is 114 years old. Legs were needed, but not any kind of leg since the floors are super uneven since they are as old as the house. I know, right... So much to think about for a cabinet!

Oh yeah, we desperately needed storage. This old apartment, and well homes and apartments in Germany in general, never have closets. It was the strangest thing to me when I first relocated here 6 years ago, but now I totally love it because you can decide where to put your closet by having a freestanding one. We need to store shoes, mittens, hats, scarves, handbags -- everything you need in an entry before you run outdoors. We go outside each day, we live in the city, and take our little one to the nearby forest and playgrounds. This means we were in need of storage but I didn't want my entry to look like a cluttered mess yet we genuinely use everything we keep in our entry and I wasn't going to compromise style for storage. I knew I could somehow have both. The IKEA Besta cabinet I went with has 3 units, so one for each member of our little family of 3, and 3 shelves in each though you can add more if you'd like.

What we went with:

We decided on a white cabinet because I wanted the room to be light and bright and also didn't want to distract from the bold wallpaper. I selected the Illusion front because it goes best with the pattern of pineapple. I selected the Circus brass handles, round, to mimic the shape of the fruit and also to pick up the gold a little. For the legs, I originally ordered the Captains legs, but they not only made the unit too tall but with the uneven floors, it kept teetering back and forth and because the walls are weak, I can't secure the cabinet to the wall. The legs were the most difficult part to finalize. In the end, we went with the Big Balls because they are low, super stable and they are understated and the shape complements the pineapples and hardware on the doors. They also were the easiest to adjust to the height of the floor.

Here's our recipe from IKEA for the sideboard as shown:

• 60x40X128 Besta Korpus units, White, 3
• 56x36, 9, Besta shelves, white,

Here's the recipe from Superfront for my sideboard as shown:

• Top BESTÅ 180x40 for two sides, 8 mm, Super White, 1
• Side BESTÅ 128x40, 8 mm, Super White, 2
• Front BESTÅ 60x128-L , Illusion, Super White, Left hung door, 2
• Front BESTÅ 60x128-R, Illusion, Super White, Right hung door, 1
• Handle CIRCUS, Brass, 3
• Legs BIG BALLS, Super White, 6

Misc. items in this space: Marigold Weave Hemp Rug is from Armadillo, Tweetable Birdcage designed by Alessandro Dubini from Komdo, Ceramic jar pineapple from Strauss Innovation, Pina Sola (in Spinx) Wallpaper by Aimee Wilder, Gray Arod light from IKEA, Shoes are Cross Strap Debutant Swedish Hasbeens in Natural, 1938 print by Teresa Esgaio is limited edition from AUPrints and the frame is from IKEA.

Do you like it? What do you think?

*This post is brought to you in collaboration with Superfront —a brand I've been personally using in my home and have tested quite thoroughly. All content, ideas, photography and words are my own.