Living Room Renovation: Progress!
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Remember when you said you’d still love me if I showed my “almost-but-not-quite-yet-finished” rooms?
That an almost done room is as lovely as a perfectly done room?
I hope that still holds true, because my living room falls into that category. While stage one (the fireplace/bookcases) and stage two (paint the walls) are finished, I still have stages 3 and 4 to complete before I can say we are totally 100% done.
And let’s be honest. By that point, I’m sure I’ll want to change something– so really, a room is never 100% done!
Let’s take a quick trip back in time to see what we started with:
Yikes. Dark brick, unsafe ledge, broken fireplace, wires everywhere, old t.v. with glass doors to break, zero storage, awkward furniture arrangement… I could go on and on. While we have an outdated kitchen, at least that space is functional. Our living room was barely functional for our busy and curious family of four. Those glass doors on the t.v. stand would have lasted a week once Bee started to crawl!
Without further ado, here’s the living room renovation thus far:
Remember this wall of brick, with the sharp hearth that ran the length of the room?
It now looks like this. Note that they had to build a beam above the bookcases to match the other ones on the ceiling. It’s true that details do matter, I had no idea how to deal with the beams until the contractor came up with the idea to build one to match. We were going to paint them all white, but now I think they add a nice contrast:
The broken fireplace?
Ta-da! Converted to gas.
Our DVD “storage” that Noodle rearranged every time she was in the room?
Woot! Now safely hidden behind cabinet doors (and safety locks).
We really had no storage before, so imagine how thrilled I am with two large bookcases for storage and to display special things.
Furniture arranged so no one could face each other, and only a few seats could view the t.v.?
Fixed. It really is true that floating the furniture is not only okay in a space, it really makes everything look bigger {and we purchased a new sectional for a great price, but it won’t be delivered for a few more weeks. It will basically go where the couch and loveseat currently sit.}
As for the t.v. that was like an elephant– an elephant with wires hanging out and glass doors to swing on–
On the wall, baby! I realize putting a t.v. above the fireplace is the biggest decorating faux pas there is, but quite frankly I’d so much rather have it out of the way than in a place where the kids could get hurt or accidentally break it.
{let me just state that because I’m super-compulsive that t.v. is anchored six ways to Sunday. Not only will it not easily come off, but you’d need a chain-saw to do it. SO DON’T EVEN TRY TO STEAL IT, CREEPY BLOG STALKING BURGLAR! Not that you’d get past our alarm system or mean cat, but if you did you wouldn’t be able to get it off the wall.} This isn’t directed to my dear readers, of course. Just the odd blog stalking burglar that might be reading.
As for the color, I don’t know why I couldn’t leave well enough alone. Had I just done “Misty” like you suggested I think I’d be happier. But noooooooooo I had to add a drop of blue, and now the wall color reads “gray/blue” instead of “is it gray or is it blue?” I might change it this summer to a true gray, or go back to my comfort zone of tan.
On the to-do list:
We are loving it. This renovation has doubled the time we spend here as a family. It’s so much more comfortable and welcoming, not to mention safer.
In case you are new to the blog, here are the previous posts about the renovation:
Part I, The Problem
Part II, The Plan (some great inspiration photos!)
Fireplace Fantasies (information about our new gas fireplace insert)
Renovation, Week One
Wall Color
What do you think? I totally blew it on the wall color, didn’t I? I really should write an entire post about the tile because you wouldn’t believe how hard that was to choose. Most comments I get about it are of the “wow, that tile is… interesting…” variety but truthfully I love it. It’s the perfect mix of modern and rustic; it fits in both a traditional and more contemporary decor.
Linked to Metamorphasis Monday at Between Naps on the Porch… come join the fun!
