Yep. We’re crazy. Work starts on the fireplace project today. The goal? To have every single room in the house under construction at once. Jokes. ;) It’s to square out those awful 1960s-style rounded edges, and to make our living room more usable before the baby arrives. (Please excuse the terrible nighttime photo, but above is what the room currently looks like. You can see some better shots here and here!)
I know this is kind of frowned upon, but space is limited in our tiny city home, so we want to get rid of the television stand and hang the TV over the fireplace. We also want to install a mantle as well as built-in shelves surrounding the fireplace to get all the decor off the ground and windowsills. And then we want to move the floating love seat across the room and under the windows to open the room up. We also want to get rid of the extra ottoman that was shipped to us accidentally, and move the gorgeous gray chair from Interior Define to where the love seat currently is. (Or it might find its way into the nursery. We’ll see!)
Below are some of our inspiration photos. (Follow me on Pinterest for more!) Right now, we’re loving the look of wainscoting or white boards behind the shelves, and decorative board and batten around the fireplace and TV. The cabinets are a must, too! The verdict’s still out on what kind of tile should go around the fireplace itself, but we’re leaning toward carrara marble.
What would you do to the fireplace?!
Room details:
Couch, Love Seat and Ottoman: Birch Lane via Wayfair
Coffee Table and Large Topiary: c/o Wayfair
Lamp and Navy Striped Pillows: Pottery Barn (Old lamp, similar here)
Ginger Jar, White Vase (available in store) Bowl, Topiary, Hydrangeas and Lemons:
c/o Pier 1
Side Table c/o hayneedle
Gray Chair c/o Interior Define
Pottery Barn Basket
Striped Vase Print c/o Minted
Banana Leaf Pillow
Chicago Print
Area Rug
The inspiration:
I love that idea! I totally understand how space can be tight in the city! I can’t wait to see the finished project!
xx. The Coastal Confidence
http://the-coastalconfidence.com
Thank you, Aubrey! We are so excited!
Question! Why is it frowned upon to put your TV over the fireplace? I did that at my new house but had no idea it was a bad idea, so I’d love to hear if it’s just a trend thing or if it’s bad for the TV or something :) (And totally fine if your reply is “ughhhhhh you have no taste”, haha!)
Oh my goodness; you are ADORABLE, hehe.
I LOVE the look of the TV over the fireplace, as it gets rid of the yucky TV stand. A lot of my friends who are more involved in the interior design world say that this is kind of frowned upon, but I love the look, and think that functionality of the room is SO important! Also I’m a firm believer in decorating for yourself, and for your needs. So over the fireplace it goes!
But no I don’t think it’s bad for the TV at all! I think it’s just a trend thing. ;)
Also: Mitch is buying a 60-inch TV, haha. SIXTY INCHES. Good lord…
Oooh that is super interesting! Mine is admittedly REALLY basic – just a mount on the wall, no molding around it, and I didn’t even loop the cords through the back of the wall yet; I just used clips to keep them flush running down the side edge of the fireplace so they’re not noticeable. Definitely a #DesignFail! But I assume I’ll get that cleaned up at some point, and perhaps even add the pretty molding/wall sconces like in some of your inspiration photos. I love the second one you have, with molding AND sconces AND marble tiling. The tile on my fireplace is awful and I really want to change it. (Pic here from when I first mounted the TV, though the wires are a lot less cluttered now: http://www.50by25.com/2015/04/weekend-recap-finding-my-groove.html)
Listen, your situation is far better than ours right now, hahaha! (See below. Holy goodness.)
I love the second one, too! We don’t have room for the sconces because Mitch bought a SIXTY-INCH television (#omg), but we’re doing the marble tile and the board and batten molding! Fingers crossed that it comes out looking something like the below images. Eeek!
The REALLY nice thing about your fireplace is that you don’t need to change anything structural! That’s where things get really expensive. You guys could probably do the tiling and molding work yourselves! The board and batten is just regular old wood you’d get from Home Depot… very cheap! You even have a pretty mantle and everything! I’d say you could get it done in a weekend. :)
I think a realtor would describe your photo as “a lot of potential for customization.” ;) I can’t wait to see how it comes out!
I’m flying solo and pretty inexperienced at DIY stuff (trying to learn, though!) so you’ll have to tell me if you think you could have done it without Mitch and I could do it on my own. It just might become my summer project!
I’m staying at my brother’s house in South Carolina right now, which is gorgeously preppy and beachy. Took this photo of his fireplace, which looks like it might be feasible for me to replicate at my house, and thought I’d pass it along! https://www.pinterest.com/pin/243546292327828921/
Ahhhh! That looks incredible!!! :) I love it… and the frame around the TV is so cute!
Definitely think you could do this! We hired a contractor just because we have the master bathroom, staircase, nursery AND fireplace under construction all at once and I’m losing my mind, haha… but I def think you could do this! :)
Ahhhh! That looks incredible!!! :) I love it… and the frame around the TV is so cute!
Definitely think you could do this! We hired a contractor just because we have the master bathroom, staircase, nursery AND fireplace under construction all at once and I’m losing my mind, haha… but I def think you could do this! :)
I’m staying at my brother’s house in South Carolina right now, which is gorgeously preppy and beachy. Took this photo of his fireplace, which looks like it might be feasible for me to replicate at my house, and thought I’d pass it along! https://www.pinterest.com/pin/243546292327828921/
Built ins would be such a great addition to the space, and I think it might be better to just do it all at once and get it done.
http://www.iamchiconthecheap.com/
I’m in agreement! Currently, things suck. But I see the potential! And soon, we’ll have at least one room that is done! Haha!
Beautiful inspiration! I love white bookcases and walls. They bring so much light to any room.
http://memoriesofthepacific.blogspot.com.es/
Thank you, Cristina! Fingers are crossed!
Fireplace just adds so much cozyness to the room! Love these examples you picked x
Jill
Jill D Blog
Thanks, Girl! Here’s hoping!
Beautiful! Cannot wait to see the transformation.
Thank you so much, Courtney!
Beautiful! Cannot wait to see the transformation.
Oh wow I love these!! They’re all so gorgeous!
http://www.maggiealamode.com
Oh my gosh I’m so excited for this! That third to last photo is insanely beautiful! Can’t wait to see it all when it’s finished!
I love the carrara marble idea, so pretty. And I was so confused about the two ottomans haha.
Kristina does the Internets
We really enjoy your taste in design and we always look forward to seeing your posts on Pinterest. My wife and I live in Chicago as well and we will be looking for assistance when we begin our whole house remodel. We’re not sure if you do that type of thing, but if you do we will definitely try to contact you for help. If not, perhaps you can point us in the right direction. The project is still about a year away, but seeing some of your photos makes us look forward to getting started. The fourth from the last room photo with the ceiling fan is very nice.
Hi Fred,
I don’t do interior design, but I have a GREAT friend who helps me and is an interior designer! Would be happy to hook you up with her. Just shoot me an email at Kelly@kellyinthecity.com. :)