Being stuck within four walls for a weekend can be a challenge for any family. Extend that time to months and most people are more than ready to get out of the house. Our family is excited to get out as much as the next. But looking at these four walls have got me thinking that they could look a lot better.
About five years ago my husband and I decided to add some built-ins and a fireplace in our living room. We are pretty handy with power tools and paintbrushes so we decided to tackle building them ourselves and then add the fireplace later after we saved some funds because fireplaces aren’t cheap.
The built-ins went up with an opening for the fireplace that we were planning on purchasing. The ultimate “To Do” list in the middle of our living room knowing that it would be complete within six months…
Five years later
Five years later and we were still looking at that giant hole in our built-ins and we were finally ready to make the investment for the fireplace. We began searching for the perfect gas fireplace for us and found more problems than answers. We don’t have a gas line in our neighborhood so we would need to get a tank, or we could spend triple the amount (or more) and have a chimney built. Others required electricity and that completely didn’t work for what I was trying to do… heat the house in case the electricity went out, and the ones that would work for us were beyond the investment that I was willing to spend.
So about a month ago I had a sit down with my husband. I couldn’t fathom going over budget for something I didn’t really want. There had to be something better than:
- Spending too much for something that I didn’t even like.
- Leaving a fireplace size hole in our living room forever.
I told him that we should just fill in the hole and he may have looked at me like I had gone absolutely crazy. So I backtracked a little to let him see that wasn’t a lunatic. We had waited for so long for something that we really wanted, and it was a hard pill to swallow to think that it wasn’t going to be everything that we had expected. But our opinion of what was important changed along the way. People have built-ins all the time that don’t include a fireplace, we just needed to figure out how to use the existing structure and just change a few things to make it perfect for us, sans fireplace.
We researched and scoured Pinterest trying to figure out what the perfect fix would be. We got quotes for additional cabinetry because we had sold some of our tools. I thought about colors and design and we came up with a game plan.
- Move the TV down.
- Remove the fireplace structure and carry the shiplap lower.
- Purchase pre-made cabinets that would fit the space.
- Make thicker shelving.
- Bring in an accent color.
- Find some sort of natural wood to bring warmth to the space.
The hunt was on
We found two pre-made vanities and placed them together in the center. While we had the shelves down, I painted the back a beautiful dark blue. I took Lily and her friend Carra to our favorite lumber mill and found the perfect Ambrosia Maple to complete the look.
Some sweat, stain, paint, and more than a few tears, and our built-ins are almost complete. I have a little bit of touch-up painting to do and then we will never think about that giant hole in our living room again.
Also, with the money that we saved, we hired craftsmen to add trim work all throughout the common area and reorganized our closet.
Can I say that I am tired??
There are so many ways to change a space that you don’t like. The steps I take usually follow this pattern:
- Get angry about the space – because if you aren’t angry with it, it doesn’t need to change.
- Figure out what would make this space better.
- Find inspiration. Pinterest, Etsy, and even a quick Google search can help.
- Bring in color – a bold color or two can make a boring room feel designed.
- Make a plan.
- Shop smart. Two vanities cost a fraction of custom cabinets.
- Pull it all together. Make room for sentimental and useful objects in the same space.
- Take a well-deserved break!
