Though I abhor eliminating windows, this is a situation where I would be tempted to eliminate one (next to the front door) to give wall space for the TV. Swap the door for one with half glass in it.
Then consider a projection TV so you don't always have the big black square hanging on the wall.
Curtis73 (Forum Supporter) said:Ok, getting blurred vision staring at sketchup. Added some elements. I'm thinking in this configuration, the angled shelves don't work. I would just cut them back to 12" to recess them from the firebox.
Take off the vertical ends on the shelving. Make all the shelves floating. Show wall color at the back of them.
Consider knocking off the left side entirely and make it asymmetrical with shelves on the right only.
SVreX (Forum Supporter) said:I know there is a closet behind that wall. I also know it is small, so this may not work...
Any chance of elbowing the chimney back into the wall so the chase is on the back side? That would give the entire flat space above the mantle for the TV.
Yes, and I gave that a thought. The flue would have to come up a foot before it made the 30 degree turn back into the closet, then above the closet is the soffit/fascia left over from the addition. So, it wouldn't save me much room and have a max effort. I say a foot simply because 8" is the shortest length of proprietary chimney they sell. Offsets also add height to the chimney. For every two offsets I have to add 5.5' of height.
SVreX (Forum Supporter) said:In reply to Curtis73 (Forum Supporter) :
Include an exterior shot of the front of the house.
Great design often carries design elements from the exterior through into the interior.
Kind of like how great theatrical design carries ideas from one scene to the next.
You're speaking my language. I'll post a shot, but it is currently about as boring as a bar of ivory soap. That will change eventually once I get around to painting the siding. By the way, the big shade trees you see hanging in from the left of the photo are now gone. They were the two maples I cut down and they are now the T&G flooring I'll be using
The siding is white. Not even ivory. Trim is chocolate brown. Shingles are charcoal gray. The orange lines show the room we're discussing.
The master bedroom actually has a bit of the design ideas I want to carry to the living room. The bedroom is a touch more modern, but it has a lot of dark-stained walnut
Kitchen is a strange combo of styles, but it makes me smile every day. Black quartz, oak cabinets, red glass subway tile, and lemon/lime paint. I thought about painting the cabinets, but I'll wait until I get rid of that linoleum.
Guest room is a bit classic; all cherry with an antique vanity and poster bed
Bathroom is very modern.
Ok, a bit of modification to shrink the biglyness. I brought the chase out to about 40" wide. Shelves are now 12" deep
I think the live edge walnut slab is pulling you in the wrong direction.
Red subway tile surround with a black quartz floating mantle. Preferably asymmetrical with the mantle extending to the right but not the left. Add LED cans lights for accents.
Lose the window next to the front door for a projection space. Projection TV with the projector recessed into the ceiling. Swap the front door for a full lite door (full height glass)
Alternate B:
If the symmetry and the walnut slab are pulling you, the move the front door to where the window is. That will give you enough wall space to accomplish what you want. Put the TV over the mantle. Go ahead and use stacked stone and the walnut mantle.
Moving the entry door a little further away will let you build decent shelving, but it will also give a much better view of the fireplace when you enter the house.
SVreX (Forum Supporter) said:I think the live edge walnut slab is pulling you in the wrong direction.
Lose the window next to the front door for a projection space. Projection TV with the projector recessed into the ceiling. Swap the front door for a full lite door (full height glass)
I was actually just sitting here thinking that the live edge might be a mismatch and I was leaning toward a profiled/hand carved edge.
Ditching the window is a possibility, but right now I'm hitting two walls (metaphorically) - getting burnt out on the scope of all the things I tackled with this project, and a furloughed bank account. I wish I had enough walnut to just build a new door, but don't have quite enough, and this door (being only 76" high) is an expensive custom replacement if I don't build it myself.
SVreX (Forum Supporter) said:Alternate B:
If the symmetry and the walnut slab are pulling you, the move the front door to where the window is. That will give you enough wall space to accomplish what you want. Put the TV over the mantle. Go ahead and use stacked stone and the walnut mantle.
Moving the entry door a little further away will let you build decent shelving, but it will also give a much better view of the fireplace when you enter the house.
The symmetry and walnut are pulling me pretty hardcore. I think its the farm-to-fireplace aspect of it when it comes to the walnut.
Several of you have mentioned only putting shelves on the right. The door jamb is about 24" away from the wall, and I specifically placed this so that I can have 18" wide shelves and the door still swings clear. I think moving the door is a fine option, but unnecessary. I should say that I think the effort is not worth the payoff and making somewhat useless space in the corner to the left of the fireplace.
Here is the layout I'm going to end up with. I can't see how changing the position of the entry door will help a lot, and it will create some other flow/space issues that might make the room have less space for things.
Cool.
Ok then leave the door where it is. Build a symmetrical mantle/ bookshelf with the walnut.
I suggest you cut the depth of those shelves- 18" is very bulky. You don't have the space for that. 12" is plenty. Also think about the floating shelves and mantle. If you can see the wall color at the back of the shelves and no apparent end support, it will have a modern open and airy feel.
I still like the red subway tile firebox surround. It ties it to the kitchen nicely. You could do the hearth in the black quartz.
Hang the TV over the mantle, but consider it temporary. When you are ready for a future project, consider keeping the existing door but cutting a window into it, and eliminating the window for a TV space. If it never happens, it's ok.
Curtis73 (Forum Supporter) said:Ok, a bit of modification to shrink the biglyness. I brought the chase out to about 40" wide. Shelves are now 12" deep
I think this looks pretty good. Completely agree with you that moving the door out of the corner won't be a net gain, and the flush hearth maximizes the space available.
Try sketching up a stained wood flue enclosure above the top shelf/mantel. Also try slate tiles placed on diagonal pattern. I would try very hard to make that flue enclosure as shallow as you can - a big bump makes the room smaller
If the TV is wider than the flue enclosure, it's gonna overpower the place.
TV is about 42" wide. The fireplace is 38" and the whole framing is 52", so unless I make the chase the full width, the TV will be bigger. I've resigned myself to the fact that my chase will be mostly invisible.
The image shows the shallowest it can go. I have to have 1" clearance to the chimney inside, and that image shows exactly one inch. The lip of the mantle is about 8.5" the whole way around the chase in that picture. Shelves are shown at 12", but I will likely go 13" so my receiver has room to fit on one of them.
OHSCrifle said:
Try sketching up a stained wood flue enclosure above the top shelf/mantel.
Meh. I think it's too much wood that way. Wood floors, wood mantle, wood in the furniture... I think it really needs something textural and earthy to mix it up.
Curtis73 (Forum Supporter) said:OHSCrifle said:
Try sketching up a stained wood flue enclosure above the top shelf/mantel.
Meh. I think it's too much wood that way. Wood floors, wood mantle, wood in the furniture... I think it really needs something textural and earthy to mix it up.
Agreed. Not feeling that and a wall of dark wood makes the room feel smaller.
PA fieldstone, bluestone mantle/hearth and Brazilian cherry built-ins.
lotusseven7 (Forum Supporter) said:PA fieldstone, bluestone mantle/hearth and Brazilian cherry built-ins.
This is the first photo that has nailed the stone that I imagined. I mean NAILED.
If that is a veneer (which it looks like it is) I will pay that company eleventy billion dollars for it. Ok, I will pay a fair market value for it. That is the perfect combination of chunky stone appearance without being too big.
I'm hesitant to suggest this given all the work you've already gotten yourself into, but in the interest of symmetry and not walking in the front door and having shelves and the edge of a fireplace straight ahead.... Would you entertain totally redoing that front wall/verandah area? Move the door more or less central to the front gable and drop a couple of large-ish sidelights in.
Unhelpful suggestions aside, I really admire your ability to document your various projects and ideas. I fall down terribly in that regard and am a little envious of you.
Curtis73 (Forum Supporter) said:Ok, a bit of modification to shrink the biglyness. I brought the chase out to about 40" wide. Shelves are now 12" deep
I think you're headed in the right direction here. However, the shelves look a little wonky to me. Since you're dealing with a small space, I'd imagine that efficient storage is a priority. If that's true, what about full "built-ins" on either side? That would give you more storage, and would keep the space above the mantle from being starkly empty and completely dominated by the chase/TV. More traditional cabinets with doors below to store things out of the way, and open shelves above where more visually interesting things can be stored?
If you're worried about it being too much wood (which I think is understandable) you could go with white (Or any color) cabinets/shelves and leave your stained mantle for contrast to really draw the attention and work with the natural stone. Something along these lines, but scaled down for your space:
Or, you could do shallow white base cabinets with tops stained to match your mantle, and then floating shelves above (again stain matched) for a more contemporary look that might tie into the contemporary look of your bedroom. A little like this:
It's natural fieldstone veneer. They take stones and cut them to 1-1/2" to 2" and it's applied just like you would cultured stone but it's real. We did the house with this stuff and have been building stacked stone walls around the property, so everything matches. The company makes everything on-site and has many different styles and colors of stone available. Take a look at their website, http://meshoppenstone.com/ , they are about 45 minutes from Wilkes-Barre.
Here is how the veneer looks compared to the stone walls.
They make 90* cut pieces for corners also, which make for a nice clean finished edge.
Reach out if you would like any additional information.
In reply to lotusseven7 (Forum Supporter) :
Thank you so much for that link. I will be calling them this week.
If you plan on heading up there, give me a shout. Depending on which way you go, I'm not far off route 309 in Dallas. You're also welcome to take a road trip and come up the house to see what the stuff looks like applied to the house the fireplace and the grill.
Will do!
daeman said:I'm hesitant to suggest this given all the work you've already gotten yourself into, but in the interest of symmetry and not walking in the front door and having shelves and the edge of a fireplace straight ahead.... Would you entertain totally redoing that front wall/verandah area? Move the door more or less central to the front gable and drop a couple of large-ish sidelights in.
Unhelpful suggestions aside, I really admire your ability to document your various projects and ideas. I fall down terribly in that regard and am a little envious of you.
Not unhelpful at all. Several people in this thread have suggested moving the door which makes me think one of several things; A) gee, I should move the door, B) I must have posted really disproportionate photos that make them think the doors are in the way, or C) y'all are nuts. I know C is true, but not in the advice arena. You all have always given good advice.
Long story short, the door is staying put for now. The door jamb is about 24" away from the wall, the shelves will be 13" away, and the fireplace 17" away from the wall. The net result is that the door can fully swing open without hitting the shelves, and they are still a foot to the left of the traffic flow. The previous entertainment center was 22" away from the wall and (aside from being a little ugly) wasn't in the way of traffic.
I was a photographer in a former life, and I really hate it when I do a project and then three years later forget how I did something. I was looking at photos from my kitchen project 2 years ago so I could remember what product I used to set the tile. Sure enough, I took a randomly awkward photo of myself half naked holding a bucket of mastic.
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