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I think I will fill up my fireplace with logs.
The dark fireplace in the living room seems to be a little empty and this appears to be a quick and easy solution to sophisticate up its gaping black maw. BTW, we do not use our fireplace. The Brick House is located in the California desert and not in like a cozy snowy mountain retreat…so fires are gross and make things smelly.
Anyone ever do this? Is it weird?
The built-in project must be over since I have crap on my sparkling new shelves. It is really nice to unpack some of my books and give them a proper home. This of course won’t be the finally vignetting as I like to switch things up all the time. I always collect more crap for the house so things always shift. Its a start though…
Some close-up action for your viewing delight. I LOVE these new shelves. They’ve solved the year long unhappiness I’ve had with that wasted space under the windows. It makes me feel all fuzzy and warm when I go in the living room…sigh.
Its sure is starting to look like a real fancy house! Our delivery girl confirmed, “It’s so nice in here”. Thanks honey, I know it totally looks like a shit-hole from the outside.
Since we moved in a year ago I’ve been dreaming of building in some bookshelves next to the fireplace. The wall area always looked a little blank and it was hard to position furniture without a ton of wasted space under the windows.
Thank you Craig.
Craig is my stepfather and a lover of carpentry – so the labor was cheap. I drew up some plans for what I wanted and through the magic of plywood and tools he constructed a pair of very simple bookshelves.
This is the base that matches the molding and is set back to create a two inch kick gap under the shelf.
This is one of the finished shelves getting ready to get installed.
Ta-Da!
There were a few weird hitches, like trying to fit the electrical outlets through the shelves and dealing with the uneven plaster walls. Craig was a champion DIY guy and we couldn’t have done this without him. Every new homeowner needs a Craig.
I primed each case with two coats of Kilz. THIS I know how to do. Awesome fun.
I caulked all the gaps around the edges. I love caulk.
Then I painted them with three coats of Behr Ultra Pure White in a satin finish.
Wasted space finally made useful.
I FINALLY finished them last night. They look surprisingly nice and very seamless. I love the off-set vertical supports mirrored on each side. Saving the outlets and installing them through the bottom shelf really adds to the illusion that they may be original built-ins.
Now its all about filling them up with crap.
Coming soon…the built-in breakfast area in the kitchen
