Is your TV over the fireplace? Here’s what I’m doing.

 

Did I mention we’ve finally begun construction on our weird 60s living room wall?

It’s pretty chaotic with the backyard renovation happening at the same time, but it’s exciting when you begin to see some progress.

This is one of the inspiration photos I showed Chuck, the contractor we hired to demo and re-frame our wall.

And ta-daaaa…..here’s what we started with. Our circa 1966 living room wall.

Since our new home has only one main room for “living,” the big TV is definitely going in here. And although we considered putting it on other walls in this room nothing worked.

The very best viewing spot is over the fireplace. The good news is that the firebox is low and the size of the TV works with the ceiling height. No straining necks, which is nice.

But since it’s my only fireplace in the house, I’m not crazy about losing the chance to have a mantel. TVs don’t bother me. I know they get a bad rap in the decorating world but we love watching movies as a family. And I think one should decorate for one’s lifestyle.

But here’s what I’m doing with our TV.

As a nice little camouflage solution I decided to have miniature barn doors put on a slider and positioned over the TV. You’ve probably seen this already.

Here’s a picture to give you a better idea. 

 

The hardware looks almost identical to the hardware on the barn door in my office. 

I love having the option of not having the TV be the focal point.

Regarding materials, I’ve seen the sliding barn doors with dark, rustic wood, but I prefer going with white woodwork and having the doors blend into the wall rather than stand out.

So.

After living several months with some exploratory holes in the wall (“It’s hard to give you a quote when I don’t know what’s behind the wall’ said the contractor ) we finally got started last week.

We were so excited to finally have this wall look like this. Ha. Isn’t remodeling a funny process?

Who gets excited by the demo process?

ME!

The TV will be recessed in the wall.

Opps. When I came down the stairs I had to break the bad news to Chuck.

I wanted the two light fixtures to be in a header over the bookshelves.

Here’s what I was thinking.

Oh well, it all worked out.

The hubby wants a rustic brick surround and I have some ideas for the mantel.

But one thing I know for sure.

I’ve been lugging this heavy, architectural remnant with me for years---I still remember seeing it in an antique store and having absolutely NO idea what I’d do with it.

And now here we are. Years later. Living in a beach community…

 

 

Don’t you think it would look good as part of a mantel?

 

xo

Leslie

 

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