What I have been up to

[JWR]

I have been very spotty since the holidays started. The reason for this is we started a project to remodel our living room in time for Christmas so each weekend and a few hours each evening have been devoted to this project.
Before project:


Mid destruction:

Reconstuction:


Finishing work:

[Quacker]

Very cool Joe!
Did you do all of that yourself? The new facade looks simple & classically elegant, plus I like how you incorporated the book, display & wine shelves into the wall itself which serves to enhance that smooth, free-flowing look. Anything further on your project 'to do' list?

I too am currently in the midst of fully renovating one of my Investment properties, just last week I installed a new gas fire place that has a similar appearance to your fireplace above (with tenants, unfortunately I have learnt that providing a 'real' fireplace is just really, really bad idea), into the main living room along with a stone facade & old oak bookshelves above it. The new colour scheme for the room was also similar to yours shown in the photos, but went with "Gunmetal grey" (Dark grey) for the walls & "Tokyo Snow" (a yellow-ish off-white) for the trims. Try to do as much of the manual work myself as it is a really good learning experience (though always have an experienced mate watching over & supervising me, ensuring everything is correct) and is a complete world away from the usual Office trading desks I inhabit during work-time.

[JWR]

Yes I did all the work myself.
The previous owners built the divider wall between the living room and kitchen with the fireplace and all the faux rock glued onto the sheet rock wallboard.
I built the shelving, winerack box and bookcase and fitted them inplace before cutting and placing the wood. After painting I installed the mantlepiece.

I still have a few small mouldings to finish as well as later this year replacing the carpets with either Wood flooring or tile.

We talked about doing this project for the last couple of years but finally was able to set aside the time to do it.

[teggacat]

gosh JWR but that looks fantastic!
BTW I have a spare room that could use a facelift……..
course you need to come to the east coast but…….
just thought I'd throw that out there

[JWR]

gosh JWR but that looks fantastic!
BTW I have a spare room that could use a facelift……..
course you need to come to the east coast but…….
just thought I'd throw that out there

All depends on how much the job pays

[teggacat]

gosh JWR but that looks fantastic!
BTW I have a spare room that could use a facelift……..
course you need to come to the east coast but…….
just thought I'd throw that out there

All depends on how much the job pays

how 'bout a couple bags of cat food?

all kidding aside, your revamp looks excellent

[Keropi]

That looks pretty nice! I wish I was handy like that.

Say what are those two dark square-shaped panels that were located over the old fireplace? I can't tell from looking at the photograph.

[JWR]

That looks pretty nice! I wish I was handy like that.

Say what are those two dark square-shaped panels that were located over the old fireplace? I can't tell from looking at the photograph.

They were speakers. The original setup had at one time a record player on a rollaway cabinet that is shown in that 1st picture (minus any record player which they took when they moved out)
I replaced that rollaway with the shelves I built and fitted into the opening.

[Keropi]

They were speakers. The original setup had at one time a record player on a rollaway cabinet that is shown in that 1st picture (minus any record player which they took when they moved out) I replaced that rollaway with the shelves I built and fitted into the opening.

Oh, I see.

I like it better after you changed it. The faux rock wall was popular in the Sixties and Early Seventies, but not so much now. Not unless you want the retro look for your home.