Since the McKinnons bought their Colorado home they had never been fans of the fireplace set up. Meredith hated how heavy the brick made the room feel, and wanted to lighten it up. She wanted more storage space, and thought the TV should look as though it belonged where it was placed. Most importantly she wanted the new setup to look like it had been there all along, something balanced, that fit in with the style of their home.
Fireplace; BEFORE AFTER
It was decided that the best way to achieve more storage yet keep the fireplace balanced would be to put in a cabinet on each side. A cabinet would look as though it belonged with the shelving on the right, and would provide an appropriate surface to place the TV. The TV would be raised to a comfortable height not as low as the hearth, and not as high as the mantle, and the electrical running to the TV could be concealed by the cabinetry. So an overall cleaner look could be created. The painting of the brick really brightened up the room and made the space feel so much bigger.
Brick needed to be removed from the hearth to create space for the built-in cabinetry. The bottom of the shelf was cut off so that the existing shelf looked as though it was an extension of the cabinetry. Also you may notice in the left photo that Jeff has moved the wiring so that it is coming through the brick so that it can be run through the back of the left cabinet and a prevented eye sore.
Again you can see the amount of brick removed from the hearth on the left and right of the fireplace. You may also notice the patch work on the far wall. This is where the original wiring to the t.v. came out of the wall. So this has been patched and re-textured.
Jeff custom made the cabinetry out of MDF. The cabinet to the left of the fireplace which would be where the t.v. would be placed would be housing electronics (cable receiver, dvd player, etc.) so we needed cabinet doors that would allow a signal from a remote to permeate them. So we used a plexi-glass, and to hide the contents of the cabinets Jeff frosted the plexi-glass.
This is the rear of the left cabinet. You can see the outlet box, for the t.v. electrical.
Here are the custom cabinets after doors have been mounted. This gives you a better idea of how the frosted plexi-glass panels look. Now for the moment of truth--will they fit?
They fit! It was tight, but that is just what we wanted. We wanted them to look like they have been there from day one. Once the walls and ceiling were masked off we were ready to paint.
Jeff used a professional paint sprayer to get that nice even finish- so no brush strokes, and a big time saver!
Paint is done. Now the shelves need to be installed, and the doors remounted.
Shelves are in, doors remounted, and the carpet is rolled back into place. We’re ready for the door hardware, and Meredith can put her stuff back where it belongs.
Another successful project, another happy customer, and quite a refreshing transformation.
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