Living Room Makeover- One Room Challenge Week 2

Well, 90 minutes into the small demo we needed to do before the wood stove install that is scheduled for early October and we hit a hiccup.

Here is the wall that we wanted to demo….well not the wall but this awkward bump out there on the left. Let’s look at a photo of the living room from the listing photos.

What you can’t see is there’s an access panel that allowed us to look inside the bump out.

Weird? Yes, very much so.

Taking a look inside did allow us to see the original brick chimney which was exciting. However, we were unable to see all the way across inside the bump out and we couldn’t figure out why it was even built in the first place.

Well, Kenton removed that top piece of trim and was able to look down inside and lo and behold, he was looking at the top backside of our fridge!!! On the opposite wall is our kitchen. Here is the listing photo and as you can see the fridge is recessed with a cabinet above. There was no reason to believe that this alcove wasn’t deep enough for the depth of the fridge. But, from what we can gather that is the only explanation for that awkward bump out in the living room.

So what does it all mean and did we find a work around?

Yes! It will require a small tweak to our design and unfortunately, we won’t be able to make use of the antique fireplace surround I picked up a few weeks ago from my favorite antique barn. Bummer! I’m hoping I can use it elsewhere in our home at a later date. For reference, here is the 3D render I created.

We will need to accommodate the refrigerator and therefore we need to maintain the bump out but we will make it more intentional by extending the bump out from floor to ceiling rather than how it is currently at only 4’6” in height. The good news is the brick is in great shape and at this point I am trying to decide to keep it as is or do we do a whitewash to brighten it up.

Bare with me as these are some ugly pictures but, I feel it is important to share the not so pretty part of this process as well. Trust me it’s already looking much better.

So while Kenton has been busy demo-ing and putting this wall back together, I’ve been busily ordering a new custom slipcover for our sofa from Comfort Works. I chose a textured weave cream that is washable and rated for high traffic use. It is both kid and pet friendly. I almost went with the natural linen because you all know I love my linen but I wanted a little more structure in the cover itself and knew that linen would not give me that.

After months of searching, I also finally settled on a rug for this space.

The rug was hard for me as I need something that our three cats will not destroy, one that is also bunny proof, can hold up to heavy traffic and easily vacuumed. Plus we will have a wood stove in this space and I didn’t want anything that was too plush. Don’t worry though, I achieve some cushion with my favorite rug pad.

And I found a ceiling fan for the space. I’m not a huge fan of ceiling fans but knew it was important to help distribute the heat from the woodstove to other areas of our home. So I settled on this one. I like that it has a drum shade.

I’m glad to have the messiest part of this room reno behind us. And don't forget to check out the featured designers and participating guests of the ORC!

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