m21 had a meeting with clients yesterday to present some options to turn a small sitting room into a media room/library. our goals were to provide some needed storage, a spot for a large flatscreen TV, and to update the bland (and architecturally inappropriate) mantel into something a bit more dramatic- all without reconfiguring walls, or any other major remodeling, just some "cosmetic" construction. the home was built in late 1940's, and remodeled within the last few years, and as is often the case, the prior homeowners didn't hire a designer to lay out furniture plans, or think about how people would actually *live* in the home, and thus we were left with nowhere to hang a TV and provide seating opposite, so we had to resort to hanging the TV above the mantel... never m21's first choice, but ya gotta do what ya gotta do!
and people, again, before starting any construction or remodeling,
PUHLEEZE hire a designer to do a furniture and lighting plan; architects and contractors first priorities are not how a room will look and function with furniture in it, and you could be left with a bedroom with no wall big enough for a bed and headboard, let alone nightstands (so common, it's not funny) or as in this case, without wall to hang a flatscreen and have room for some some decent seating opposite (the arrangement the prior homeowners had to resort to watch some TV was just too ghastly for words). oh, and the fact that the architect didn't center the fireplace on the wall (easily accomplished by moving an added wall a mere FIVE inches) simply boggles my mind, and unfortunately, it's too late to make that 5 inch move now. a layperson homeowner reading the plan would never even think to look to catch such a thing, but to someone like me, it would jump out immediately...
so again,
PLEASE, i'm begging all homeowners planning new construction or a remodel, spend a little extra money to do a furniture/lighting plan before you get your blueprints approved, even if there is no immediate budget to redecorate after the remodel- it will save you a lifetime of working around ill-shaped rooms with bad lighting and nowhere to put a sofa, and i guarantee it will be the best money spent during your remodel!
now that our little rant is over, here's a picture of the mantel as it stands today followed by sketches of our ideas to update things (just to be clear, that's not my client's furniture btw- they are too tasteful for that, thank goodness. this was the last occupant's decor on the day of the final walkthrough):
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| just not quite right... |
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| a proposed sketch to return to the mid-century roots of the house. this idea was quickly nixed by all, even me. ;-) |
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| a modern and minimal take... too modern, probably, but the homeowners have lots of contemporary art and furnishings, so it would have worked, especially given the clean lines of the home's original architecture. |
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| a bit more transistional, with a combination of fixed and adjustable shelving, and a overscale picture frame style molding as the mantel surround. |
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| this was the client's choice, a clean lined stepped out bollection molding fire surround, flanked by floor to ceiling adjustable shelving (you'll also note that with the addition of the shelving and everything else going on, it becomes harder to notice that the fireplace is off-center) |
