In accordance with Day 7 of The Nester’s 31 Days to a Better Dressed Nest series, I am coming to my peeps for house advice. See that wall with the picture?
We want to knock it down. Because on the other side of that wall is this.
Two living rooms back to back.
When we have people over (have I mention my husband is a youth pastor? With a youth group of nearly 300?) this is kind of what it looks like.
Crowded. And the front living room is empty with crickets chirping. This living room is where we live. The front living room is where the Barbies live in the forts that are made by our kids. It is a big, non-used formal play room.
We’ve already had several men look at it to determine the load-bearingness of the wall (it bears a lot of load, evidently), but are told it can be done. I’m not concerned about that part.
But I need girl eyes to tell me how to divide this wall. See where the fireplace mantle and hearth ends?
How should we transition the ending of that for maximum best-ness?
Once the wall is gone, the fireplace will be way over there. Should we put some type of column next to the fireplace so it doesn’t just end? Would it look weird to have the wall jut out a foot until the hearth ends? I think there will still have to be a header across the room, so it will sort of look like a big 20 foot long framed out doorway. That makes no sense, does it? If you have any words, please advise. I’ll be hanging out in the comments.
It will look great! And I have the perfect picture for you. I saw it on his website (linked from your sister’s website) ages ago, and I saved the pic for inspiration for myself when I was dreaming of knocking some walls down.
Look at this post – the lead picture would be perfect!
http://www.remodelingguy.net/2009/01/trims-and-moldings-the-difference-is-in-the-details/
The way the column ends by a bookcase looks very similar to your bookcase. And it may give you an idea of what to do on the other side of the room. I’ve even seen columns like this have storage inside (like a broom closet or something), so maybe you could incorporate something like that, too.
A few options come to mind…
1. Like you said, put a significant column at the end of the fireplace built-in. Maybe add another one near the doorway so you don’t have one lone column?
2. Have the built-in shelves continue into the front room, so they are continuous along that wall. I don’t think the fireplace would look out of place, even if it isn’t centered, if you have built ins that run that whole length of wall. You could even go floor to ceiling in the front room.
3. Where the current built-ins end, you could have a couple of feet of built in bookshelves come out in an L shape, and have the column at the end of those. It will still give the feel of one big room, but have a little visual separation of space with some added character that deals with the end of the current built-ins around the fireplace.
I look forward to seeing what you decide!
Hi Emily!
I like the idea of putting in BIG (maybe glass paned) pocket doors. That way you could have one big gathering place if you had a bunch of people over, but still had the option of two rooms down the road. As families grow needs change…. you might want that room back one day! Good Luck – whatever you do will be fabulous and I can’t wait to see it!! =)
Hi Emily – We just did something similar in an old house with teeny, tiny separate living areas. If you can use columns instead of headers it looks better visually – I’ll try to figure out how to send you some pics – i’m a little embarrassed to because we’re just moving in, and there is stuff EVERYWHERE! We had the same guy that did all our cabinets make the columns. You can save money by having them done in MDF, because if you’re gonna paint them, it’s not a big deal – typically painted & stained run $500/column (installed) and the plain are $240 (installed) We took out a LONG wall between the kitchen, breakfast room & family room and put up an island with two columns bearing the weight. We used LVL for the beams. You are going to LOVE the open space. I know this might sound overly-spiritual (trust me, we’re not
) – but when we hit re-design roadblocks we really prayed for God to give us vision for the space, because we were re-doing for our family, homeschooling, ministry, etc. and wanted to create an environment where relationships would be forged, wonderful extended family times would be had, where youth group parties would happen, etc., etc. And we knew He cares about those things, too. I cannot wait to see the end result!
I just stumbled upon your site and had to add my 2 cents! What if you build a half wall with book shelves that is about 3 or feet long?
What if you did a wall of built-ins? You can never have too much storage and then the mantle, fireplace and hearth will just blend right in. If the beam by the ceiling has something other than empty wall to make contact with it might look more like it belongs. Does that make any sense? I think I just confused myself a little
I have no advice on the endingness of the wall/ mantle. But, we took out a load bearing wall in our kitchen to what was the old 3 seasons room. We made it into one big kitchen and dining and I love love love love love love x 1000 it. Worth all the work I tell you!
Your house is so pretty I could stalk it all day.
<3 Good luck!
Rachelle
What if you extended the mantle across the entire wall and built in bookcases below? You could put doors on some oft hem (maybe with glass fronts and lit from within)
By matching the mantle and carrying it across, it will unify the wall. If it’s in your budet you could even mount a flat panel television and create a second focal point or just a great piece of art.
What if you left a mini-wall? It would make an L shape off your mantel. It could just be four fee high and be open shelving or glass doors. Great for storage and a little snuggly chair maybe? For reading? When you come up with a great idea, please let me know. We have the same ordeal. Two living rooms, back to back, and only one ever gets used. Argh. Could you post some of the better suggestions — as well as what you decide to do? Thanks!
I didn’t ready through all the comments – and I am late commenting to boot – but I just did the same sort of thing in my office/gallery and solved the same problem by just cutting a wide archway. That way the existing wall can act like a “column”.
I just stumbled across your blog and I must say that I love it! There were a lot of comments for this post, so I’m not sure if anybody already mentioned this, but here is my idea…. Why don’t you continue the bookshelves all the way across that way? It will give you extra storage and will make the two rooms automatically look like one. I can’t wait to see how it turns out!
Oops… when I said “continue the bookshelves all the way across that way” I really meant “all the way across that wall.” Oops, sorry for the typo!
I just now came across this and the project might be finished. But I agree with the bookshelves all across the wall – if you continue the shelves all across and finish out the Mantel (top of the shelf) in the same style, then you have continuity. You may still need a column between the fireplace and the rest of the shelves for support, but it could definitely work. I hope you post pictures of the finished room. Love your blog.
Just wanted to thank you for posting about your cabinets. With your encouragement and that of the Nester I went for it and painted my cabinets black. Our house was built in 1947 and it made a world of difference in the look of our kitchen. If I wouldn’t have read your blog and looked at your pictures I never would’ve been brave enough to attempt this. Thanks for making me more brave and a woman who now loves my kitchen. Thanks! Your blog and stories are awesome.