I'm loving our new open floor plan, but the living room lost its focal point when we removed the ugly wood stove (nobody said the focal point has to be attractive).
After removing some walls we were left with few options for where to draw the eye. The best choice was the 10' wall between the living room and master bedroom. I neglected to get a good picture before demo. This shot from what eventually became the kitchen is the best I can find.
We moved the coat closet to the hallway which left this 10' wall as a perfectly blank canvas.
We didn't have enough space for a real fireplace or a gas unit so we opted for a wall mounted electric fireplace. In order to get the built in-fireplace look I started by tiling the wall to look like a stone surround (the color is blotchy because it's wet from my tile saw).
We moved the coat closet to the hallway which left this 10' wall as a perfectly blank canvas.
We didn't have enough space for a real fireplace or a gas unit so we opted for a wall mounted electric fireplace. In order to get the built in-fireplace look I started by tiling the wall to look like a stone surround (the color is blotchy because it's wet from my tile saw).
After a few months with just the tile on the wall Luke and I built a custom mantle and lintels. I did the design work but Luke is the one who actually knows what he is doing. He did the real work and I helped out with sanding and the unskilled portions of the assembly.
We used hickory for the surround but decided to try a chestnut stain to help it blend with the darker color of the floors and our furniture.
Eventually we put the whole thing it place. Luke and I are a little biased, but we think it looks great and provides a perfect focal point for the room. (The fireplace has a flame effect but it doesn't show up in daylight photos.)
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