Alright folks. I’ve made the complete switch to batty house lady. I spend all of my time working, unpacking, organizing or surfing the interwebs, trolling for photos of inspirational decor. That has become my life over the last few weeks. Luckily, I’ve been in this place before and I know that in a few more weeks I’ll move on to what I normally consider my ‘real’ life. Which is exactly the same, except I spend my OCD cred on Vogue and the Pattern Review instead of Flea Market Style and my current home decor blog obsession, Cote de Texas.
Today I’m all on about our television. When we moved into our last house four years ago we splurged and bought a 40″ LCD TV. (Sidenote: I cannot BELIEVE how much TV prices have dropped in the last four years!!) The TV was fine, we got an espresso veneer TV stand from Target, plopped the TV on top and commenced with watching as much NCIS as possible. I love me some old people TV, after all. The only real problem we had with the TV was that it only had 2 HMDI ports and we really needed 3, so we were forced to watch DVDs on old school video/audio connection – you know the kind with 3 separate plugs? Eventually we ended up cancelling cable all together in favor of a lower monthly bill and Netflix on demand. I missed Abby and the gang at NCIS, but the whole TV thing was FINE. I didn’t think about it much at all, except that I hated how dusty the cords got.
Cue to the new house. One of the cool things about the house is that it has two fireplaces and one is in the family room where we planned to put the TV. The previous owners had their TV mounted above the fireplace and I hoped that they might leave the mounting brackets when they moved out so we could just put our TV right in. In fact, we sold our TV stand before we left Minneapolis because we agreed that we really wanted it above the fireplace instead of right next to it.
Lucky us, the sellers did, indeed, leave the mounting bracket.
They also left us those awful white shelves in the nook to the right of the fireplace. And now we get to the point of this post… peripherals. Since flatscreen TVs have become so popular, I’ve really liked the super-uncluttered look of wall mounting. But where to put the cable box, DVD player and ever important Roku box? I really dislike the look of a half-used media table, sitting off to the side with no real purpose other than to hold DVD players and such. All that wasted space, what with not holding the TV. And when you throw a fireplace into the mix it makes it even worse. It’s just so…. awkward. What is the point of that elegant TV mounting if one still ends up with the exact same media stand off to the right, partially decomissioned, but still pressed into service to hold the lowly non-mounted supporting cast?
My problem was also compounded by the difficulties for my symmetry-loving pea brain in deciding what to do with the shelving on one side and the doorway on the other. That doorway leads to my new sewing room. My preference would be for either doorways or storage on either side. This is how the previous owners laid out their furniture:
I didn’t care for walkway left on the left side, or how it made the room oddly empty and yet tipping over to the right. I also wasn’t a fan of blocking those lovely, tall windows with big bulky sofas. I played in my 3D software, trying to come up with a furniture layout that worked for me, and it finally came to me that I didn’t HAVE to make access to the sewing room my #1 priority! Right now this is how I have the room…
Note the lovely broom handle, just visible through the doorway into the sewing room…
Also! You can see that I removed the awful shelves. Seriously, people, I almost refused to look at the house because I thought the shelves looked so bad! Here’s a closeup…
They’re actually three separate shelving units that are white melamine with ‘brushed stainless’ supports. I just think they are so bizarre, from the odd choice of style with the rather rustic fireplace to the spacing – see how the little gap between the middle and lower unit is used for the peripherals? I was so not into that.
I thought of putting a sideboard or dresser in the space – something with character that could hold the cable box and hopefully hide it out of sight in some way, but that put me back in the spot of having an orphaned media stand, taking up space that should rightfully have been reclaimed when the TV was mounted on the wall.
I found this photo on Cote de Texas! The nook space and fireplace reminded me of our new layout and I am a huge fan of hidey hole spots!
{Cote de Texas/Dana Wolter}
While I’m not usually a huge fan of drapery unless it’s actually attached to a window, I even liked it in this case to soften up the edges and downplay the jagged arch of my room. Plus, I could install portieres on BOTH sides of the fireplace to balance out the space and add a bit more sound-muffling fabric – the giant room with tile floor echoes like a gymnasium! Here’s a rendering of what I’m thinking…
As longer time readers might now, I have a MacGyver-like need to reuse, thrift or fabricate my home furnishings. As much as I love Pottery Barn, it’s much more fun to struggle for furniture solutions, right? I wandered around the house, measuring and plotting. Eventually I realized that one of the sections from the ‘built in’ windowseat in Minneapolis fits the nook perfectly! The bonus? I already have the cushion made!
Here’s the windowseat in the Minneapolis house. It already looks so odd to me! Did I really live there?
Unfortunately either the cable box grew after I measured it, or I am incapable of using a measuring tape. I removed the shelves (HEAVY!!), leaving giant, unsightly holes in our hard-to-repair knockdown walls. I took apart the windowseat section to cut a hole in the back for the cords to pass through. I bolted the burlap-wrapped top piece to the bench and reattached the legs, moved into place, unhooked all the cables, passed through the hole I’d cut and then… the cable box didn’t fit. I needed 15 inches and only had 14 and a half. I think I’d measured the depth of the cable box rather than the width.
Grr. Here’s how it looks now.
It’s hard to see, but for the Ikea-philes out there, this is a Billy bookcase – the one that’s meant to go on TOP of doorways as a bridge. We added the plastic feet from the Ikea kitchen section that are meant for kitchen cabinets – you have to actually go to the Kitchen section and order from someone there. The plastic feet are awesome because they are meant to work with toekicks (also bought in the kitchen section) that come with easy to use plastic mounting rings and matching iron-on veneer. The toekicks are easy to cut to size with a handsaw and finish with the veneer, making it really easy to make it look built in. Since the shelves are only 11 inches deep we added a slightly wider (15″) piece of burlap-wrapped MDF to the top so Lucy would have enough room to laze about like a walrus.
Unfortunately, this solution is not walrus-friendly – see how the cable box has to sit on top (on the left?) We’re in a holding pattern. Here’s the current options…
Option #1: Do some more engineering. I COULD take the whole thing apart, drill new holes and move the center supports to make enough space for the cable box. Apart from being YET another project, this might be the best solution. I’d planned on making a slipcover for the entire unit to hide away the clutter and to eradicate the espresso finish from my sight. I’m SO over expresso finish, aren’t all y’all? My main concern with this option is that these bookcases aren’t really meant for such overengineering and I’m concerned the resulting piece will be wobbly.
Option #2: Find a bench that DOES fit. I’ve looked a bit and the problem is that most entry-type benches that have storage places where we can put DVDs and perpherals aren’t meant for media so the cubbies are all narrow, similar to our current situation. Also, most would need pass-through holes cut in the back and that’s not super easy to do.
Option #3: Back to some sort of media cabinet. This is Mr. Bug’s favorite option – he’s not a lover of secret hidey hole nooks like me! We’re in agreement, though, that if we DO put a cabinet in the spot, we’d like something that’s more of a sideboard or dresser nature rather than a forlorn media cabinet sidekick. I’d like something of this nature. But I would like it to cost about $750 less than the Pottery Barn pricetag of $999. And potentially less green.
{Pottery Barn | Ellsworth Entertainment Buffet}
Oh, who’m I kidding? I love green.
So. Where do YOU guys put your cable box? Especially if you’ve got your TV stuck to the wall?
Oh the problems of technology.
Also, I snapped a photo of my sewing room. It’s TRASHED, people! Ugh. Moving stinks. Check out my lovely new cutting table! A craigslist find that rules the world. It’s currently sitting on bed risers to get it to the right height, but someday the plan is to attach some fencing finials to the legs for a nicer look. In the meantime I plan to hide the ugly bed risers by just piling all of my supplies on the floor…
[...] I’ve already posted about my tricky TV nook a few times. This has been a little bugaboo in my side since we moved in. To recap: our house came [...]
You have done a great arrangement in your home. Love it.
Lara recently posted..Organic Shampoos
oooo i’m about to blow your mind. i think. we had the same sitch, yay flat screen, boo ugly stuff.
i understand mr bug is not a fan of hidey holes, but if you want to avoid acrobatics needed to make electronics pretty, shove them in whatever cabinet you choose and get one of these:
http://www.logitech.com/en-us/remotes/accessories/devices/6347
we have one in NY. all our stuff lives in a pretty (totally closed!) red cabinet, and this little kit kat sized doohickey sits on top. you can control ALL of your stuff with it! this one works with infrared, they have ones that work with bluetooth, it all depends on what kind of remote you have.
(and i love your mockups, i did the same with our bedroom!)
oonaballoona recently posted..mmmonday the first
I know this is a long shot but do you ever plan to use the fireplace? What if you put your components in there?
The curtain idea is great. I agree with the others who say to re-engineer what you have there now to fit the cable box. I think a cabinet like the one you showed from pottery barn will look too big and bulky, especially compared to the light and airy look your furniture gives the room now, and would put too much visual weight on that side of the fireplace.
Then put some art on the hidey hole wall so that when you do open the curtains you’re not hit with the blank wall.
I also like the idea of bead board.
We had a built in made for a nook like that from the building supply big box store out of essentially kitchen cabinets, with a counter for the computer and drilled a hole so we could hide the printer inside the cupboard. Not cheap, but looks awesome. You’ve got a lot of depth there so your bench looks a bit lost. I LOVE the drapes idea too!
What is on the other side of the wall? Can you drill a hole to just pass cords through and keep all of the peripherals in the other room? We get around the ‘remote control not working though walls issue’ with a cool IR Remote Control Sensor like this:
http://www.4electronicwarehouse.com/products/niles/ms220-ir-infrared-microsensor.html
First of all, try re-jiggering the one you already own. What do you have to lose? And you can paint it whatever color you like if you aren’t into the espresso anymore. Secondly, don’t go with a closed cabinet. It’s really irritating that we can’t put our chair in the corner where I want it because it blocks the receiver, and I’m pretty sure a closed cabinet would do the same. You’ll have to open it all the time for the remote to work, and that looks trashy, imo.
The curtains are a great way to satisfy your need for symmetry and cozy up the space, as well as to hide those hideous angled ceilings. Honestly, what were they thinking?
I’d drop those outlets to behind the bench, while I was at it.
Now, personally, I don’t mind asymmetry. I think the problem with the previous look is the shelves themselves (ok, and the hideous ceiling angle). I think it would be nice if it looked like a trimmed-out built-in. I know exactly what sorts of things I would recommend to you based on your style, and you would think that with 1752 Architecture & Decor pins, I would be able to find a good example quickly, but I couldn’t. The closest things I could find are probably these:
http://pinterest.com/pin/274015958547445049/
http://pinterest.com/pin/274015958547301548/
http://pinterest.com/pin/274015958547316489/
Gaidig recently posted..Flooding Update: Basement Bar Progress
hee hee – your comment got put in the spam folder because of all the helpful links!!
I think i’m leaning towards making what we have work. You’re TOTALLY right, what do I have to lose!? If we went with a freestanding structure, we’d likely go the craigslist/refinishing (i.e. painting) route, so there’d be a bit of work involved with that as well.
I DID have a thought if we go with the sideboard route, though… finally, I can fulfill my love of CHICKEN WIRE door insets! I LOVE those! and the remote would work!
I know – the angles, are so… WTF? The house is generally pretty traditional, and then there’s these crazy angled arches… AND the openings are the same width, but the arch angles are NOT. It’s strange, because there are other touches that indicate attention to detail. The brick and tile are perfectly lined up and centered on the fireplace – we used them to determine the furniture AND tv placement!
I love the built in look! I think I’ll start campaigning for that! I was also thinking of lining the inside of the nook with beadboard for a more built in look, to cover the giant holes and not have to deal with patching our textured walls and Mr. Bug actually LOVES beadboard!
Patty The Snug Bug recently posted..We made it! Texas forever.
1) I’m glad you found my comment!
2) I totally need to check out Oona & Nicole’s remote solutions!
3) I bet that the difference in attention to detail means that you got a good brick layer and tile setter, but not such a great carpenter/drywaller. I’ve done a fair amount of drywalling in my time, but textured walls – ick. Still, I have seen some tutorials on how to match existing texture when patching a wall, so it might be do-able (or hire-able). If I were you, I would want to replace the angle with either a rounded arch or remove it and add some crown moulding.
Gaidig recently posted..Cocktail Wednesdays: The Fury
Wow, I must miss some home dec gene, because I thought the shelves were great. But what you have planned is great, too.
Mr. Bug also thought the white shelves were fine. A bit too modern, but other than that they didn’t really bug him either!
Patty The Snug Bug recently posted..The trouble with flat televisions
My husband and I fantasize about the day we are homeowners and can finally put our TVs on the wall rather than annoying stands—but you bring up a very valid point. (Especially since my husband is insane regarding cord-type clutter)
I think in my ideal dream world there’d be a recessed compartment in the side of the fireplace, with a hole connecting to the back of the TV for the cables to go through. Lacking that (fire codes and stuff, y’know), I think your reading-nook solution is awesome, aside from the annoying part where the cable box doesn’t fit.
Y’know, my mom is home-decor obsessed, and I had always assumed I was similarly inclined, but I think in practice I’m more like my father. Can I sit on it? Is it comfy? Is there enough light to do what I want? Ok, done.
Tanit-Isis recently posted..Children, magazines
Ha ha – Dan is totally cord-obsessed as well. In fact the other night he unplugged the power cord from the back of the TV so he could ‘arrange it more neatly’ and then he couldn’t get it plugged back in for EVER because the angle was awkward. I just rolled my eyes and kept my mouth shut! Love him!
Like I alluded to… I go through this EVERY TIME I move into a new place. For a while I’ll be completely house obsessed, and eventually it’ll wear off and I can happily live with patched-not-painted walls, dirty switch plates, mismatched metal finishes. I need to grab on to the obsession now – I’ll get more done in the next 6 weeks than I will in the next 6 years!!
Patty The Snug Bug recently posted..The trouble with flat televisions
I would choose option one. It may take a bit of time to disassemble the whole billy and reassemble with an extra half inch in order to fit your cable box but it is the best option imo!
I think all y’all convinced me!
Patty The Snug Bug recently posted..The trouble with flat televisions
No matter what the storage solution, I think drapes flanking either side of the fireplace are the key to the symmetry you’re looking for.
I’m so glad to know the table is counter height! My back was aching for you…
Laura recently posted..Lost in the Woods
Hey stranger! Did you have some sort of hide patty filter on your email? I was getting ready to send out the troops to locate you!
P
Patty The Snug Bug recently posted..The trouble with flat televisions
No, my dumb phone likes to save emails as a draft instead of sending them. I am none the wiser. Duh.
LaUra recently posted..Lost in the Woods
Its all looking good-very cosy! Can you not put the box under the bench? or does that end up with it not being on a great angle for remote controlling? alternatively you could add some form of blocks to the top, and put the mdf slab on top of that, raising the seat by a couple of inches, effectively giving yourself another shelf.
monkeysocks recently posted..Channelling Oona
I like the idea of raising up the seat a LOT. I considered putting under, but the legs are sort of ugly and I’d like the toekick back in for the built in look – but even more importantly, with a shedding walrus in the house it’s probably not a good idea to put electronics on the floor – they’ll totally get clogged with fur!
Patty The Snug Bug recently posted..The trouble with flat televisions
Following this makes me feel like you haven’t moved so very far away. <3
even though it took us 2 days to get her, it’ doesn’t really feel like we moved that far away!
Patty The Snug Bug recently posted..The trouble with flat televisions