The fireplace area has always been a struggle for me in decorating this house. It's in our two-story family room and flanked by two sets of windows.
First, some history: you might remember when I resurfaced the fireplace to cover the ugly bathroom tile they originally used. It wasn't a bad DIY, if you're looking for a project. And we thought about moving the TV over the fireplace, and I had it wired with an electrical outlet. But there's a snafu with the cable, so we'll be leaving it where it is, for now. (Here's that post.)
I'm most stuck with how to deal with the space above the mantel. I've been in neighbor's homes and peeked at what they did and I've not found a solution that I liked. I've seen wood paneling and decorative molding that continues up the column of the fireplace. I've even seen some faux brick ideas. Nothing has caught my attention.
So I've been putting art, or a large mirror but they look so unsubstantial in that large space. Dinky, even. The scale was off.
I finally decided to GO BIG OR GO HOME.
Juniper Print Shop, an online print store, was having a cyber Monday sale and they had this lovely print of SoHo Manhattan. A street that was so close to where I worked. Gah! I loved it. And they had a huge 55x79' print that fit into a $40 Ikea frame (no glass). Done!
I should have measured, because it's really really really HUGE. But the more I stare at it, the more I totally love it. It's scale is just right for this side of the living room. Because the sofa is angled toward the navy wall with the art gallery and TV.
And let's not overlook the curtains on the flanking windows. Those came from our apartment in Paris and they helped the whole family room look more "done" and with a bit more soft texture, too.
However, the more I stare at this wall the more I NEED to paint the trim around the fireplace a color other than white. This morning, I decided GRAY is the best idea. It will pull out the grey in the "rock" and the grey in the picture. OOH.. or a light blue! That would be gorgeous. Just the lightest light of blue. Gah!
More to come!
First, some history: you might remember when I resurfaced the fireplace to cover the ugly bathroom tile they originally used. It wasn't a bad DIY, if you're looking for a project. And we thought about moving the TV over the fireplace, and I had it wired with an electrical outlet. But there's a snafu with the cable, so we'll be leaving it where it is, for now. (Here's that post.)
I'm most stuck with how to deal with the space above the mantel. I've been in neighbor's homes and peeked at what they did and I've not found a solution that I liked. I've seen wood paneling and decorative molding that continues up the column of the fireplace. I've even seen some faux brick ideas. Nothing has caught my attention.
So I've been putting art, or a large mirror but they look so unsubstantial in that large space. Dinky, even. The scale was off.
I finally decided to GO BIG OR GO HOME.
Juniper Print Shop, an online print store, was having a cyber Monday sale and they had this lovely print of SoHo Manhattan. A street that was so close to where I worked. Gah! I loved it. And they had a huge 55x79' print that fit into a $40 Ikea frame (no glass). Done!
I should have measured, because it's really really really HUGE. But the more I stare at it, the more I totally love it. It's scale is just right for this side of the living room. Because the sofa is angled toward the navy wall with the art gallery and TV.
And let's not overlook the curtains on the flanking windows. Those came from our apartment in Paris and they helped the whole family room look more "done" and with a bit more soft texture, too.
However, the more I stare at this wall the more I NEED to paint the trim around the fireplace a color other than white. This morning, I decided GRAY is the best idea. It will pull out the grey in the "rock" and the grey in the picture. OOH.. or a light blue! That would be gorgeous. Just the lightest light of blue. Gah!
More to come!
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