I've been busy with work related stuff but I did get a start on a few projects. I went to Lowe's yesterday and they had a great selection of orchids. I wanted to take them all home but I decided to start small since I have absolutely no idea about the care and feeding of orchids. The instructions suggest a location with limited exposure to sunlight and bumblebeez warned about keeping them away from the fireplace so my orchid will get a home in the powder room. I think it looks great in there but I'm a little nervous about potting it without killing it ( I have a lousy track record with houseplants). I found a pot that i think will work well and I would like to use green moss at the base for additional color. Here is a pic . I also wanted to do something with bare branches. So I filled a white pitcher with branches I gathered from our woods and placed them on our kitchen table. It was so cold outside , I didn't spend a lot of time looking for the best branches to work with but my goal is to use them as filler and add something else to it. It looked a little "barren" at first but I have to admit, the light airy look is starting to grow on me. Here is what I have so far. If any of you have ideas for what could be added to make it interesting let me know. It is pretty much a blank canvas right now. I went to the grocery store and found some cut flowers that might fit nicely but I really didn't know where to begin. I'm not sure what looks good with "sticks" LOL. Thanks in advance for your ideas. We're getting yet another snow storm this week. This has been a fun diversion from all the gray nasty cold weather.

sidney - The mirror is 32" and to be honest I haven't even put it up there to check the size yet. I love it so much, I'm going to use it even if a bigger size would be a little bit better. As you can see, I have a large area above my fireplace too. I just saw a picture somewhere and I can't remember where now, but it had three exact mirrors that were framed above the fireplace. It reminds me a little of your inspiration picture. I'll have to retrace some of my steps and see if I can remember where I saw it. Laurie

Thanks! I put conduit (both flexible and rigid) inside the walls. Horizontal runs are through knock outs inside the blocks but I tried to keep this to a minimum. Plumbing is also inside (PEX and PVC for waste water) the walls. The main reason for the interior block walls was that I wanted a solid feel. The doors are fairly large (8ft tall, 3.5ft wide) and solid core so I was concerned that metal studs may not be massive enough. I used metal studs for a wall concealing a tank for a wall hung toilet but everything else is concrete blocks.

It is a 'real' fireplace..it just has a gas starter which are SOOOO nice for eliminating the messy of getting a wood fire started!! The bottom line is in a room with a fireplace and a TV the seating needs to face both for the room to be used to its fullest. Fireplace/TV side by side is the most aesthetically pleasing positioning. BUT the OP doesn't have that option anymore. When that TV dies I would consider putting a new smaller one to one side or the other. For now a shelf makes the most sense to me. A random light fixture for no purpose seems like a missed opportunity for storage. The added COLOR by Celery, to that space is my personal favorite suggestion. I do not understand half the seating in the room with it's back to the TV/fireplace. This room gives the impression most of the TV watching happens in the kitchen/dining area, Why else the need for such a huge TV with little seating in the actual room?