Awkward empty space next to fireplace

Debbie Siegel

last year

last modified: last year

I took out a built-in from the right side of the fireplace. The one there was too big and basically unusable.

Now I have an empty space with an awkwardly placed window. And the space bumps up to the dining room.

Any ideas on what to put there?

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PRO

JAN MOYER

last year

Tear the other side out. Looks totally lopsided. Get an electrician, an IR repeater, and get rid of the wires to the tv.

I'd very strongly consider a different paint color. The walls are doing nothing for your furnishings.

We can't see the whole space - why is the dining table jammed against the wall?

Show more , before anyone can say how to flank the fire.......more pics, the ENTIRE space.

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Comments (9)

K G
last year
Can you remove the left side as well? Then I think you could do a sideboard on the dining room side and a small bookshelf or plant stand on the other side.
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Yeah, that's definitely where the TV was meant to go. This was a common "feature" in many newly-built homes in my area a few years back, when the televisions were enormous boxes and flat screens hadn't become ubiquitous. I wouldn't think there'd be enough head space for a reading nook. Looks like you'd have to duck down to enter it, and the other examples posted of reading nooks have higher clearance. I think adding shelving is probably your best bet, and should be fairly simple to do.
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Interesting dilemma! If this was my house, I'd leave the tv where it is, paint the back wall of recesses black (yes, black) then add shelves that fill the whole width and about 5 of them on each size. Make the shelves chunky an a medium tone wood. Replace the existing mantle with one more chunky and the same wood as the shelves. Decorate the shelves with interesting objects and collections. if you find that to be too much shelving, perhaps put built in cabinets with doors on the lower half. Good luck!
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Yeah, you're sort of screwed by the doorway to the dining room -- there's no real way to set up the door side of the room as more than a sliver by the windows. You're on the right track in treating it as two separate zones, though. Here are a couple ideas that might help you visualize the right solution for your family. 1) Treat the area near the door as a Kid Containment Zone. Put a bench where the entry table is, with baskets underneath for shoes, and maybe a couple of hooks for (future?) book bags and so forth. Then put a small table right next to the door, in front of the sidelight, as your entry table, with a bowl for keys or mail or whatever (and a drawer for mittens). Reading chair and lamp in corner by dining room, to look inviting for a pause, might never get used, or could have a small bookcase for kids when they need a moment to themselves. 2) Make that zone a gaming area, with a smaller table against the windows and 2-3 chairs. Floor lamp in corner for evening activities. A puzzle could live there, or it could be the go-to space for games. Or you could instead do a lower crafts table and a storage cabinet. (You might have those kinds of spaces elsewhere in the house.) 3) No matter what you do with that zone, I'd enlarge the living area in both dimensions. Couch against the wall with chairs on kitchen side, table and lamp between chairs, large coffee table (think a big circle!) that can double as together-activities zone. Use a big area rug to anchor and define this area, and let it come down very close to the hallway to the bedrooms. This will help you scale your furniture and help eat into the dead zone. If you entertain, you might add another arm chair on the doorway side of the ensemble, or use an L-shaped couch, to encompass more seating and enclose more space. HOpe this helps!
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Hi sparkleivy- I like the blue color and together with the ivory beige it looks sophisticated. I would use the space underneath the TV for either a a table or closed storage. The type of closed storage depends on your needs, whether you need a cabinet or drawers or a file cabinet, but it should be attractive. I would suggest changing around how you have arranging the things on your shelves. Your flag deserves to be displayed with honor. I would purchase a display box for the American flag, they are made of wood with a glass front, and tuck in a dessicant packet to prevent mold or rot of the flag. Make sure you get the correct size box for your size flag. A burial flag is larger. Then put the flag on top of the book shelf. Put the airplane on top of the other bookshelf. Why are you displaying a book with the front facing out like that? Do you have a living room? Do you entertain? Should your liquor and glasses be in a bar piece in the living room or is that bookcase the bar piece?
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PRO
HiiGuru
last year
last modified: last year
Hello there! You can use storage units like the ones in the photo (on the left side). They come in different heights, and you can create a nice corner with them. The window will be less noticeable, and you will have a more finished look. I hope this is helpful.
jackowskib
last year
Without seeing the whole space, consider removing left bookcase and putting matching console on each side, with TV going on left side. Rotate sectional to create more separation from dining, and to see TV on left of fireplace. Add pretty art above fireplace. Wall color ties nicely with dining chairs and rug but not so much with sectional and fireplace. If budget allows look to change wall color to a softer grey/taupe color that compliments with the wood elements in the space and fireplace.
kl23
last year
Ah, the changes that take place when something like real books become less essential. Notice I didn't say obsolete (to all you book lovers out there). Yes, remove those shelves. Decorating deep black holes with clutter is not decorating, though Lord knows I tried in my impoverished period. Throw it away, put it in a drawer, and select a few very nice things to display when ready. We all look forward to more pictures showing the entire space. And give Jan a special treat by providing dimensions of everything you plan to keep (in inches, not feet) and she may pass her magic wand over it and give you a very special room, if you're lucky and if you do what she says.
kl23
last year
I'd love to stick the TV anywhere else. The way it leans out from the fireplace is freaking me out. Maybe where the current shelves are now will hide it. Lower down, maybe over a small chest of drawers where you can stash all your stuff. Maybe a little out from the wall and on an arm you can tilt slightly to face the seating when watching and flat when not. Or on a table stand that swivels (lower tech, lower cost).
kl23
last year
Looks to me like you are the one who likes that orange, so you may not appreciate suggestions to change. It lacks dimension though. Can you enhance it with some deeper similar color like cordovan leather or a wood in a dark red-orange (candle bases?) Or dark red orange velvet drapery panels? And then spike it all with a small amount of turquoise, like in a crazed vase or bowl. That would enhance what must be a favorite color for you and would embrace the gray too.
PRO
Norwood Architects
last year
Can you recreate the built-in that's on the left on the right side so that it is symmetrical about your fireplace - windows and built-ins.
PRO
LiLu Interiors
10 months ago
Maybe a very large plant that will semi cover the small window? You might also look into getting a small roman shade to put in the window as well. Notice the plants in the two designs below:
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Awkward empty space next to fireplace

JAN MOYER

Comments (9)

K G

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