Help needed for tiny living room with large chimney breast
Hello all,
I live in a tiny house with a tiny living room that's 14'11 x 11'9. Unfortunately it also has a 140cm wide chimney breast as illustrated on the floorplan. The old owners ripped out the beautiful fireplace, left an ugly hole that they kind of boarded up and installed a sort of platform in front of the chimney breast (the mirror is resting on it) that's 1 1/2 inch high and the exact width of the chimney breast.
What would you do with this space in front of the chimney breast? We have a piano on the wall directly opposite the chimney breast and a console and grandfather clock on the wall to it's left, you can just see the console in the picture. On the wall to the right with the windows is a small two seater sofa. We're happy for better suggestions for the layout of the furniture. We don't own a television but have around 1500 books so storage/display ideas for them would be greatly appreciated.
Excuse the mess, we've just moved in!
Comments (12)
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Comments (8)Thanks again :) Hadn't thought about Christmas! Oops, you're right of course, I will have to grab samples if I can and line them up and see what they look like. We've just had the window ripped out and the increase in light is amazing! This at least means I wont be too worried incorporating red in fear of the room looking too dark. The chair rail is a good idea, I'm assuming it's similar to what I referred to as a dado rail? Wooden trim halfway height around the room? We've just ripped ours off, haha, merely because I wanted to completely change the look of the room. Hmm, maybe I've been premature with that decision, it would have allowed me to add a strong colour and still be able to balance it.... Our children are now grown up, one left home, one back and forwards as attending University so no issues with small sticky fingers. However, we do have an incredibly energetic springer spaniel, so I do need the option to 'paint over' any areas he decided he particularly likes! :D...See MoreTiny Living room Help Needed!
Comments (9)Hello bongoflava15, Well small doesn't have to mean boring...I lived in a studio that was about the size of a double garage.. So firstly you need to give the illusion the space is large! For this consider changing the curtains to white to match the walls.. This way they blend and floor length would be good. Could you consider painting the floor to match the walls and paint the doors too as Minnie has suggested.. This way nothing is dominating the vision except the brown sofa.. ..... Hang a huge mirror on the chimney breast to throw light into the room and perhaps one on the opposite wall too.. Oversized mirrors that lean against the wall can be really useful too.. You could still have a chair in front or something but it really gives the idea of double the room, plus the extra light..... You could even paint the chimney breast to give some contrast but consider light chalky colours..... Creamy whites rather than actual white and then stone colours or something similar.. (works with orange too!) Think of interesting storage or over head shelving, chests that double as coffee tables or side tables with lids to put things inside.. Paint the table white to appear less solid and then have a few things to bring life to the room... You have the orange chairs so consider a large wooden bowl filled with oranges to compliment the chairs.. Perhaps orange cushions to go on the leather sofa... Both the sofa and the chairs have something retro about them.. So go with that and find some more interesting things... Paint wooden boxes white and fix them to the walls and create interesting shelving for lovely vases or interesting pieces.... It offers texture but also can be useful! ... Glass is another material that is good for smaller spaces.. Anything appearing transparent or less solid due to a camouflage aspect is a good way to think here... Are all the rooms small? A few youtube video's for interesting really small apartments. Ideas are really good and can be applied to larger spaces... : )) https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=juWaO5TJS00 https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vuLJLJZ69zI...See MoreNeed help with large living room
Comments (2)I think i'd try one of two things:- Firstly, you have two focal points conflicting, the T.V with the Fireplace. Ideally the firplace would be the centre of attention and therefore, I'd move the sofas toward the fireplace from the end of the room and look to putting the dining table at the rear. I can't see how much space you have, but it's a long room, so you should be fine. I wouldn't normally advocate mounting the T.V on the Chimney stack, but as it's not a working fire, I think you can get away with it. Alternatively or secondly:- You could consider built in units either side of the Fireplace in order to facilitate putting the T.V further along the wall to the left. Move the dining table to in front of the wardrobe and the sideboard to the side wall. I can't decide if your feature wallpaper is black and grey or if it has a brown tinge. I'd look to consolidating the palette of colours, as the feature wall and curtains currently don't match so well with the sofa cushions or the chair backs. I'd look to having a dark grey sofa which would go nicely with the carpet. Matching chair covers for the dining table and chairs and then an array of grey, black, pale cream or white cushions on the sofa with a nice plush rug. I'd also look to painting the fire surround as it's a little dated and would tie in better with the feature wall if the colours matched. I'd also pick out a different accent colour that goes very well with greys and blacks, such as mustard or teal or even sagey greens. I would also lose the magnolia wall colour as it's not helping with all the warm / cold colour matching....See MoreI need help with an issue with a chimney breast thats had a gas fire.
Comments (0)Today I've started stripping off the wallpaper from my living room in my new property. I've managed to get past the chimney breast, but I've hit a snag regarding the chimney breast as there used to be a gas fire installed and the right side of it is battened and boarded up, with the bottom part of it still loose as it contains the old gas lever for what was the gas fire. The boarding starts off straight and then becomes uneven leaving a 1/8 inch gap between the baton and the lower end. Does anyone have any idea of how to rectify this issue as I'm painting the living room in two separate colours with the chimney breast as a feature wall....See More
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7 years ago
Mandy Ross
7 years agoSomething like this would work. It gives you storage and somewhere to put your books and also the tv
Mandy Ross
7 years agooliviamanley
7 years agoThank you all. Apologies I'm not sure how to answer individually. I agree that the skirting board jutting out looks very strange, most rooms in the house have some 'interesting' design choices. Would you believe that the man who made these changes has now set up his own building company!
The lamp on the left is from IKEA, I only bought it a few months ago so it should still be available. Unfortunately the lamp on the right is a flea market find so no idea where it came from.
The second alcove is substantially smaller than the one with the bookcase currently in it. I'm just concerned that it may look 'unbalanced' with the built in shelves. I haven't managed to find pictures of rooms with alcoves differing in width. I do love the idea of built in shelves, it seems safer than our current bookcase and adding the storage underneath the last shelf would be helpful.
I have found an original black cast iron Victorian fireplace with a width of 125cm versus the 140cm of the chimney. Would this work with the green wall? The room is painted in Breakfast Room Green and I've attached a photograph of the fireplace.
Thank you for the suggestion about the mirror. This is the first time that the living room has been tidy enough to have the mirror against the chimney breast so it's helpful to have opinions on it's size.
Thank you all again!
Joanna Bradley
7 years ago- PRO
User
7 years agolast modified: 7 years agoI think you'll find that 125cm on against the wall is way too big. That's a big fireplace.
Go for something in the mid range around 30" for the fireplace width and a shelf of 36" ( That's 76cm and 90cm)
I would not shop for a fireplace until you have exposed the hole where the fireplace was to see what dimension you have to fill, the dimensions are as important at the back as they are at the front.
They should be 'complete', that means that they have the grill that slides on to the front, the grill, the ashpan and cover and most importantly the Damper Flap, this goes up and down at the back. When the fire isn't in use you close it to stop the cold air coming down the chimney.
If you are only using the fire for decoration, then the missing components aren't so important and you can buy a Chimney balloon to stop the draft.
You can buy all of the bits and bobs separately, but it can be a pain looking for bits that are missing on an old fireplace as they're kind of unique and individual and vary such a lot.
Here's a handy to link to sizing etc Fireplace sizes
PROTori Black Homes
7 years agoI would suggest cladding the vertical fireplace wall in a brick veneer or a couple of slabs of marble veneer ( depending on which way you want to go - traditional or modern). Get a quote from a local contractor for a partial job. Since it is rather a small wall I would suggest crunching the numbers to see if it is worth spending the money. If you do decide to go for it, I can guarantee it will immediately change the look of the room and give you a jumping-off point to then style the rest of the room around it.
Your room looks a lot like this project we worked on a short while ago. Although we are across the pond, hoping this might give you some ideas for your space. Here's the concept rendering.
TORI BLACK HOME
INTERIOR DESIGN
LOS ANGELES
CALIFORNIA
PROThe Orchard
7 years agoHi Olivia,
What a perfectly formed space you have to work with!
If you are looking to install shelves within your alcoves, we offer a made to measure service for our Reclaimed Wood Shelves with brackets. Prices start at only £35. http://www.theorchardhomeandgifts.com/rustic~94-c/rustic-wall-shelf~rws1-0001-p.html
Also, if you are looking for side tables or a coffee table to perfectly fit your space, we offer a made to measure service on our entire Rustic furniture collection http://www.theorchardhomeandgifts.com/rustic~94-c.html
Good luck with the re-design!
Laura
The Orchard
PRODIY Alcove Cabinets
7 years agoIn our experience,
alcove spaces either side of the chimney breast are rarely the same size. Have
you considered having a desk incorporated into the alcove cabinet on the larger
side? We make bespoke alcove solutions that come in a flat pack format. Our cabinets
are made to measure but more affordable as you or your local carpenter takes
care of the installation and painting (prices start from £390) www.diyalcovecabinets.co.uk/alcove-wardrobes-price-calculator.htm . All the best Samantha
Qualy ArtPinturas
3 years ago
User