Transforming our living room using my simple circular saw
Living Room Before
The first thing my wife said to me is that the carpet has to go! We moved into this home in May excited for the new challenge. However, We had no idea how bad the carpet really was until all of the previous owner's furniture was moved out. We tried to have the carpet cleaned to buy us some time before digging into the remodel, but as you can see, the results were not what we expected. That meant my design time was shortened. I know many would be just fine with a corner fireplace, but I had bigger plans.
I don't own a table saw. All of my cuts are done using my humble, loyal, long-time friend, the JC Penny 1980's circular saw given to me during my first house flip 14 years ago by my dad who probably felt a little pity for me watching me learn the ropes of home improvement. It's now just part of the family. You will understand why this is such an important point after a few slides.
Because this was going to be such a large project, Sheree and I agreed that it would be best for me to stay home while she took the kiddos to the fun, relaxing cabin for the week. That meant I had one week to transform this living room into something reasonably livable. Here's what happened.
Before they left though, I put them to work.
Sheree can now claim that "we remodeled the house"
Coffered Ceilings Layed Out
When mapping out the ceiling, I lined up the center of the room then worked outward to make sure there each box was evenly spaced and symmetrical.
New fireplace frame started, recessed lighting added and centered within the boxes. This proved to be very difficult because the ceiling trusses were spaced only 12" apart due to the required load of the second floor.
I have always loved to have a seat in front of the fireplace, however, I knew this space was small so I made a more narrow hearth. I am glad it is narrow as it would have cramped the space too much. Since she was gone, I couldn't get Sheree's approval. Now that it's built, Sheree keeps feeling like it is too short. Too late now.
For the coffered ceilings, I used 2x6's for the base then custom cut MDF strips that cover the 2x6's.
Below is our kitchen island that I kept around thinking maybe I could temporarily hook it back up, but I eventually gave it a new resting place..at the dump.
This photo was taken Friday night, one day left before Sheree gets home to get the flooring in and clean it up enough that it feels like a reasonably useful kitchen (with no sink)
Saturday-LVP Flooring
This flooring is so awesome to work with. I have never really liked the LVP flooring, but it has gotten a lot better in the last few years and I am really happy how it turned out.
By Saturday night, within 10 minutes from when Sheree and the kids walked in the door, I laid the last piece of flooring. This is what she walked into after helping smash up the fireplace.
Now onto the fireplace:
For the fireplace, I used a Chicago style vintage red thin brick which had rough, worn edges.
This was my first attempt at the german schmear. I tested it on the side in case it did not turn out. The bottom section is much whiter because I tried to apply it like a tile grout by putting it in the cracks then smoothing it with a wet sponge. I quickly discovered that it did not look as good so I just stuck with filling in the cracks then using a grout float, I pushed it into the voids while trying not to spread it on the brick face.
I could have left the ceiling boxes as-is, but for some reason, I was dead-set on cutting hundreds of slats for the inside of the coffered ceiling boxes as I wanted it to have a coastal feel. I was tempted to try to put a varnish on the slats to give the slats a natural wood look; however, I was convinced to just paint them white. I spent so much time up and down the ladder, nailing slats, filling holes, sanding and painting, that I still get tired just looking at it.
(the kitchen island finally disappears)
Now on to the built-in shelves.
8" pine planks from Home depot for the counters
Now that the shelving is in place, the tricky part is making the HVAC venting to work. Since they were not centered, I had to create a channel for the air to flow to the front of the shelving.
This was my way of getting the venting to be centered within the shelving.
There is still a lot to do, but at least it feels like a comfortable space now. I started this room in June 2020 and finally painted the cabinet doors in November. We have been living in this house so this project had a definite impact on our living. We went more than 3 months without a kitchen sink, but, this was totally worth it. At least that is what I keep telling Sheree. We love how the space has been turning out.
Takeaways:
What I love about this project: I love how the ceiling turned out. It has the wow factor I was hoping for and I love how the built-ins compliment the space. Many people who visited seemed worried that the german schmear would not look good, but I feel that it turned out great.
What would I change: In hindsight, I could have gotten a 4x8 sheet of beadboard or something similar to look like slats in the ceiling rather than cut so-many-boards! That took forever and was very tedious.
The venting above the shelving was hard for me to visualize. I wish I had made the shelving just inches longer so that they would have lined up with the upper beams, but that would have caused issues with supplies since I made the shelving width to match the standard lengths found at the hardware store. I also wish I had made the trimming larger where the vents are so that the space did not seem so plain.
I would have preferred a gas fireplace, but the electric fireplace has been nicer than I expected. It has a space heater built-in which feels perfect for our desert winters. Not too hot, not too cold.
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