remodel part 2

because our kitchen/living room is connected into a great room, more remodeling was due. in order to extend the kitchen island like we wanted we would need to move the furniture placement around. our living room is not set up the way i would like, the garage entry leads right through the middle of our living space and then there was a bar which spilled over into the living room. so in order to have more seating we needed to put the tv above the fireplace and close up that bar. i strongly disliked our fireplace and had always wanted to redo it and this was the perfect reason. 

when we moved in, i just placed everything we already had wherever it fit and then we waited for this remodel.

i'm not a fan of brick or oak, so this fireplace was not for me. so i sent todd a picture of what i wanted and he built it. 

he had to shave the middle bricks because they stood farther out and took some off the top because the mantel felt too high.

he built the mantel from scratch in his garage.

then cemented over the brick to get a clean, level area for tile.

what a difference! i love it so much!

still need to decorate this room, but this has been a huge transformation for us.

and now to attack that bar. that was the most unused room in our house. there was no good use for it, except storage. and i have always wanted a mud room. not that we need a traditional mud room here in california, i wanted it for organization, a place to throw everyone's backpacks & shoes. what a perfect spot to convert. 

to the right of the kitchen is the bar opening with a counter top which is why seating was so difficult. i was unable to put a couch there because people could hit their heads on the counter.

there's that honey oak again inside the bar area.

 demo day.

framing the window.

bye bye bar, hello mud room...

and again all built by todd in his garage from a picture. love this guy!

shhh, don't tell todd or jason, but i think i heart this room more than the kitchen. "a place for everything, and everything in its place."