We are a week away from closing, and I have been trying to plan out as much of the renovations as possible. We've decided on many of the flooring and paint colors, but aren't buying anything until we have the keys in hand. In this home, the kitchen is open to the family room, which has a fireplace flush with the wall. I would like to build in some storage and also place the tv on this wall, but was reluctant to hang it ovet the fireplace. Much like the picture below, the fireplace is smaller than the tv. I like the look of these built-ins, which give the appearance of a recessed fireplace. Most fireplaces with built-ins have an interior chimney, leaving space to create built-ins flush with the front of the fireplace. I like the way that the fireplace below has tile extending past the built-ins, since it is close to the ground.
I may or may not have a mantle, as I am considering tiling the fireplace to the ceiling, like in this photo:
Despite never building a ... well, much of anything before, I intend to not only build out the fireplace, but also the dividing walls between the living room and dining room. Three foot walls on either side create a 7 foot opening, in which i would like bookcases facing each other like these:
On the dining room side, I would like small serving counters and storage. On the living room side, I would like laptop desks with storage, like this:
There's no actual pantry in the kitchen, just a pantry cabinet next to the refridgerator. To get the most use out of the space, I am going to build or buy a drawer system, like this one:
It's so easy to search for ideas that it's hard to resist incorporating them all. Another great site to check for inspiration is houzz. A lot of the home images from Pinterest originate from that website. There are thousands of examples for home design and renovation, and are searchable by keywords. You can create idea books as well, which helps to organize your favorites.
