The Brick Flip: Living Room Reveal

ryantinney
Jun 4, 2015
3 min read

I’m nearly inclined to rename this one ‘The Break In’! I must warn you, if you wish to bypass my rant, please feel free to skip the next couple of paragraphs : ).

For some reason this flip seems to have attracted the riff raff of the neighborhood. Before this renovation is completed we will have been broken into three times, having lost all our new faucets, light fixtures, door handles, plus the brand new washer and dryer. They also damaged the new SS fridge and stove that was dragged to the bottom of the stairs as they attempted to force them through the front door. In their effort to run off with anything that wasn’t nailed down (and even that didn’t seem to deter them) the new railings were ripped off the walls and three of the doors and frames were kicked in. What brought me to tears, however, was that they made off with my grandmothers trunk which was there for staging purposes. Certainly it was not worth the most in monetary value, but it was priceless and irreplaceable to me. Live and learn.

It is sad to think that there are people out there that derive pleasure from inflicting such a flagrant lack of respect for what others work so hard to achieve. So, rather than renaming this flip and giving them any more credence then a paltry crumb on my draft, an inconsequential smudge on my post, a mere blip on my blog, let’s move on with ‘The Brick Flip” shall we?

As you can see, here is the reason I called this one the brick flip. A lovely wood fireplace that would cost far too much to reface and I was told, unequivocally, that it was well outside the budget to even think about putting in a new insert. So…you see my dilemma. Impossible! Can’t be done! Tell me it isn’t so! Think. Think. ….

Instead of trying to hide the brick, why not feature it in all it's glory!? Well, it could work. Actually, I find the red brick quite quaint. If I can’t get rid of it, I might as well find a way to love it right? Rather then paint the brick, why not leave the red and match up the kitchen backsplash and call the whole darn thing industrial? Why not I say? So that’s just what I did.

See the lovely valance on the big window? Not just on the living room window, on every single window in the house! Even had a matching mantle. Had to go! Pony wall leading down the stairs, had to go. The wall between the dining room and the kitchen, made it disappear. The center wall of the kitchen, also be gone!

I had a whole new custom mantle designed to go over the rustic red brick. I decided to add storage on either side of the fireplace. I added vintage glass handles and metal front, imparting a dash of industrial. Since it wasn’t panelling, but real wood, I chose to keep the look and painted the wall on either side of the fireplace to match the storage units and mantle. Had there been more in the budget I would have gone with shelving all the way up, but alas, I had to deal in reality folks! Might I also suggest not coming as far out as I did with the storage units in such a small space? In hindsight, they protrude too far into the dining room, especially without the shelving above. As long as I learn from my mistakes I figure it isn’t time wasted, right?

The pony wall was replaced with a custom industrial railing to expand the living room visual beyond the perimeter and into the open space above the foyer.