Our CRT TV Nook to Built-In Shelving Project (mirror, fireplace, paint)
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So, I've seen several people on here talk about what to do with odd niches and nooks in houses. In some ways I understand the desire to just drywall over them, but,when utilized right I think they can be great. I think recessed shelving can look really nice.
Anyway, when my wife and I bought our first house 3 years ago, it had one of those old recessed areas above the fireplace for a boxy CRT TV. This is how it was when we saw the house as well as another picture on our move-in day:
We didn't have a CRT TV, didn't plan to put a TV above the fireplace, and also having the TV on that wall just made the living room face the complete wrong way in my opinion. However, neither of us liked the idea of just hanging a large piece of art over the opening or drywalling over it and putting up art or a mirror as we wanted something to standout since your eye was already drawn to the fireplace as you turn the corner into our living room.
So, we decided on trying to make a big statement with some built-ins. We are really happy with how it turned out and it gets compliments all the time!
A few details before the pictures:
-We wanted the shelves to be removable so that we could easily re-paint or re-wallpaper the area in the future if we change the decor in the living room. So we built cleats and just cut boards to rest on the cleat such that they slide out easily.
-We trimmed out the opening using wooden trim on the sides and "flex" trim along the arch
-We also wanted the wallpaper to be easily removable or changeable in the future. For the wallpaper, we cut foamboard into 3 pieces (one for each shelving section) and adhered the wallpaper directly to the foamboard pieces. These foamboard pieces were cut such that they slide into the back of the nook with their seams/where the pieces meet being hidden by the thickness of the shelving boards themselves. You honestly cannot tell the back isn't wallpaper directly on the wall
-We painted everything white except for the wallpaper in the back
Here are some pictures I took of it a couple weekends ago when we finished the wallpaper:
We might still change the red wall color and the art there. Not 100% certain but it looks SO much better overall to us.
Anyway, this is just the first project of many we hope to start unveiling this fall. I plan to post them on my blog but I'm not sure if I am allowed to post a link to a personal blog here so maybe I'll just make some threads for the different rooms we are doing in our first house as we finish them
Very nice job! In my case, I would have just put shelving in for A/V equipment (A/V receiver, Blu-Ray, cable-box, etc) and an arm-style wall mount for a flatscreen TV, but what you did definitely works very well. But, I know my wife would prefer that solution.
I have a similar situation and need help. The difference is my unit is built into a corner (no arch either) so the TV niche is triangular. I could install a false wall but I do not want to block it off. Any suggestions?
Thanks all! I've seen lots of people on here post some great projects since I've been following the board so I was excited to finally share one of my own.
Yes that is wallpaper behind the shelving. We tried paint (a few different colors) early on and it juts lacked a certain dynamic. The wallpaper provided exactly the dynamic we were missing. It's hard to see in the picture but it is a quirky "underwater" wallpaper depicting weird sea-creatures.
We didn't really want the TV above the fireplace, and also, the room is longer than it is wide. It is open to the kitchen on one of the short sides, and the other short side is the fireplace. It really felt awkward having the TV on the wall with the fireplace. One, it made the room feel very narrow and two you see the fireplace when you first enter that area of the house from the hallway and I don't like the TV being the first thing you see in a room. This way, I mounted the TV on a different wall, and kept the "focal wall" a little more interesting to us
I have a similar situation and need help. The difference is my unit is built into a corner (no arch either) so the TV niche is triangular. I could install a false wall but I do not want to block it off. Any suggestions?
I wish though that builders would stop making these niches or what ever you want to call them, because then the homeowner is kinda forced to really have to do something with it.
To me, it would be a bother, and I am one of those people that absolutely hates with every oiunce of my being, a TV over the fireplace.
but your creativity did make yours look really good.
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