Well, I haven't been around here much posting, but I do poke my nose in to see what's happening now and then.

 

I have been working for some time on renovating our "Builder Standard Junk" fireplace into a more Arts & Crafts style design as we are working at turning our entire family room into an A&C / Mission design. It has been on hold for some time as we did not have a cohesive plan. Well, I had a plan but trying to get my wife to understand what I was talking about was an up hill battle. That was up until we made a trip to the "Gamble House" in Pasadena, CA and I was able to show her what A&C design was. We spent about 2 hours in their gift shop looking through design books and we walked out with it all planned out with all of our colors being based off a special Motawi A&C tile that is the center of our new fireplace. It will be a long process, but now that the fireplace is done, I will get working on the other stuff once we get past Christmas.

 

So here is what I started out with and what I ended up with once it was completed. This is one of those rare projects that turned out exactly like I pictured it in my mind.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Looks good Allen, I like how you incorporated the same tile pattern as the flooring.

Great work Allen, and just in time for our chilly days ahead! The tile work is wonderful as John stated, and it really lends a much warmer look to the whole area then your old builder white design did.

I might add one comment on that side of the house, I see you have set in place furnishings on both sides of the fireplace, might we be seeing an awesome built in A&C wall system going in on both sides of the fire place? Do I see another project on the way in the Worsham home?

PS, I Love the painting above your fireplace, George Washington Praying beside his horse?

Wow and wow, that is an awesome transformation. Outstanding job Allen. I love the tile work and I really like the accent tile. Don't you just love it when a plan comes together. Sometimes the vision is there and getting everyone else to see it takes a bit, but the outcome is spectacular.

Did you build the other cabinets along the wall?

And as John ask are you planning on making any changes to them in the A/C style? They look great as they are just wondering.

Well it is ready for the stockings to be hung by the fireplace. Just in time for Christmas.

Kudos to you on a great job.

Thanks for the nice comments.

The bookcases to the right of the fireplace covers 2 walls and has a window seat. It was one of those projects where my wife wanted just on one wall and then grew from there. You know the old "As long as you are building that double book case, you could add one in the corner over to the window." Later on "Since there is nothing between the window and the fireplace, why not make a window seat and another bookcase up to the fireplace?" So it was a 3 year project done in about 8 seperate pieces and I was sooooo tired of it when it was done. But I did not make the doors for the base cabinets as I didn't know what style I wanted as I knew that I wanted to do the rest of the family room and wanted everything to tie in together. The main carcus is pretty much universal and the routing on the edges is simple so by changing the crown molding and doing a different style of cabinet doors and drawer fronts, I can make it pretty much whatever style I want. The bookcases were stained only with no topcoating as I was planing on doing it in place with a wipe on finish. The finish on the fireplace is "Zinsser's Amber Shellac" which I really likes the looks of. I will be using that for the bookcases by spraying them. I did a test piece with the same stain on it as the bookcases and it will match in just fine.

The armoiur to the left is a free standing unit that was store bought when we moved in in 2001. The entertainment center opening is an odd size and we had a larger TV so I looked all over the place until I finally found this one that would just fit into the hole (with about 1/4" on each side) and hold our larger TV. This piece will be removed (it is a single piece unit so it is very heavy and a bear to move) and I will do a built-in that will tie into the fireplace and will have doors and trim to match the bookcases in a more A&C design. I have a few ideas in mind for the doors when I get to that point, but it is not yet carved in stone.

The built in's look great and you are correct with very little change they will fit right in with the theme you are doing. I like the look of built in book cases.

Thanks so much for posting and sharing those here.

Good job Al. Looks really good and an improvement over the old.

Nice work Allen I like the combination of tile and wood. Going to the Gambel house has to inspire anyone that's into woodworking. This looks great.