Awkward space! Need ideas!

12 years ago

We just moved into this house that has a very awkward space in the family room. It has a weird nook on top with a long narrow window, and a tv nook/fireplace on the bottom. The bottom nook is too small for our tv. The top nook is 88in x 34in. The tv is 55in. All the outlets for the electronics are in the back wall of the tv nook. There's no other place to put the tv, and getting a smaller tv isn't an option!

The first pic is the way it looks now, and the other two are the way it looked before we moved in.

I want to just remove the window and seal off the top nook, and either put shelves in the tv nook or enclose it with doors to hide all the electronics. But I wanted to see if anyone has any other ideas first! Thanks!

Featured Answer

Darzy

12 years ago

I'd suggest making the tv look like a custom, recessed unit. Mantel to ceiling framed molding then simple doors for the tv niche on the bottom. A talented carpenter can design the frame/panel for the tv opening be removable if access is required. Then, paint the FP "unit" a white to make it more of a feature.

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Comments (7)

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Carolyn Albert-Kincl, ASID
12 years ago
I far prefer the solution the previous owner, or the stager, found for the TV. If your own TV is not large enough to cover the opening to the left of the fireplace, paint the opening black and the difference in size will not be as noticeable when you TV is placed on your own media console, pulled out and with the TV placed on top of it.
Carolyn Albert-Kincl, ASID
lefty47
12 years ago
HI -- Yes, it is a very 80's wall for sure . I would take out the dividing shelves . Get a fireplace person in to see if that firebox can be centered in the alcove . Or fill in the opening left of the fireplace so you will have a flat wall to hang the TV on to the same level as the TV - then paint that whole area dark so everything blends together and reads as one ..
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Eileen
12 years ago
Maybe you could have a handyman fill in the tv opening so you can wall mount your TV about where the previous owner had theirs. Have them build in some shelves below the new wall for components. Make sense?
pcvanrobaeys
12 years ago
I would close the top hole completely. But your tv is too large to go on top of that fireplace. Scale is wrong. Also it would be too close to your verticals. If you have the budget get someone in to rework that space. Make the firebox centered and beef up the surround so it is larger than tv then centre tv over it. Worth getting a quote on. Then you can finish it according to your taste.
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JudyG Designs
12 years ago
last modified: 12 years ago
I would permanently block the awning window and close the niche. Hang the t v where it is now and stack the woodbox with a birch logs for a decorative effect.
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m3459
12 years ago
I am with Darzy. You have the recessed niches that most people would covet in order to build a custom media wall with hidden electronics. Maybe a visit from electronics specialists would help the vision. And a talented carpenter as Darzy mentioned.