Sunday, October 22, 2006

Mystery of the hidden fireplace

Our Saturday night adventure sounds like a Nancy Drew title!

I've been stymied by furniture placement in the living room.

That giant armoire I bought for $100? Didn't fit, and gouged the floor in the process.

Desperate for a focal point, we decided to uncover what we thought was a fireplace. We could see the chimney on the front of the house and a blank space between windows (where I wanted the armoire to go).

Dad got his tools, and Andrew ran in circles for half an hour.

It is an exciting thing to start cutting holes in the exterior wall of your home!

No skeletons or treasure maps, but we did find a nice clean opening.

Now all I need is a pretty salvaged mantlepiece!

I'm having a chimney company give us an estimate for repair, but we probably won't make the fireplace functional due to cost and safety.

Since we've never had a fireplace before, it's aesthetically pleasing, working or not!

13 comments:

Mrs. Happy Housewife said...

A treasure hunt with a lovely result - cool.

ravengal said...

What a great find!! Your dh did a very neat job with the wall opening.

Wendy said...

Wow! That turned out so nice. Looks like you have a beautiful home.

melissa said...

how fun and exciting to uncover this hidden treasure! A picture or flower decoration above would be just right!

Queen of Carrots said...

What an enterprise!

We have a non-working fireplace. The way our furniture worked, we wound up covering it with the loveseat. This creates a little tunnel and cave of which the ducklings are very fond. But I'm still not too sure about the visual effect.

Anonymous said...

How cool is that!!!! My girlfriend's fireplace is not functional, and she puts candles in it to light. Have fun!

Meredith said...

Q of C, I suspect that's why someone boarded this fireplace up. It's a difficult room in which to arrange furniture (long and skinny).

Kim C. said...

What fun! I love fireplaces, functional or not. Can't wait to see what you do with yours!

Someone Beautiful said...

Wow, you are brave! It is wonderful it turned out to be a sturdy fireplace. Maybe you can light candles in it. I know a family that keeps their TV in it, but I wouldn't like that. I'm sorry to hear about the armoire. We haven't been able to find a used one that will fit so far either.

DonnaB said...

That is so exciting! You can always make it functional later!

Goslyn said...

That is the best story I have ever heard. I wish, wish, wish my old house had a hidden fireplace, but I'm pretty sure we would have found it by now if it did.

Wow. I am SO impressed.

Anonymous said...

wow! i'm impressed with your sleuthing!

I too have a 1940s house and the living room is JUST SO SKINNY. Who would cover a fireplace? I've actually toyed with the idea because creating a conversation grouping is nigh on impossible!

We live way up north, so use it several times a season (installed a wood-burning insert which is so much more effecient and warm) If you DO burn in it, be sure to have a serious firescreen. Which saves the little ones but further REDUCES your floor space.

I've often though of raising the hearth, and turning it into a wood-burning BRICK OVEN and the LR into a dining area/keeping room and building a big family room off the back for couches and conversation.

debbie

With His Grace said...

That is ridiculously cool! I am so jealous, because that is just the sort of thing I would love to do and have! I can imagine how scary it was though not knowing what you might find and yet still making big holes (my o.h. would have not had a problem though). Congrats! It is really pretty, think of all the history that could have gone on around YOUR fireplace!