Here's a couple of quick thoughts:

1) Can the green chair fit in the corner where the two windows are & there currently sits a table?

2) Would it work to mount the TV over the fireplace?

3) Also, do you use the piano in that room? Seems that by having a TV & piano in the same room you they might be competing with each other. Any chance the piano could be moved?

4) Lastly, there is a lot of furniture in that room. Carefully consider each piece and ask yourself "does this really need to be here?" "is it used often enough to justify being here" and "is there anywhere else it can be stored?"
I know this is tough with a baby around, but sometimes we just get used to how things are and think they have to stay that way.

Nice space, good luck! You'll find all sorts of wonderful & helpful advice here.

-fillagirl

Melle,

My thought about floating the couch was out from the corner by the garage door. Would not be as bad to open the door and bob the couch ad bopping the piano. Then put the piano on the wall where the couch is in the pictures now. Maybe need to move the couch just a little forward of the corner or put a door stop on the floor behind the couch to catch the door.

WE have a treadle sewing machine behind our love seat in the living room side entry. Our house is way weird long story.

Even a nice narrow sofa table behind the couch while in the door way would make a nice entrance. It looks like you might even be able to angle the couch for better TV viewing.

This would separate the Piano and TV. Free up that corner where the piano is and you could fit the play pen there when your littlest one is not needing to watch TV.

I also understand your DH wanting presence in your house. Mine used to complain about it too.He still wines about it a little but mostly he gave up. Hehehehe. Now he lives in a girlie house. Poor guy. As long as he has his recliner and TV he is happy.

I forgot to say before I LOVE the look of your couch and chair set. Your chair looks so soft and nice. I would love to come put my feet up on your ottoman.

I have also altered furniture and it is not all that hard to do. I made space in a small dresser for my printer once.OH and once we cut the side out of our entertainment center to be able to see the TV better. Now that WAS a butcher job but it worked for us. But if that dresser is wicker and a good one. Well Might be a shame to wreck it.

I really would like those blinds you have and can not find them anywhere around here. Sigh.

Chris

"He's very possessive about his stuff b/c he feels like he has no representation in our house. Everything on top of the dresser is connected to the tv so I don't think it can be moved to the shelf."

melle I have the same problem here, I dont know why we need so many components but they're all vital according to DH LOL. If the dresser is a nice piece of furniture then I would think about getting something more suitable rather than altering it, but if you're not that fussed about it then the alterations would be quick and easy to do and then all you need to do is cut some holes in the back panel and pull the cords through the back so they can connect up to the tv

with the piano I think you need to separate it from the tv console so they're not lined up like that, would it be possible to move the piano to the corner to the right of the fireplace, maybe angled across the corner and move that table somewhere else?

I had another thought so just tell me to shut up. Hehehe

The piano looks very dark like the TV. Can you find a cloth/dresser scarf, to go on the top of the piano either in the red or going nicely with the red of the chest to lighten the look of the piano. I think it might put your eye more to the TV instead of the total darkness of the piano.

One more thought. Is there enough space between the door frame and the corner of the wall by your piano to screw that tall shelf to the wall creating a partial wall. Then you could turn your piano. Paint the back of your shelf to match your room. Hang your pictures on the back of the shelf now wall. then you could move the corner table under the window to the other side of your fireplace and your chair in the corner.

Chris

Tomorrow I'm going to try to do a to-scale diagram of our LR and fiddle w/furniture arrangement. It's so true, we have too much furniture crammed in there. When I bought the couch/chair/ottoman it looked so small in the showroom...but then it came to live with us and, surprise, not small! That was almost 5 years ago, though, and there is actually less furniture in the LR now then ever before :-) Now I know to measure etc.

I'd like to change the chair for something smaller, and maybe get a storage ottoman instead of the one we currently have, but I recently quit my job to be a SAHM so there's no $ for things we don't need. Maybe I could find someone on CL to chair-swap!

*****

fillagirl: to answer some questions:
1 -- It could; once-upon-a-time that's where we had it. The couch would jut out in the space the chair currently sits and the couch wouldn't be centered on the wall. Also it would make it difficult for me to open/close the windows during mild weather.

2 -- No; I would have to ask DH to re-route all his wiring and there would be no place for his components...it would be a disaster er, a fight. He has everything connected to a networked computer (if you're interested, it's the component on the far right) and whatever cable it all has to connect to is on the wall w/the tv. I know it was a lot of work for him to place it there so it stays. :-(

I guess this is what you get when you put your media room and living room and music room all in the same little room LOL ;-)

3 -- No we don't really use the piano but there is no other place for it in our house. It has sentimental value and I would like to get back into playing eventually. This is our only living room, the other rooms are entry area, kitchen, and three bedrooms and those rooms do not have extra space.

4 -- You are totally right, but the only thing I could really consider eliminating is the chair/ottoman. I'd have to ask DH since he's been sitting there a lot lately but I think he'd agree. :-) I'm not sure if that would help w/the piano problem.

*****

Chris:

I think it would be great to put the piano on the couch wall and move the couch, but I'm not sure how DH would feel since the couch wall is the best place to sit and watch tv. In fact, I think it would really annoy him. I love the look of a couch w/a sofa table behind it--so elegant! Just not sure we have the space...

*****

Trancegemini:

I have no prob w/altering the dresser, but the only components that would fit in the space after removing top drawers and doing some cutting are the computer, the blue-ray player, and the playstation. The receiver and Wii are too tall.

I wish the piano could fit in that window corner; if I moved it there I would not be able to access the windows (but I'd have a big storage space behind it) and it would block off part of the fireplace. Also it's not a good idea to put a piano near a window or a fireplace, the temp changes affect the tune.

*****

I really appreciate all your thoughts! I've gone round and round w/this room. It really frustrates me b/c I have all these emotional constraints regarding what's in the room. I agree that the dresser and piano should, ideally, be separated.

I just don't know that it's possible for me to separate the piano/dresser and still have a functional room. That's why I was wondering if putting some type of delineation on the wall, maybe via floating shelves or something, might help. I've never seen it done, though, so maybe it would just look weird.

I have another idea: what about cutting the top row of drawers off the dresser and re-attaching the top of the dresser at a lower level? This would change the height of the dresser but we'd lose storage. Would it be enough to break up the piano-dresser line?

Chris I LOVE your shelf suggestion! I wish the living room had some type of partition as you're suggesting...but there is only 4 inches from the edge of the trim around the garage door to the corner. No space to attach a shelf.

However... maybe I can ask DH to build a two-foot wall there, just long enough to put the piano against it. Maybe it could even have a cut-out or some type of architectural interest. Not sure what he'll think of the idea and it's not something he could do right away, but it would totally solve the problem. He knows how to add walls. I'll have to mock it up and think about it, maybe try to photoshop some photos so I can see how it would look.

Thanks for the thought!

Melle sacto, I have some virtual graph paper as shown in the drawing below that I did of your room. The only thing I really like about what I did was the smaller component cabinet. Was hoping you could find it on CL since I know I've seen them on ours. We used to have one that held our stereo back in the days when you can stereo components and not ipods. Oh what changes I've seen in my little more than half century of life. LOL. Anyway if you'd like to have a copy of the graph paper I'd be happy to email it to you. I found it online, but altered it for better use in arranging rooms to scale.
Here's what I drew up.
{{gwi:1572673}}

Of course I have no idea what sizes your furniture is. Was just guessing by similar items I found online so this may be way off. Christopher Lowell (sp?) said you need minimum of eighteen inches walk way between furniture and there's twenty five between the piano and the chair. I didn't leave that amount around the ottoman, but if you are like us that's one thing that seems okay to break the 18 inch rule with.
You can email me by clicking on my nickname which takes you to my profile.

Oh, what a great idea to add to the wall! That could solve a whole lot of your problem.

Even a short pony wall would work. I did this at one house we had to make storage in a very long room.I used two china cabinets coming out from the walls like wings.No camera at that time. Darn. Worked great. Considering doing it here between our kitchen and dinning room. But right now it is fine as it is. Maybe some day.

That graph paper looks like fun. Can you post the link where you got it? I am considering moving a couple of rooms around here now we have been here for awhile.

Thanks Chris

I don't remember where I got it Chris. It was just a graph paper made for using with math assignments. I added the two different colors to make it easier to count feet when making floorplans. Each square is three square inches. Just email me through GW and I'll email you a copy.

Can you angle the piano across the corner where it is now or would there not be enough room to access the chair and ottoman?

It's hard w/o knowing dimensions of furniture, but I like Chris's idea (was going to suggest it myself but she beat me to it) of moving piano to wall where couch is now, angle chair and ottoman into window corner, and angle couch in the open area. I don't think moving the couch would change TV viewing that much (esp if you can move the piano then you can move the TV more to the left). What kind of TV is it? LCD? You have to see where the angle gets too much to see anything.

You still need some kind of media center with lots of shelves though. Check CL for something once you get the furniture arrangement figured out, then you'll know what you can fit. If you live in CT or SW MA, I've got a stand and audio pier on CL - going to Goodwill soon if nobody replies, I'll sell them to you for what I'd take for tax writeoff!

Jeez, I sympathize with you, as the rest of the space looks well-done. Love the bookcase to balance the window on other side of fireplace. Like how your arrangement over fireplace draws the eye up toward high ceiling. Hardly a priority, but I would love to see a fireplace screen that exactly follows curve of fireplace opening. Your floor lamps and matchstick blinds add a warm feeling to the space.

Furniture looks great, altho' scale is large for the room. Is the chair/ottoman used for TV viewing, i.e. must it face the TV? It would look great angled next to fireplace, across from sofa. You would probably need to shift TV down towards foyer a bit for this to work. And of course, relocate piano (more on that below).

With a small room, a measured floor plan really helps. When I ball-parked one, with your existing furniture arrangement, I had to make the fireplace wall 13-ft wide - is that correct? Along the same lines, not sure these suggestions would work, but if I'm lucky:

With the chair/ottoman repositioned next to fireplace bookcase, you could try to float the piano, at right angle to where if now is. Bench seat could be in living room, or perhaps it would work better with bench seat in foyer. But I think perhaps the garage door makes that a no-go?

Another possibility for relocating the piano is to angle it in the foyer where the built-in is, altho' I can't really tell if there is enough room. Must the piano have a solid wall behind, or can it float? In general, I think I'd try to place the piano somewhere in what looks to be a large foyer.

I too wondered if there was room for the piano in the foyer area, but with the one door opening at an angle from the other it didn't look like there'd be enough room. If it did fit between the doors with still enough clearance that would be awesome. Oh to have a large enough entry for a piano!

I wonder if something like this would work for you? You could make blocks bigger to hold the TV, put the components in their own little boxes, and leave a section at the left hand area for the piano to sit.

The bonus of this is that you could paint the boxes to match your walls, paint them white to contrast and you'd get tons of storage. Curtains over the ones that you don't want to see would be cute, and you could use storage bins like these people did for books, toys, etc.

This is rough floor plan I meant, assuming my dimension guesses are not way off:

Wow my head is spinning with all your ideas! :-)

I WISH our "foyer" had room for the piano but it doesn't. :-( The foyer doesn't really have room for anything.

The piano is 56" long, the wall by the built-in is 48". The space bet. the front door and garage door is 36". The "foyer" is just a complete waste of space, another problem-area. I did post about it on the Small Homes forum over a year ago, and if you're interested I attached the link. I haven't done any of the suggested ideas, mostly b/c of time/money/kids. I'm seriously considering getting rid of the aquarium b/c I don't have time for it and I only have two tiny fish in it currently. Now that I have kids and an overgrown garden, I'm getting my need to nurture taken care of ;-) My DH has two Japanese dolls in glass display boxes that are being stored in a closet b/c we have no place to display them and they would fit in the built-in. They would also be no maintenance :-)

The LR room is 11 feet wide; the tv/piano wall is the longest wall at 13 feet.

I tried to angle the couch in the spot where the chair currently sits but the couch almost completely blocks access to the room in that orientation. The opening to the room is 122" long and the couch is 88" long, that leaves a bit less that three feet of clearance on one side. To enter the room you'd have to walk into the kitchen and around to the couch opening. It seemed awkward.

I really think the couch is too big--it's 88" long. I got a great workout moving it around though ;-)

If the chair/ottoman would fit next to the shelf, I would love to move it there. However, my DH has a sub-woofer speaker (not pictured) on the floor to the right of the dresser so that takes up some space. The sub could sit to the left of the dresser if the piano was turned and that would free up the corner. Which means building out the wall, an idea I'm really leaning toward.

I just wonder if building out the wall would make the "foyer" look even more chopped up?

Originally, when this house was built, the LR was completely enclosed by walls w/a 4 or 5 foot opening that faced the entry area. The POs of the house took out all those interior walls plus a large closet in the "foyer"; the built in is what remains of the closet. I wish they had at least faced it toward the door but that is neither here nor there.

It's kind of funny that we've slowly been putting back walls as we live here. It seems counter-intuitive to me, but it's almost as though because the space is small you need those walls to put furniture...at least when you have too much furniture that is too big :-)

Here are two more photos: one shows the LR viewed from the "foyer" (sorry it's gotten messier since yesterday). The other shows the added wall--I realize it looks pretty cheesy, I used MS Paint to draw the wall. I think the LR doesn't look as welcoming as it does w/o the wall, but it doesn't look as bad as having the piano next to the dresser, either!

Current:
{{gwi:1541371}}

With wall. I think if DH builds me a wall, the dresser and tv can slide to the left and the big chair would def. fit angled by the shelf--I should have moved the chair out of the way for the pics but didn't think of it:
{{gwi:1541372}}

This is actually fun to think about now! Oh, justgotabeme, I will email you for the graph paper--that looks WAY usedful. Thanks for the offer :-)

Melanie

Here is a link that might be useful: Thread about entry

gwbr54--I did not understand that you meant to angle the piano against the built-in. I measured and it actually would fit there lengthwise, but the back would fit corner to corner and the piano jut out 2 feet into the walking space/playing space so it might not be practical. I will discuss w/DH to see what he thinks from a functional perspective.

Without the foyer included in floor plan, it is hard to tell if it would be cramped/awkward, but here's an update with the correct 11-ft vs 13-ft walls:

If the piano is angled into the corner, it leaves about 4 feet between the front door and the jutting corner of the piano. I think it won't be as roomy as it is now, which is why I want to see if DH will try it and see.

I'm so excited, I hope he'll agree to move it. I know he said it was a pain to move around.

Is there any possibility that the top of the piano can be used for the TV components without damaging the Piano? Like if you had a thick piece of glass cut to size and beveled to protect it's surface? That would eliminate the need for the red dresser if all in it could be stored on the bookshelf or in a storage ottoman like you mentioned you might get.

I like the idea of building an additional half-wall so the t.v. and piano could be separated. However, if that isn't feasible, what if you used a paint treatment behind the television to add emphasis to the center of the room? You could use quarter-round to create a picture frame behind the television and paint it an accent color. That would draw your eye to the television and give it more presence on that wall. You could even add some artwork (one rectangular piece or 3 smaller pieces) over the painted square to add more height.

That said, you have a beautiful fireplace. I almost hate to have the t.v. compete with the fireplace. My only other idea was to angle the television beside the fireplace, where the tall bookshelf is now. (But the bookcase looks so good there!)

Lots of great ideas here, good for you. At the end of the day, think your issue is that the space could use some "breathing room"; perhaps consider eliminating some furniture or a function.

Since you said you currently don't use the piano, could you store it somewhere for the time being? If you find you miss it, you can always bring it back again. Just a thought because it will be difficult to fit in all the planned functions in this space, plus have baby & kid stuff in there as well.

Fitting piano in small house with no wall space: I feel your pain!

Would it be out of the question to combine a few of the ideas here and put built-ins on the tv/piano wall, but put the tv over the piano? One big cubby, so to speak, for the piano, and surrounding shelves could house components?

I just love the idea of putting the TV on the wall above the piano. That would then give you the room for the playpen. What a genius idea.

dody

My DS wants all his components out in the open so they don't overheat, so I can't hide them.

Having them on bookcase shelves with an inch of clearance on all sides is all it takes to prevent overheating. (trust me, I used to work with the designers of this stuff on the specs)

"The black binders that flank the dresser are where my DH stores a bunch of DVDs he never--I mean rarely--watches. He is very sensitive about my putting his stuff out of sight--he wants everything in plain view--so that's where they sit right now. We don't have room in the dresser for them b/c of video games, board games, other DVDs.

Looks like time for some bookcase units with adjustable shelves to replace the dresser you are using for a TV stand.

1 - DS's electronic gadgets go on shelves just big enough for them and vent space (add 2" to the height of the tallest component for ventilation)

2 - DH's big black binders goes on the bottom shelf, along with big books.

3 - The games in the drawers go onto shelves sized to just fit the cases, title side out. Controllers and such go into labelled boxes or baskets on one shelf.

4 - Wall mount the TV.

I only skimmed thew post so forgive me if this has already been suggested but couldn't you get a corner entertainment center for the TV and components. They practically give those things away now on CL. Paint it white so that it looks like a built-in. This would make better use of the corner and the piano could be centered on the wall.

Personally, if the piano is not being used I would stash it in one of the kid's rooms. If they are ever going to be taking piano lessons sometime down the road this might work to an advantage for when they "practice".

http://images.google.com/images?q=corner%20entertainment%20center&oe=utf-8&rls=org.mozilla:en-US:official&client=firefox-a&um=1&ie=UTF-8&sa=N&hl=en&tab=wi

Here is a link that might be useful: Corner EC

I can only check in for a short time right now! You've all given me so many ideas it's a lot to digest.

My kids are small, 5 years and 7 months, and they don't have space in their rooms for the piano plus I'm not sure we could maneuver it around the tight corners anyway. I wouldn't trust it w/my 5 year old unless I wanted it to become "shabby chic" really fast ;-) Since it has a mid-century modern look, I'm not sure it could pull off shabby chic.

The tv is wall-mounted already, but I can see how it looks like it sits on the dresser.

I completely forgot about this, but the tv used to sit on the piano before we mounted it on the wall and got the dresser! I really hated it b/c when I sat down to play the screen was right in my face. I didn't like it. We had an audio tower in the corner for all the components, but it didn't offer additional storage for all the stuff we have so gave it to my BIL.

A corner entertainment unit is a great idea, but it would jut out past the wall next to the garage door--I think it would look weird unless we actually extend the wall anyway. I'm really leaning toward angling the piano across the built-in in the entry, then asking DH to extend the LR wall. He's going to do some re-texturing in the LR this summer, anyway, so he might be amenable to adding a wall. I really would like our entry to feel more like an entry, not just a waste of space, and adding some wall next the garage would be practical as well. We can hang some pretty hooks for jackets and things like keys, mail, eventually backpacks, diaper bag etc that currently don't have a home and get left out, sometimes lost, a lot.

Also I'm not concerned at all about the play pen--if people come over it can get packed up in less than one minute; Graco Pack-n-Plays are genius!

You've all given me lots of great feedback! I think it's just a matter of me thinking the ideas through, talking w/DH, and trying to project our needs for the future.

I would also recommend one of the last posters suggestions to move components and binders to the new shelving unit and wall mount the TV - get rid of the chest all together. THere are remotes with infrared that allow you to separate the components easily from the TV. We just did this and have 3 TVs that are run remotely with all the components in the IT closet.

I totally understand the comfort of a big comfy couch but I would seriously conisder getting rid of the big chair - it really feels like anywhere you put it that element really sticks out as not fitting the room.

I agree the full wall is not pleasing to look at from the entrance - however you could do something very cool with asymmetrical cut outs starting half way up. These could display favorite objects - in fact you could move the dolls from the built-in with the fish tank and then remove the built-in at some point and make the wall long enough for the piano - that would make a lovely piano niche and open up your living room even more.

We just rebuilt after 15 year in a Not So Big House and we only remodeled after I had exhausted all our options for maximizing the space when our kids arrived. It was kind of fun and it really helped to think about multi-use rooms and where to place important things when we designed the new house that is still in the Not So Big category but function far better.

While I was also tempted to say store the piano for now - I also can understand the need to see it as a reminder that some day life will slow down a tiny bit and you will have time to play again ;-)

The corner entertainment center gave me an idea. Only I put it in the corner you have the white bookcase there now.
I not only lengthened the wall by the garage door giving you are real living area, but extended the hallway wall that faces the front door giving you a real foyer. Even added a Demi-table for you. You could always add a small hall tree (mine is 31.5W x 16.25D x 71H) between the garage and main entry doors.
Here's the floor plan with the above mentioned changes...
{{gwi:1572677}}
And here's the small hall tree I have. I got it shortly after we moved in. Right after the kitchen floor was installed.
{{gwi:1572678}}

A corner unit does not have to be humongous. It can be like a dresser and fit to corner shape.

{{gwi:1572679}}

Or have hidden storage in a narrow footprint corner cabinet.

Since your DH likes to have everything "out in view" maybe just a corner TV cart as a low cost option.

BTW, what size is the TV? Photos can be deceiving but it looks like your TV could certainly fit in a typical cabinet and be placed in either corner.

{{gwi:1572682}}

gldnfan--> I like your idea of removing the built-in and making it a longer wall to hold the piano. I never considered taking it out, not sure how DH will feel though. Any of this construction work is something he'll have to do and I don't know if he wants to do it.

Can you please explain more about what you mean by asymmetrical cut outs? I think you're talking about openings in the wall where the LR would peek through. But what type of asymmetry, how many openings?

I'd really like to play the piano w/my kids, sing songs and that kind of stuff, but I don't have sheet music for kiddie songs and I'm pretty rusty...it just gets back-burnered but maybe I'll try to find a piano song-book in the next few months :-) Actually, I could probably borrow one from my parents b/c they save everything!

Justgotabeme--> I like your hall tree! Maybe one day I'll find one on CL that will fit bet. the front door and garage door! Your room layouts looks great, too, especially the thought of having a real foyer :-)

It looks like you lengthened the LR wall quite a bit more than I was considering--you pretty much put back what would have originally been here before the POs took the wall out, but there was an opening in the middle of the wall so you could enter the LR and would face the fireplace. I've thought, many times, that I'd like to re-enclose the LR, maybe put the same opening back, and have another opening to the kitchen. If we did something like that then our ceiling would make more sense; as it is now the ceiling looks weird b/c the LR has a vaulted ceiling but the rest of the ceiling is 8'. I might run that idea by my real estate friend just to see what she thinks.

Dilly dally --> Our tv is 38" inches I think but DH wants to get a 52". He said he read in his Crutchfield catalog that it wouldn't be too big for the viewing distance to the couch. I'm not sure I agree...

Getting any more furniture really isn't an option right now. I def. agree that the huge armchair is too big for the room.

Melle, could you hubby build a corner unit for the TV?

Justgotabme--> I don't know if he could--if he thought we needed one he'd rather buy it. Also, since he wants a 52" TV, that will not fit well in the corner. The TV position is pretty much fixed b/c he will not re-route the wiring. When we decided on layout the piano wasn't here and it wasn't even on my radar.

I talked to him about angling the piano in front of the built-in and he's not interested. Plus, in thinking about it more, I think it will take up too much space in the entry.

I talked to him about extending the wall in the LR and he wasn't too interested. I explained about moving the piano against the built-out wall and he said he understood the point but was still not that interested. I think what I'm going to try is to construct a faux wall out of pieces of cardboard taped together and we'll live with it for a while just to see how we like it.

I really hope gldnfan will give me some additional info about what the asymmetrical cut-outs would look like :-)

Well, there's not much you can do other than wait until you happen upon the perfect piece of furniture for holding the components. Guys and their electronics. LOL Oh well. They have to control something in the household besides the purse strings. What would we do without them though, huh?
I think gdnfan meant something like what's in the link below.

Here is a link that might be useful:

Agreed! I love DH but we just don't agree when it comes to decorating. I guess the solution is we need a house w/a media room :-) LOL--maybe one day... I think if I like the fake wall I construct from cardboard then DH will build a real wall, but that's probably all he'll build--he's not a carpenter.

I can't access the link for "Wall with cutouts"; the internet says 404 access forbidden :-( If I can see an example then I can put cutouts into my fake wall.

Darn, that's the only picture I could find. Basically it's a wall that you frame out window, but instead of adding a window you cover the inside of the opening like you would the end of a wall. Just openings, cutouts, in the walls.

Something like this but not framed out? Hmmm, so the view to the LR isn't entirely blocked...

How do I know what size it should be, and why/how is it asymmetrical?

Here is a link that might be useful: {{gwi:1572666}}

I was just talking about cutouts in walls in general. Asymmetrical would be if they, more than one cutout, were not the same size/shape.

If your hubby isn't much at carpentry he may not want to tackle cutouts in the walls. All the right angles and then the mud. So not fun. Do you have a family member or friend that you could trade projects with to help out?

Hmmm, I know he's framed out windows before. If it's like a window he could do it. I know he wouldn't want to build an entertainment center b/c that is much more detailed and he doesn't have tools, like a router, for decorative wood work.

I really think building out this wall is the best choice for us now that we have the piano. I just need to get my fake wall constructed and experience it for a while. One thing I think I'll like is that you won't see the tv as easily when you first enter the house. I can't wait to get enough cardboard together--I might even be able to paint it if I can find our LR paint :-)

I know that if this wall gets built, then we'll have a problem w/the entry being really dark b/c it only has one light! I'm sure I'll have some lighting questions for the forum :-) I really like the can lights DH installed for our kitchen remodel, but do people put those in their entry? LOL, one thing always leads to another...

I actually have several interior decorating books on reserve from the library that I hoped might have pics or ideas for our situation, I can't wait to pick them up!

Melanie the hard part about making the cutouts would be the finishing mud, in my opinion anyway. But then I hate patching a tiny nail hole in the wall.
Depending on what kind of cutting tools you have making a built in corner unit wouldn't be that hard. The measuring and cutting everything straight is the hardest. I make simple furniture. How you trim it is what makes it. HoDe and Lowes carries great trims for finishing projects. I made the corner unit out of a door. It doesn't have the finishing touches in the pictures though.
{{gwi:1572683}}

What kind of fixture do you have in your entry now?

I rarely look at decorating books though I do have a few. Somewhere. Their not in the library. I mean the one in our house. Not the public library.

Oh I forgot to mention that a corner unit could easily be made using two doors instead of cutting one in half the way I did. Two thirty six in doors would have a fifty one inch opening at the front. A fifty two inch TV is less than 50 inches wide so it would fit the unit, but I can't remember what amount of space you had at the side of the fireplace, so not sure the unit would fit in that corner.

Good luck finding a solution. I hope he likes the idea of a wall.

That corner door shelf idea is very creative! I think a two-door unit might fit in the corner, but it would be close; hard for me to get an exact measurement due to the shelf currently in the corner. Anyway, since I started the shelf project it's very unlikely that DH will want to change anything.

LOL--DH doesn't like the idea of any "unnecessary" remodeling or furniture-moving!

The entry has a bowl-type fixture that was here when we moved in. I don't really like or dislike it. We have another, similar (but much cheaper-looking), fixture in the hall. I guess they kind of look like b00bs so, in that regard, I'm not a fan ;-) It would be cool to replace the hallway one w/a solatube skylight (we put one in the bathroom and it's awesome).

I think DH is planning to sand down all the sloppy ceiling texture in the entry this summer (he and a buddy already did the kitchen/dining area last year) and it's possible he would be willing to add more lighting. I like can lighting in a house like ours b/c it makes it look newer--the house is 1978 cookie-cutter so looking new is the key ;-) It doesn't really have a style otherwise. Also, I want to paint all walls in the entry to match (the cream/beige color)--my to-do list is soooo long!

Just for fun, here's one reason I don't have much free time:

Oh what a cutie! I agree that you have a good reason to not have a lot of time. I've been reminding of that time in my life the last two years that I've been babysitting our grandson. Who cares about decorating when you have a precious little one to love.
And I can understand more about why hubby doesn't like changing things or doing more than "has" to be done. He's more worried about being a good daddy and supporting his family than having a "pretty" updated home. Our home was rather sparse with mostly hand me down or used furniture when our first born was a baby. Heck it wasn't much difference by the time our second baby was born. Not saying it wasn't warm and welcoming. It was, but not everything was perfect. I've learned with age, that it's not so important. Perfection, that is. I went through a period where things had to be just so. Maybe it's more living in a unfinished home with a hubby that works a full time job year round and umpires most of the rest evenings and weekends to keep in shape and it pays nice too. We'll be in good shape for retirement and that's a good thing.

I'm glad you like the corner door shelf. It's really easy to do. The hardest part was cutting the door in half. It's heavy so it took three of us to do. But if you used two doors you wouldn't have to worry about that. I bought the door through Craigslist since I was going to distress it, it didn't have to be perfect to start with. Habitat Restores are a good source for used doors too.

As for the lighting in the entry I was wondering if you'd be able to use a decorative type track lighting in there. They have some really nice looking ones that the "track" curves and all you need is the one box for the fixture.

Justgotabme--thank you for sharing your thoughts & experience! I love being home w/the boys, but being home all the time means that the little things bugging me have gotten more irritating (until 7 months ago I was working).

I never considered track lighting for the entry, I will start looking at places for ideas. I think that's a good idea, and DH will like lighting that doesn't mean adding any electrical.

i like the idea of the tv and components on a tall corner unit. that makes use of the higher part of the wall. would one fit in the corner where the piano is? if so, that might be an option too. with the piano about center on that wall.

check out your local goodwill. ours has 50% off of everything one Saturday a month. but you have to get there early to get any of the good stuff.

Somethings are 1/2 price on other days depending on the code on the ticket. ask someone that works there. They often (ours does) have tall cabinets or bookshelf units.

Melanie, I loved being a stay at home Mom. It was something we discussed before we married and though I loved working and planned on a career in fashion I agreed with my hubby that since we both wanted children that staying home was the way to go. You'll never regret it. Oh you might go a bit crazy after they are grown and you feel the need to sow those seeds you so desired in your youth. I know I have. But instead of the need to design clothing I know love making and remaking furniture.

Which brings me to a corner cabinet. It dawned on me when Steph mentioned your other corner as an option. Since your home is older your closets are probably built with cleats to hold the shelves. Well you could use that consept to build a corner unit in either corner actually. Which ever you like best. Depending on the weight of the items you'd store in this unit you could use MDF or a cabinet grade plywood for the shelves and trim pieces at the front for a finished look. We built our walk in closet that way only I stained it. Here's what it looks like to give you an idea of what I'm talking about just incase your closets aren't built this way...
Well for some reason I'm able to copy and paste. I'll restart my computer and see if that helps.

Well it, as in copy and paste, is working. Yay!
I kept this pretty big so you could see detail. I painted the back cleats to match the wall and the side ones to match the uprights. You can see how to used a finish nailer to attach the trim. You'd want to fill these, but since we desperately needed the use of our closet we didn't take the time. You could attach cleats directly to your walls at the studs or use anchors to rest the shelves on if you decide to build your own corner unit this way. It would certainly save money on a full cabinet since you would only need the sides, cleats shelves and trim not the doors as I mentioned before.
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