Letitia's Livingroom

A while ago I got an e-mail from Letitia who needed help with her livingroom. Here's what she wrote:

My husband and I along with 3 dogs reside in garden level west facing condo in a 10 unit condo building than was converted from a single mansion. We were tearing down some drywall and discovered a fireplace hidden behind our drywall of our 12x15 feet living room. Well, we were expecting to find a fireplace because of the chimney on the roof but never expected such a huge surprise. 

The Fireplace opening is 5 feet by 5.5 feet (H). Currently our couch faces a wall with two huge windows 4 feet by 6 feet (h) that overlook our backyard. The window sills double as a window seat. In the centre wall is a faux fireplace and a TV mounted above it. Our couch faces the TV/Windows. 

We currently have a Calvin couch, (but need to replace it with a sleeper couch) a wood Mascotti coffee table that rises and opens to our dining table. The folding dining chairs are under a lack shelf behind the couch. We have a Ikea PS metal cabinet which we keep our AV components, a crate and barrel steamer bar for the alcohol. A faux fireplace and a Mounted TV above it.  

So the main questions I have are:   

* How should I place the furniture? (we are open to selling/buying furniture just to get the LR of our dreams. We would have to leave the TV in the LR, - or even can do a projection tv and need  a spot for the AV components    

* What colours should i paint the walls?  

* What should we use the newly discovered space for?   

* And finally most debated... should we paint/lime the brick?

First of all what an awesome space and how cool is that to discover that huge fireplace?!

I thought this was a fun project to take on because I could give Floorplanner a go. I found it via Sherry and John and it's a fun tool but quite fiddly until you (sort of) get the hang of it. I didn't find the tutorials on the Floorplanner site very helpful so please excuse the various wonky walls, crooked windows and please disregards the measurements entirely. The plan is just to give an idea of what the layout of the room could look like.

So to answer Letitia's questions here's what I'd do with the space.

The furniture
I'd leave most furniture for now simply because of the cost of replacing it all at once but as pieces get switched out I suggest sticking to one color wood or paint most pieces the same color to unify the space.

I'd consider getting a second matching Mascotti table so one could be a permanent small dining table and one a permanent coffee table. When Letitia throws a dinner party the coffee table can be placed next to the dining table and make it double the size.

In order to define the dining area from the sitting area I've laid down two rugs. There's also a floor plillow for the doggies.

The one thing I removed from the space is the IKEA PS cabinet. For two reasons; what's inside can go into a new space, see further down and it's very white compared to the rest of the furniture which is mainly dark/er. I'm sure it can be used somewhere else.

The walls
Because this apartment is on the entry level which tends to be darker than higher up in a building I'd paint the walls and ceilings pure white. I know some of you may disagree, but hey, she asked me so what do you expect? I also like the idea of the white because I get a "loft" vibe from the space and to me the best loft look is white. It would be fun to introduce an accent wall though. I painted it a dusty pink in the drawing because I like the lavender-red-pink color scheme to go with the dark furniture but I do realise it's not to everybody's taste and it would also depend on what Letitia decides to do with the fireplace wall.

The newly discovered space
The fireplace isn't a working one apparently so I say move the TV in there! Facing the sofa that direction will help define the two areas I mentioned before, dining and sitting. Since it's such a big opening there's room for some shelves at the bottom for DVD and cable and for boxes holding knick knacks and DVD's.

The brick
Most debated. Yes, I get that. Some people say it's sacriledge to paint brick but I'm all for it if you don't like the look of the red brick and I have to say this looks like a very even red color at least on the fireplace itself. Red brick is a really tricky one to work around especially if you're not into that look. I'd be more inclined to keep it if the bricks were more uneven and industrial looking as they seem to be on the side wall. If this were my wall it would probably be limed white already... Keeping the sandstone lintel in it's original state though.

So what are your opinions on painting the brick in Letitia's case? Any other suggestions for her in terms of furnishing the space or paint color? We are all ears!