Living Room Re-Do, part 1

I have a soft spot for "investment opportunity" homes.  A perfect one has great bones (I think we'll avoid any foundation repairs) with plenty of room for improving.  And I feel a lot better tearing up and replacing decaying linoleum than I do ripping out fairly new tile.  Also far more eco-conscious.  And there's something neat about redeeming an overlooked and unloved place.

This is a little series where I take a room (or picture thereof) and see what can be done with it to turn it from a repair(wo)man's special to a steampunk craftsman paradise.  Or at least a great place to come back to.

So we start with this living room:

Not so great.  What happened to that poor wall on the right?  And what a sad fireplace and mantle.  Not to mention that this is a very short room.  However it's got some great possibility.  Look at that gorgeous, gorgeous wood floor.  And the wood beams across the ceiling give it instant Craftsman cred.


Our first step: reduce this to it's bones by tracing it out:

Much nicer.  And please appreciate the wood flooring and bricks.  Those took forever.

Coming up: the first steps towards turning this into a lovely Craftsman room.