Sprucing up an 80's fireplace

[danceswithwindows]

Hello all,

I know you all are not interior designers, but there are lots of folks on here with a great eye for design! See attached two photos. Looking to do a light update on this large fireplace. I am retaining the red oak built-ins, will just so some rearranging on the shelves (might add one more shelf on the right) and right-sizing the TV area. Existing wood finish will be retained. Not painting brick.

I am struggling to figure out what to do with the opening to the right of the fireplace (previously used for fire wood storage). We are not going to store firewood there anymore (draws too many bugs). I was thinking maybe more shelving for books (we are big book people) but worried it might look funky. Don't think a door/cabinet would look great there either.

What do you all think? If you had this arrangement, how you you make use of this space?

Thanks for your thoughts!

 

[bowman]

I would probably make a single door cabinet, without the openings for the equipment, to match the ones on the left side.

 

[creasman]

Not sure of the layout, whether this is possible, but have you considered removing the bricks on the right side, then building shelves all the way down. That would give you the most space for books and make the space more symmetrical.

 

[danceswithwindows]

Not sure of the layout, whether this is possible, but have you considered removing the bricks on the right side, then building shelves all the way down. That would give you the most space for books and make the space more symmetrical.

Yep, that was the idea of the interior decorator. You are probably right, it just pains me to start pulling out brick.

 

[creasman]

It will be a dusty chore, but probably not as hard as you think. Those don't look structural. Drill out the grout to remove the first 2-3 bricks. After that a small cold chisel with a few taps should do the trick. Or, you can get a sledge hammer and really take out some frustrations ;-).

 

[Berta]

A large plant would look nice in the open area. I also like the idea of a matching cabinet. Possibly shelves to display scroll saw work.