BEFORE:
The "library" was the previous owners private quarters. There was a full bath, closet, and of course a bed and dressers. Note the dresser in front of the door that went to the dining room.
DURING:
This is just the first pile of rubble from the library....the bathroom hadn't even been removed yet. About this time Marti came downstairs and was confronted with what looked like a bombed out war scene. She asked the contractor, "Are we winning this war?" Our contractor smirked and replied, " Honey, we're winning this battle, but the war has just begun!"
This was the second huge pile of rubble taken out of the library.
"How are we going to hide this?" The outside brick construction and interior placement of the bath required running a vent pipe across the entire length of the library. David suggested adopting a new-chic motif and just painting it black, however Marti had a bit of a problem with that. She considered using cove moldings, but they weren't manufactured in the needed dimensions to cover the pipe and nestle along the wall. More pondering ensued and finally the light went on. "Let's hide it in a hollow beam!" Of course that required putting beams throughout the room to make it look right, but what the heck... it's only money!
Our built in "entertainment center" also hides the hot water heating pipes needed on the second floor. We custom sized this box to fit an antique mantle which would house our flat screen TV. David's measurements were great for the final installation... but he couldn't get the TV thru the opening with the mantle installed. He had to unscrew the mantle and slide it in from the side. If it ever stops working it'll be coming out in pieces or we get to disconnect the electrical lights and remount the mantle again. The fun just never ends!
AFTER:
