Renovations Complete

It's odd... Making no change to the floor space that was in use, the room still seems larger than it did!

Last weekend, that weekend when I "made no plans," was a very productive one! The first thing to do was to get rid of the old pass-through. (Why were the designers in the seventies so keen on pass throughs that they put them where they made no logical sense?)

The original design of my home had a pass through (a window over the sink in the wall between the kitchen and the living room) where the only possible placement for the television would be. Why? I honestly have no clue what purpose this could have server. In fact, I had been using it as storage space in the kitchen. The owners before me gave me the idea.

When I saw the home when I was buying, I noticed that they'd had a couple simple plywood shelves in the niche above the sink and they were displaying a couple pictures. When I moved in, the niche was a pass-though and it occurred to me, I hadn't recognized it as one because they had a large entertainment center blocking it up.

That was cool, because I had a large entertainment center that would be covering it as well. But now that the age has changed, we're getting into the age of digital television and big flat panel, wall-mounted televisions, it was time to get rid of the big entertainment center and that meant, fixing the pass-through in a more permanent way than just covering it with a board.

After getting rid of the pass through and painting the wall a nice tan to compliment the walls and the curtains, I had to get rid of the old entertainment center. The monstrosity was six feet wide, six feet high and two feet deep. Four of my friends came over to help me get it out to the garage where a local charity shop could retrieve it for removal.

The last step was to find a replacement piece to hold my components while not being obtrusive. That wasn't too hard. I found a couple that I really rather liked. The one I settled on was actually about half the size of the old one but (and I realized this later) had an identical footprint. Really!  After it was in place I realized that the new unit was six feet wide and two feet deep. The fact that it is only 35 inches high makes a big difference in the room, though. It feels so much more open.

So, when the new television got mounted on the wall on Monday, the renovation was complete. I am really happy with it. My brother-in-law was right. (Listen up, Corey! I'm talking to you!) When I was discussing this project with him he suggested not trying to get the same (or approximately the same) size set as I had originally had. That was what prompted the whole renovation in the first place. He suggested getting the largest set that was within my budget. I am happy with the decision. I think the room looks so much more open than it did and watching movies is a whole new experience!

It's a good thing I planned to do nothing last weekend! What shall I plan for this weekend? Probably the same - Nothing! Saga and I may go for a couple walks, but other than that? We'll see what happens...

Wherever you are today, I hope you've completed something that you're happy with!

Don Bergquist - October 18, 2008 - Lakewood, Colorado, USA