Living with an angled fireplace

February 2020, we put in an offer on a home a few miles from the home we were currently in. The offer was accepted and the buying process proceeded without a hitch. I could hardly believe how smoothly everything went from start to finish! I spent weeks thinking about what we were going to keep, what we’d get rid of and how we were going to design this new space that gave us more than a thousand more square footage! The only hiccup was our HUGE sectional sofa. We purchased it a year or so before after I pined over it for 2 years while I was working as an interior designer for Arhaus Furniture. Once I pulled the trigger on it, it officially became the most expensive piece we’d ever owned, even with my employee discount. So imagine my dismay when I realized that it was too large for the space in our new home. In the old house, it fit at a perfect right angle and although our living room wasn’t huge, the footprint was an exact match for our previous sofa, loveseat and end table measurements, allowing for ample seating.

(The old house above)

So decisions were going to be made….My husband, being a man whose main focus in the room was going to 100% be the tv ( the bigger the better) wanted it mounted over the fireplace which was angled in the corner of the room. Unfortunately, the fireplace surround was too high and I just felt it would look silly placed that high (not to mention avoiding sore neck issues that would inevitably follow) so we opted for the long connecting wall to the left which would then allow us to angle the sectional, following the line of the fireplace. Truth be told, I still wasn’t certain this was going to look good. I knew it would look ok, but ok isn’t what I was going for so I just held my breath until moving day and hoped for the best.

(Before painting and moving in above)

The week we closed, we got into the house and immediately painted the walls a lighter shade (Sherwin Williams, Gossamer Veil) to brighten the space then started moving! Is there anything worse than moving? Ugh!

The sofa came in and I held my breath….

(Curtains just went up)

Not only did it look OK, it looked GORGEOUS!

Over the next several weeks, we continued to add to the space, filling in walls and hanging curtains, all the usual stuff that goes into making a house a home. As you can tell from the photo of our old house, we used most of what we had before. It worked well there and it works well now! While we’re not quite at the decorating finish line yet (there’s always something more, isn’t there?), I’m so please with where we are-

(Painted fireplace mantle and gallery wall filling in)

I’m patiently waiting for just the right artwork to add to this gallery wall and eventually, we’ll update the fireplace and get rid of the builder grade tile.

We recently painted the cabinets in the kitchen and are in the process of installing new hardware. Next year, we’ll tackle the countertops and backsplash and I’d love to move the microwave into the island and build out a surround for the refridgerator.

And we have plans to remove the tile floors and extend the hardwood throughout the kitchen.

But for now, this is home and I couldn’t be more grateful for what we have. I’ve never loved a home or where we are as much as I do right now. We love to entertain and share our home with friends and family and that’s really what it’s all about, isn’t it?

Anyway, thanks for popping in to see our progress. I’ll be adding more in the weeks to come. If you’d like to follow along, you can find me on Instagram at Renee Stephens Interiors or Facebook Renee Stephens Interiors

I’d love to hear your thoughts!

Until then…