The building work is moving up a gear now, particularly in the cellar.  The digging is finished, insulation and underfloor heating is laid and it was all screeded and left to dry over the festivities.  Now we’re onto the first fix and finalising plans for the second fix.

It’s an interesting space in terms of design – it’s predominantly a cinema/games room that needs to swallow a lot of ugly storage.  But what doesn’t help is that I have a fundamental problem with the general concept of cinema rooms: It seems that the moment the word ‘technology’ is associated with a space it becomes infused with this need for everything cold, chrome, clean and clinical – like the ‘cutting edge technology’ needs to be supported and highlighted by it’s super-duper space-ship-like surroundings..which will probably be out of date in a year. The truth is I’ve yet to find a cinema room on Pinterest I like or want to lounge, Roman-senator-style in.

So it was back to the drawing board and writing a list from all these pictures of the things that actually make a room cosy: A fire, books, rugs, lamplight, dark colours..fluffy dog.

And that’s when the inspiration struck – why not create a false chimney breast for the TV to go on, with a fireplace where the DVD player/set top box/general crap/ can be hidden in the cleverly made fireplace surround? We can’t have a proper fire..

But there are some amazing electric cast iron stoves around..and in the summer it means you can have the glow without the heat!

It’s a work in progress, but the plan is to have significant 75 cm depth mega cupboards with sliding doors across the back with the boiler and water tank under the stairs.  As you come down the stairs, the first cupboard you see will be low level holding games and a vintage dollshouse. Then there will be full height open bookcases either side of the chimney breast and all the way to the end of the wall. The chimney breast will come out 40 cm and hide all the cabling from the TV.  The fireplace will be slightly lower than normal to help with eyelines to the screen, and the DVD etc will be housed in the central section of the surround under a fretwork door – which should mean we can use the remote without having to have the door always open (fingers crossed) . The stove will be quietly tucked inside to add ambience, all topped off with a tiled hearth.

May the magic begin!

Laters, Kate x