The Cabin Fireplace- Part 4

When we last left the cabin fireplace project, I had just built and painted the bookcases that would frame either side of the fireplace.  So while we were homeless up at the cabin for a week, it was the perfect time to get those bad boys in.  We started by placing in the base cabinets.  Piece of cake.

Even the little man helped out.

And played Hide and Go Seek in them.  As you can see he's an exemplary hider.   I don't want to say he's a genius, but...

The left side took a bit more care as I had to cut out for the outlet and cable jack behind it.  We specifically planned for these outlets here so that we can plug in the equipment inside the cupboards and hide all of the wires.  A small hole in the top of this base cabinet will allow us to fish a wire through so that the cable box can sit on top of this cabinet, accessible via remote without having to open the door. 

Once the base cabinets were in, it was easy to place on the uppers and secure them through the 1x4s at the top and bottom of the back panel.  Then we filled, sanded and painted the screw holes.

Huzzah- Progress!

Next it was time to hang that big bad TV, of which there has been much debate.  As you may recall, we went back and forth on whether or not to cover the TV with custom cabinet doors that could open and retract for TV viewing.  In the end it came down to cost.  I found that the hardware alone for these doors was over $300, not to mention all the wood (and time!) to build them.  In the end we decided that the doors would be open (or left open) most of the time, and would likely be more of a hassle than they were worth.  I focused instead on making the wall really interesting looking, so that the TV didn't stick out like an eyesore.  

Luckily my Dad found and purchased some old barn wood from a nearby farmer, which fit the bill perfectly.  First I needed to create a wall to attach it, and our TV mount to.  I wired an outlet on this wall so we didn't have to string the cord through to the outlet in the left base cabinet. 

From there it was pretty quick and easy to cut my boards to length and attach them with my finishing nailer.  Just look at this beautiful barn wood- already making the messy space look like a million bucks.

In under a half and hour I had this:

The tape on the top and bottom was just to mark the studs so that I could hang the TV mount.  I left off the last piece of wood at the bottom intentionally.  I drilled a small hole just above the outlet, and dropped the HDMI cables from the TV down through it. With the bottom piece of wood off, I could easily pull these cords over to the left through a small hole in the side of the built in where my cable box and Blu Ray player were waiting.  We'll screw this bottom piece in instead of nailing it, so if we ever need to replace or add more HDMI cables we can do so easily. 

And once the TV was up... magic.

Obviously there was more to do, but I'm in love with it so far.  The wood is beautiful and interesting, and the TV on top of it doesn't feel as huge and ugly as I imagined.  It sort of blends, no?

It's not done, but we're miles ahead of this:

More fireplace fun to come!


Pst- Want to follow along on the big cabin fireplace wall project from the beginning?  Or jump straight to the end?  Here you go:

Removing the Window
Part 1- Framing The Fireplace
Part 2- Building the Built-Ins
Part 3- Finishing the Built-Ins
Part 4- Installing the Built-Ins & Building Barn Wood TV Wall
Part 5- Triming Out the Built-Ins (to make them look "built in.")
Part 6- Creating a Stacked Stone Fireplace Surround 
Part 7- Building the Fireplace Mantel 
The Big Cabin Fireplace Wall Reveal