Thursday, March 6, 2008

house thoughts

David and I have a fireplace at home. It has three sides, extends out into the great room, and overall doesn’t get used much because of the awkward placement. We were having breakfast last week when David looked at me and said, “What if we remove the fireplace and put in a single-sided one along the back wall of the great room?” (The what-if conversation has been ongoing for many months as we try to figure out what we can do to fix the clunky non-flow of the great room. It’s pretty, but it just doesn’t quite work, somehow.) Graph paper, rulers and pencils came out over the week, and designing took precedence over knitting and reading after we tucked the boys in. I like designing and talking with David, and it isn’t so much a matter of what we have on paper as it is the sense of togetherness that we have while we are working.

By the time Saturday, I had asked if there was such a place as had a bunch of different fireplaces that we could view, instead of just one here or there, and we headed down to Salem to look at the Fireplace Shop (more than ever, I’m convinced David knows everything). We ended up meeting a lovely woman named Claudia who helped us look around, answered our questions, and was quite personable without being pushy or intrusive. We found Just The Right One, and then started designing the stone facing for the wall to go with it.

No, this is not saving us any money; don’t go thinking it is. But it’s going to be beautiful, romantic, charming and centering.

And the design includes a bunch of bookshelves to boot. I’m a smiling fool just imagining it. (Which is good, since it will take about a year to afford it.) I promise to post before, during and after pictures when the time comes.