Our fireplace room reno is not finished yet but I wanted to give a little update before closing the chapter on 2023. I never thought this room makeover would take this long. In hindsight, it was a little naive to think it would be all done within a year. This is the biggest reno we’ve done in this house so far and I can’t quite believe it’s going to take us three years to complete. But I know it will be worth it. Slow renovating has helped us avoid a few mistakes along which would have been costly and annoying to fix. It also took time to find right suppliers, trades people, fabrics, materials etc. We’ve gone way over budget too but that’s what you get when you go for high-quality finishes. But I have no regrets as I’m so happy with how this room is starting to look. And I know 2024 will be THE year and I can’t wait to share the before and after pictures of our longest-ever renovation with you very soon!
Here’s the progress we’ve made this month.
SAMSUNG FRAME TV
Oh boy, am I glad we picked the Samsung frame TV for this room! Although this is primarily a TV/cinema room, I didn’t want a big black box on the wall, especially above the firepace. I chose the teak frame for our 55-inch frame TV and it is absolutely perfect. I love how the teak blends in with all the other wood in the room. The dark wood would have been too dark and beige just didn’t suit the space. The 2023 anti-glare screen is much better than the older Samsung Frame versions as the pictures look a lot more realistic. I am having so much fun with our Samsung art subscription too. There is just so much to choose from! I will write a more detailed review about the TV soon, but isn’t she a beauty?
AUDIO EQUIPMENT
We hired a local company to install the Frame TV and our audio equipment and the guys did a fantastic job. They installed our Lyngdorf speakers and subwoofer to give us the full cinema effect. Our carpenter will build custom-sized cabinets to hide them without sacrificing appearance and/or sound. I won’t go into details now but it was quite a bit of work which involved some drilling and replastering. I can’t wait to have the cabinets in place next!
ROMAN BLINDS
We also got our Roman blinds fitted last week which has already made a big difference. Our curtains are not ready yet but it was nice to get the blinds before Christmas. The Herringbone Waves fabric by Romo Fabrics is just what the room needs. The two-tone weave, woven with a soft chenille yarn is so luxe and versatile. I wanted something that I wouldn’t get bored of anytime soon and knew this was it. We decided to place the Roman blinds inside the recess to blend in with the wall better and provide maximum blackout. I quite like that the cord is hidden too which is a bonus. I’ll write a more detailed blogpost about the blinds and curtains soon.
WHAT’S NEXT?
I’m hoping the curtains will arrive later this week in time for Christmas. We had some unexpected delays due to the fabric being discontinued (we got it in the end) which is why they weren’t fitted together with the blinds. I’m also waiting for our carpenter to send me the final details for our alcoves, which will hide the speakers, sky boxes, wires etc. We had to wait until the audio equipment was in place before we could take the final measurements. It will be another big job and I’ll share more about the design with you very soon.
I also wanted to say a big thank you for reading my blog! Next year will be my 10 year blogging anniversary and I’m so grateful to be able to continue to do what I love after a decade. I promise there will be more inspiration, design-led travel tips and house tours coming your way in 2024!
Merry Christmas and Happy New Year!
