Tuesday, December 14, 2010

Closing in the area above the fireplace

I totally don't understand why builders put this open space above the fireplace. Well, I know it's built for the television, but it seems so silly to me. If you have a large room, where the seating is way back from the television..it might be a perfect fit. But, my living room is very small. We literally had to lift our heads to watch TV. I had to come up with a solution.
Ta-da...my solution was to close it up. Never had I dealt with sheet rock, but was gonna give it a try.  We bought the supplies.  Hubby built a frame of sorts, so we would have something to nail the sheet rock to.
Taping, mudding and sanding was all new to me.  At one point, I sanded to hard, and we had to take it down and replace the sheet rock.  I wanted the seams smooth and seamless, but just couldn't get it that way.  If it's not perfect, I tend to want to do it over and over until it is.  If other people can do it, surely I can do it.  But any new skill, takes practice, and doing something one time is not enough practice. 
Here is the finished look, albeit from a distance.  But, if you were able to see it up close you would see the seams and that makes me feel...embarrassed, as I know it should be smooth.  There are times, when I dust the mantel, and see the unevenness of the seams, and it makes me want to rip it down and try it again...but not today. :)