We all have one, the place we gather to binge watch our favorite shows, watch a new ore favorite movie, Friday night family night, entertainment, and even a place for a nap. It's a place in our homes where everyone in the family loves to be in. The family room, TV room, theater room, I'm sure there are more names for it depending on different parts of the country. 

Well, we had one of those family rooms, however, no one enjoyed being in the room. It was awful, ugly, disorganized, cluttered, incomplete, cold, depressing, and on and on. When my oldest was two, we painted the room though we didn't like the color. So we painted a second time, and even a third time. All three paint colors we were disappointed with, so we stopped and left the room as it was, incomplete. My oldest is now 17 and we have revisited this room at last. 

Before I show you the before pictures, I'll let you see my vision for the room.

I started drawing ideas for the room about a year ago. I drew a couple slightly different designs, but always came back to my original idea for the wall. This is Phase 1 of the family room remodeling project. Turn a boring half basement wall into flat wall with a recessed box that can house a 65" HDTV with surround sound!

About the before photo....here it is, the awful, unorganized, cluttered family room. It also was the exercise room, there is a fireplace out of frame to the right, two worn out couches, a gaming center, a collapsing stereo cabinet, piles of DVD's and video games. It's also a side entrance to the house, which is never used as an entrance because the doors are just barely functional, all completed with carpet scraps for flooring.   

See the blue taped rectangle on the far wall, that is where the recessed box will reside once Phase 1 of the project is completed.

What else are we doing with this room?

Paint the walls a color we like.
Replacing both outside doors.
Add Crown molding.
Install DriCore flooring to add a moisture barrier and reduce the coldness.
Purchase a new couch.
Build a bench/table behind the couch for more TV viewing locations.
Build a cabinet to house the entertainment components.
Build a dry bar/hutch.
Install wall speakers.
Install recessed ceiling lights.

Am I missing anything? I'm sure there is more as we go along.

I have drawn out my stud wall so it can house a recessed HDTV. A second recessed box that will have two glass shelves to display decorative items. I also need to add space for a left and right wall speaker with a center channel speaker in the middle. I need to expand power to the bottom and to the recessed box and add a panel for the speaker wires, HDMI ports, NIC, and cable. Lastly, move the light switches from the front of the wall to the side of the expanded wall next to the door.

I've noticed in this drawing, I haven't left a space for the center channel, but trust me, I will add a space for it. I'm a little bit further ahead in this project than where I am in this blog, but I will soon catch up in the coming weeks.

With that, it's time to end today's blog entry and start some demolition.