fireplaces and tvs, and why

fireplaces and tvs?
well, looks as though we are on to another project, leaving the previous and untouched project (the exterior) in the dust. and, knowing matt this project might also be destined to gather dust. it often happens that matt says he is willing to commit to a project only to change his mind. hmmm, maybe because i am the person most interested in these things, and he is afraid to tell me no? it's puzzling, but it happens often.

so - why tvs and fireplaces? well, new open-ended project is sort of fun and possibly relatively simple? can i say that? finishing the basement! now, this is a project that matt has said for a while that he would like to see happen. i have been pushing more for a paint job, our house looks flakey and sad right now.... however, it IS wintery outside, so a much better time to pursue something indoors. I took some pictures of the basement but haven't downloaded them yet. downloading pictures is a project in itself - it always takes me forever to remember how to get them off of that little memory disk into the right place. at any rate, it will be fun to see the transformation if we ever do fix up the basement, even a little - because it currently is pretty dismal, even for a basement! it was built with teeny tiny windows, even though larger windows would have worked. it also has double doors which are solid - and could be glass! this would make a huge difference down there. some paint and some of that cement epoxy (?) on the floors would be huge!!

being a bit of a junkie for renovating, i've already gone ahead and measured the place and have been contemplating different uses for the huge space. there is a jutting-out spot where the upstairs fireplace comes down and makes a basement fireplace. the fireplace is finished in a yucky red brick with blecky grout, exactly as it was done upstairs. this area in the basement seems the obvious spot for a seating area with tv. there is not much wall space, so i began to investigate this new phenomena, well, 2 new phenomenas: flat-screen tvs and flat-screen tvs mounted above fireplaces.

oops, this one is not a tv, but the picture could easily be one...liked the stone and wooden beams, actually.

i have absolutely no idea how this business of a tv on a wall works. i imagine there must be wires involved. and electricty. and there is the volume knob? you would think i am 75 rather than 35. at any rate, it seems to me that putting the tv above the fireplace would double-duty the wallspace, provide an obvious focal point, and also give me a good excuse to cover up the blecktastic brick with something...drywall, plus pretend stones, mantel, ??? the fireplace has a big ledge that im sure has a name - ive considered just smashing it to pieces and having the firebox be elevated off the ground, maybe creating a sort of contemporary fireplace...hmmmm.

diversions, diversions! there are times that i feel sort of guilty that i devote so much brain power to projects such as these. but i suppose what a person doesn't see in a blog is that i also devote so much time to children and food, and in particular, dealing with a child who seems to have a mental illness. mmm, im dropping a bomb in a way, but all two or three of you who actually view my blog i suppose already know all about this so it's no suprise. honestly, thinking about decorating is a creative outlet for me that keeps me hopeful and gives me something that i feel i can actually control. it gives me respite from the emotional rollercoaster of stella's moods.