"I LAVA you!" Not so much!

Remember this view.  This is the living room how we bought it.  Gotta say, not in love with the lava rock wall.  The 70's called and they want their lava rock back.  I am more than happy to oblige.  Just wait until you see this transformation.

 Demo on this beast was not a delight, however, the day after tearing out most of this my volleyball swing was probably the most powerful its been.  Felt a little like Wonder Woman battling the wall.  To be honest, after an hour and a half tackling this, you can see the progress in the picture on the left.  This was using a pry bar and hammer.  I was physically and mentally a little worn out.  Call my husband and said, "we are just going to build a faux wall in front of this".  Sat down to stare at the wall and decided to conquer it.  Picked up the sledge hammer and just went after it.  Biggest mess in the house yet, but man I knew it would be worth it in the end.

The kids came home from school and decided to take a wack at it.  I love that they got in on the fun...for a few moments.

Here we have the majority of the rock down.  Left it on the bench seat debating on whether to paint it and go with it.

After a few days, we thought maybe we should ripped out more rock from the side benches.  I knew I wanted to add some book cases to surround the fireplace...so out went the rock.  However, after another week we just pulled the plug and ripped out the rest of the rock.  I kind of wanted to embrace the rock, but honestly, it just wasn't working for me and my faux farmhouse vibes.  It had had its day, and today it was going to get the boot....or more likely the hammer.  

There are somethings worth holding onto in an older home remodel, but lava rock just wasn't it.

My amazing husband dressed the skirt of the fireplace with Lite Stone found HERE.  We opted for the Artik color since I wanted to keep the decor light and airy.  Definitely different from the dark and dusty rock.  He filled it in up the sides of the fireplace as well.  Then with his awesome studly skills, he built yet another concrete bench.  We did one in the master shower, that post to come later...still working out some plumbing issues.  In addition to the concrete countertop he poured in the kitchen.

I am googly-eyes in love with the results of it.  The grey really pops against the white stone.

Of course we had to get the TV hung.  I threw up some more shiplap to extend the white theme, to the ceiling.

As you may have already realized...I love ReStore.  Found some solid wood doors to cut in half for the bookcase built-ins.  I did this same thing at our last house, but every buyer that walked through our house requested to have my bookcases stay with the house.  No skin off my back, just gave me the opportunity to build more.  Carl built the boxes for me.  

Went back and forth with the idea of painting a color on the wall behind the bookcases and landed on this beautiful nautical blue.  Same color I have on our board and batten wall in the sitting room.  (yet another post upcoming...stay tuned)

Nearly there, just some clean up for now

The bones are done and its ready for decor.  This is where I just thrive, but man it felt good to vacuum and clean out the clutter.  I am often in my happy place when I get to clean.  Plenty of room for decor of the final design, but at least we have a place to relax and chill as a family.  These couches will eventually end up in the basement "movie room" and I am replacing them with some brand new couches I have my eye on from DownEast Home.

Mantel isn't complete yet and I want to finish the bookcases with some crown molding.  The benches are still in the planning phase.  Haven't completely landed on a design.  Kind of want to make them storage space, but the electrical outlets are a little in the way.  I have a few ideas, but we'll all just have to wait to see that reveal.

New windows are also on order, spring can't come soon enough.

And for your viewing pleasure, here is a before and after from the same angle.  Big change!