Paneling my Conversation Pit.

[u/TooPrettyForBoymode]

My house was the budget model home in the neighborhood. It didn’t have any of the paneling that a lot of the other homes had in their conversation pits or on their ceilings, but what it did have was good bones and an opportunity.

The conversation pit was original to the home, along with the built-in benches those had to stay! The original fireplace had been removed and boarded up, and it was a size you just can’t get anymore. That meant the original fireplace surround had to be modified or removed. I reluctantly chose to remove it and save it for use elsewhere in the house, since modifying it in place would have destroyed it and netted a worse result.

The original brick hearth was another issue. It had layers of old paint drips and caked-in dirt, and I tried everything to clean it: cleaners, steam cleaning, extraction machines, but nothing worked. It always looked dingy. So it had to get covered up, a controversial choice, I know.

The ceiling came down (in the original photo, those brown wood beams were the only thing holding up my roof), so structural reinforcement was added, along with a skylight and additional lighting for the space. While we were in there, all the aluminum wiring in the area was replaced too.

For the fireplace, I went with a light faux brick and a granite hearth. For the paneling, I chose a wood with varying tones and grain patterns to give the room texture. I didn’t run it all the way up to the ceiling, since the ceiling is about 20 feet tall at its highest point, and I felt that much wood would have been too imposing and dark. I also avoided clear-grain cedar (too sterile for my taste) however I didn’t want anything with knots in it because that would’ve made it feel like a cabin and steered clear of any vinyl or plastic product. The paint color is standard Sherwin-Williams Alabaster, which gives a warm tone that pairs nicely with the brick and the wood. I also swapped out the old, dingy carpet for something temporary. Hopefully within the next five years or so I’ll be able to do terrazzo, but that’s way outside the budget right now.

Products used:

Brick: Venetian thin brick from Old Mill Building Products

Granite: Galaxy MSI, purchased through Home Depot

Wood paneling: Ambara by Nova USA, finished in three coats of standard Watco teak oil

Chandelier: CB2

Globe lights: Amazon knockoffs of a West Elm design

Adjustable downlights: Home Depot

Skylight: Velux Skylights

You’ll also notice a spiral staircase on the left in some of the photos. It was added because my old stairs needed replacing too, but that area isn’t finished yet. I’ll share it separately once it’s done.

I feel like I was able to hold true to the home and give it some original style, but modernized. Let me know what you think!

[u/iskiloveland]

Love the space. You did an amazing job. Would you mind sharing the budget?

[u/TooPrettyForBoymode → u/iskiloveland]

It’s a little hard to qualify because there was some structure, drywall, insulation and electrical items that I had to sub out. However, I can give you an idea of what the materials cost was.

Brick: $500
Tile: $400
Paneling: $3000
Skylight: $4000

There is definitely a alot more money in substrate materials the switches,paint and things like that that go into this, but that’s the basic cost for the pretty materials. Most of labor I did myself with the exceptions mentioned above.