Before and After: This Living Room Redo Brings Instant Coziness

Some rooms are just harder to design than others. We think a lot about what to do when rooms are too small, but sometimes rooms are tricky because they’re too big or weirdly shaped. Courtney Lognecker’s living room was like that: long and narrow, with nothing to look at. “When my husband and I first purchased the house last year, this was literally just a large room with absolutely nothing happening, not even a light fixture,” Courtney says. “This room has been my biggest design challenge since purchasing our new home, and has had a few different stages!” This room was both the first one that guests saw when walking in, and the primary hangout for Courtney’s daughter—so it was important to make it feel inviting.

First, Courtney and her husband added shiplap to the wall behind the TV—but they didn’t feel like it was enough. “After sitting with it for quite some time, the room just didn’t have the cozy feel that we were wanting,” Courtney says.

The solution? A fireplace, of course! Courtney and her husband built a brick surround for a new electric fireplace to warm the room up—stylistically and literally. “This is the coldest area of our house since it has a large bay window and is right near the front door,” says Courtney. An electric hearth was just what it needed to up the comfort factor.

Neither Courtney nor her husband has masonry experience, but both were handy enough to feel confident in taking on this project themselves using tutorials. Once they built up the brick surround to the dimensions of the electric insert they’d chosen, Courtney painted the brick crisp white. She chose more rustic-looking bricks for the outside portions to create a rustic, always-been-here vibe. Now the room’s a cozy getaway. “I love the finished product because it just INVITES you in and adds so much cozy!” Courtney says. “It makes me want to curl up and read a book here. Before this project, I would only be in this room when my daughter was awake, but now I find that I’m sneaking in for some quiet time—and hanging out in here while she’s napping, too.”

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