“Modest Modern” and mid-century.
Posted on June 2nd, 2008 – 10:17 PMBy Jason Hammond
I have to say that one of the coolest things in our house is our downstairs fireplace with it’s Walker Art Center exterior panels as the surround. It’s still probably my favorite thing in our house, and it’s impact upon entering is so powerful that it has drawn us to almost utter paralysis when it came to deciding on how to treat out upstairs fireplace. It’s not that we didn’t have a few ideas we had tossed around but we wanted to do something that would not only look great and rival the downstairs fireplace but wouldn’t break the bank in doing so.
Our downstairs living space has definitely taken on a more sleek look with the concrete floors and the sheen of the silver paneled fireplace. However the upstairs has a slightly earthier and a bit more mid-century modern in feel. We needed something that showcased the fireplace and complemented the space in general. So when Stacy came up with the a modular panel system that would mimic the exterior siding and utilize some inexpensive materials, but look really cool, I was all in.
The first thing we did was paint the entire wall a charcoal gray (using some paint we already had). Then we took three sheets of Walnut plywood that we purchased as a special order item at Menards (it took us about 2 days to receive the item and cost us about $380). Our next thing was to decided on the style of fasteners we would use, we wanted something discrete but refined. We settled on some 2.5″ cabinet hanging screws with a crowned head in black ($5). Then using Stacy’s design we made a series of strategic cuts to the wood to optimize the sheet size. I recommend getting a really good finish blade for both your table saw or skill saw. If you’re using a skill saw make sure to clamp a straight guide down for your saw to follow so you can get a smooth even cut. Whichever tool you decide to use, make sure to apply tape before you cut, this will keep the edges of the plywood from splintering.
After we had made our cuts we made some measurements to ensure we knew where our studs in the wall were and then we pre-attached the screws to the sheet before we put it into place. Using a 1″ spacer (we made from a scrap piece of plywood) we quickly attached the pieces to the wall. To finish the wood, Stacy went over it with a coat of a Danish oil (about $7) The Danish oil isn’t really that great smelling so make sure to open up a lot of windows and turn on some fans to keep the air quality in the house from becoming toxic.
With all the panels up we’ve decided to paint the center band of the fireplace and wall with a coat of black paint ($8) to make it visually read as one with the fireplace. We also picked up some black electrical plugs and face plates that will keep the white switches and plugs from being a visual distraction.
In total the project cost use just over $400 to cover the 11′ by 8′ wall with what I think is a really sophisticated, sort of mid-century modern design. The wall itself no longer looks like an after thought but rather has become the focal point of the space and really commands a lot presence.
The fireplace look sort a bit removed from the rest of the space and a bit underwhelming in size.
The plywood brought a sense of depth and scale into the room.
We used modest sized fasteners to attach the panels to the wall and left a 1″ space between sections.
Stacy applied a Danish Oil to the surface to bring out the color.
The almost finished project. We still touch up some paint, replace the white outlets with black and paint the center ban to more closely match the color of the firebox itself. With that said I think it looks great!
UPDATE.
The black paint unifies the middle band.
7 Responses to "“Modest Modern” and mid-century."
The fireplace looks really nice … but are you using potatos for fuel?
That’s a green solution I hadn’t heard of.
Phil,
Ha Ha. You are not however the first person to make that same observation about the stones looking a bit like baked potatoes. The guy that came to install it said the same thing after he got it set up.
Seriously, thanks for the compliment on the fireplace. We just found out that they make a shinny black ceramic insert for the inside of the fireplace that allows the fire to give a off a great light. I think it’s roughly $200 or something along those lines. Might have to add that before next winter, which today feels like it should be here tomorrow —— it’s only about 50 degrees outside today.
Jason
Very nice. Are you going to get walnut edge veneer band for the plywood edges? The plywood edges are distracting in the photo from what is a really lovely piece.
And surprisingly, I like the charcoal paint better than the black band. If that band was a gorgeous black granite that had a hint of some quartz sparkle in it that would help maybe. It is a bit heavy and flat in the photo against that lovely walnut.
But maybe it is just that photo….?
Pamela,
No plans for edge banding. we left the spacing between the pieces specifically so you could see the edges of the plywood just like on the molded plywood Eames chairs you can see in one of the photos above.
We chose black paint over steel for the black bellyband because we felt it gave us a flat finish like the steel, which contrasted nicely with the oil rubbed walnut, for a lot less money. I guess it’s one of those things that just comes down to personal opinion/taste. This is one of my favorite parts of doing this, hearing other peoples take on things.
Jason
Well, truthfully, it probably looks better in person than in the photos because you can see what those edges are and appreciate the material. Can’t do that in a photo. All in all, it is really lovely.
Pamela,
I agree, the photo leaves everything looking a bit flat especially the great color and pattern of the wood.
Jason
