Done. The DIY PPOR loungeroom. With the contentious green wall

[depreciator]

All finished - right down to the little white caps that hide the screw heads inside the carcasses. First time ever I think I've finished a DIY project completely.
For the other DIY people:
It's a 5m x 5m room.
Down one side is a set of drawers, a built-in gas fireplace, and a cabinet that hides the TV. The drawer fronts and cubboard doors are in gloss poly. The top of the unit is gloss laminate - I went with that finish rather than get it painted because it should wear better.
A bove the heater is a vent I made up from laminated 20mm wide strips with 20mm spaces - I didn't want an aluminium grill or anything like that. The heater sits on a 60mm slate hearth that I got a local stone guy to make for me.
The black strip along the front and down the right hand side of the bench is 100 x 60mm steel painted black. The splayed hearth surround is also 6mm plate steel. I made them up out the back and painted them with BBQ paint and a little foam roller.

 

[depreciator]

And now the contentious green wall.
Under the window, are two book shelves from 32mm veneered board. They were a killer - long and heavy.
Instead of timber uprights, I made up 6mm black steel pieces that I set back and rebated top and bottom. They are not really visible, which is what I wanted i.e. it reads as two long shelves with no supports.
the other side of the room is cupboards with the killer end curve.
The floor is cypress pine, I stripped the old gloss poly and stained it very dark and used a finish called OSMO - hard wax oil. (It took me 9 hours to sand the floor.)
I still like that wall colour.

 

[Ideo]

Ok. I was sceptical. But the colours and furniture and artwork actually work really well together.

 

[depreciator]

The green wall works especially well at night. And that room really only gets used at night - mostly in the winter.

 

[The Y-man]

I was kinda expecting lime green But that green and the wood work reminds me more of a pool table and is quite settling.

The Y-man

 

[Jane - Hotspace]

Ha ha I was sceptical too but it looks great with your accessories. Very retro!
Nice work depreciator!

 

[depreciator]

Ah, I knew I would win a few of you over. I should have done a poll on the green wall.

 

[wylie]

I like your style. I'm curious why you did the rounded end of the cabinet and didn't just do a straight cabinet? It seems a LOT of extra work went into making that round end. Was it just for looks and a challenge for you? Or was there a reason for the round end?

 

[Fifth]

The room looks fantastic. Nice work.

 

[travelbug]

Love it. When I told my hubby we were having a green feature wall I'm sure he imagined your green (going by the look on his face). Mines more a camo green.

 

[depreciator]

Yes, Wylie, that rounded end on that cabinet took ages. I'm not the designer, more the maker. Though I do fiddle with the design of stuff.
I have a very good mate who is a high end architect and he humors me by sketching up designs.
That cupboard could have had a square end as opposed to being off-set, rising at an angle, and ending in a tight curve.
Similarly, that front edge of the joinery on the other side of the room could have been square 32mm laminate as opposed to having that thin black steel edge with the recessed orange slot - that bit was my idea.
I could have had attached handles for the drawers, too, rather than the recessed slots - that was another hard detail to get right with a hand held router.
And it would have been easier to have vertical timber supports in the bookcase instead of the set back 6mm black steel plate.
But all that stuff, that extra 20% of detail, is what makes things special. It's the stuff that elevates a project and makes it worth doing.
That's what I reckon, anyway.
Of course, that extra 20% is often what blows the price out. So when people squeeze someone on price, the best way to reduce the price is get rid of the interesting details. That's why I do stuff myself.

 

[JennD]

This green is gorgeous. I'm going to dig out pics of our old extension's bright orange (almost fluro) walls!

 

[wylie]

But all that stuff, that extra 20% of detail, is what makes things special. It's the stuff that elevates a project and makes it worth doing.
That's what I reckon, anyway.
Of course, that extra 20% is often what blows the price out. So when people squeeze someone on price, the best way to reduce the price is get rid of the interesting details. That's why I do stuff myself.

I said the exact same thing today to my brother (trying to justify why my husband spent time doing a few things on our current IP reno that were not really necessary) and to the painter who will be painting the unnecessary detail.

We will get no more rent for the detail, and this is something we have to balance up.

Here is hubby's latest "detail" that wasn't necessary but when painted, will look like it was there in 1929 when the house was built...