lame idea

I recently saw a picture of a fireplace with an antique trunk sitting inside of it. I can't remember where, or else I'd share it with you (or maybe I just made it up). Following the kids' room merge yesterday, we found ourselves with a room's worth of "stuff" that had to go somewhere, including my great-grandmother's trunk. While I was submerged in TPS reports at the office this afternoon, a little image popped up in the back of my mind and suggested we move the trunk into our living room and put it inside the fireplace (since the fireplace doesn't work anyway). Here's a reminder of what the room looks like:

After I convinced Alex that moving the trunk into the fireplace where it wouldn't be "impeding anyone's ability to walk through the space," we tested it out. Prior to moving it, I thought that perhaps it would be the kind of thing that I wasn't thrilled with at first but it would grow on me over time. I'll let you be the judge: how does it look?

So maybe in my dreams it looked worthy of Elle Decor--or at least a Crate&Barrel catalog--but the effect in real life was less than stellar. It was downright dismal...and strange...and out of place (in a bad way). Needless to say, the trunk ended up here (where the bassinet used to be):

Not great, but better than the [other] crowded bedroom, and better than the fireplace. That was a lame idea.