Covering up the old chimney

 The chimney in the kitchen presented a design challenge for laying out the cabinets and appliances in a functional manner.  Every cabinet estimator took one look and said, "have you thought about removing it?"  Well we had thought about it, but the boiler exhaust is piped through it and we just didn't feel like going to the trouble of taking the chimney out or paying someone to take it out.  We also have lived in a less than ideal kitchen for so long, we've gotten used to functioning in it.  So, the chimney stays.

We added some extra framing around it and then sheetrock.  A section near the top of the chimney bulges out, so rather than cutting it off, we framed it so that the sheetrock there does stick out an inch or two further of the rest of the chimney.  We weren't sure if it would look weird, but like every other odd thing in this house, we call it "character."

Now that the chimney is covered up, there will be no dust drifting down it from the attic.