shelved

April 25, 2014

there were just three things i really, really needed from this house when we designed and built it. light, space and a wall of bookshelves. and all three boxes are finally checked. really, really checked.

above are the bookshelves in their near-final state. there's still a little clean-up to be done. and a few more bits and pieces to add here and there (yes, of course there are still a few more boxes to be unpacked. i think it will be that way forever.) but i can't help but walk over and stare at them every hour or so... just because i'm so excited they are finally there! books, yay! (i will never be a kindle person.)

a few people asked for a how-to via instagram. i'm not terribly qualified as a building-things-instructor, but i've got a few before and afters that might help explain things a bit. to start with, i am not a fan of formal entry ways, nor am i a fan of entryways that dump you right into the living space. so we landed in between... our front door is just opposite the bookshelves, making a sort of library gallery / main entry. (of course everyone comes in through the garage, but that's just real life.)

we knew where the bookshelves were going since the design phase, so we had the opportunity to hide some of the bookshelf structure inside the walls. patrick spent a day blocking and adding flanges in between studs to help support the weight of the bookshelf structure (which conveniently eliminated most of the vertical supports that would normally be needed to support a bookshelf this size).



we left in the 3" stubs (which the drywall crew was thrilled to work around), and we've basically been looking at a blank wall with a grid of holes for the last three months. i freaked out a bit about two months back because all the books were packed away, so this happened... (you can see a few of the holes in the wall just above the books.)



here are the bookshelves halfway done. bookshelves on one side, hole grid on the other. there was a lot of impatient pacing on my part at this point because i couldn't put any books on until the whole thing was finished. sigh.

the actual materials for the bookshelf are pretty darned simple. ikea butcher block counters for the shelves (cut in half lengthwise - we got two shelves out of each counter) and black pipe with standard fittings for the structure. lowe's and home depot will cut and thread black pipe for free, but expect a lot of cajoling on your part and a bit of grumbling on their part.

and then finally, finished bookshelves!


for the curious organization&arrangement folks... fiction is alphabetical and non-fiction is arranged by topic. (with the exception of my twenty some copies of alice in wonderland which are grouped on their own.) my next project will be cleaning up an old orchard ladder for easy access to the top shelves! but i might have to take a reading break first. happiness is a full bookshelf.

xo. r




4 notes:

  1. Correction: happiness is extra space on the bookshelf! ;)

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  2. you are shelved and i am floored.
    ◄-l-o-v-e-► ◄-l-o-v-e-► ◄-l-o-v-e-►

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  3. So, so beautiful. The succulents and houseplants are the perfect finishing touch!

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  4. Simple and beautiful!

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