Bookcase Bliss

Is it possible to be in love with wood? Wait just a minute before you answer. Now....close your eyes and fashion it into a wall-to-wall bookcase and ask yourself again ;-)

It has been a very long time since we've made any changes or embarked on any redecorating around the house. In fact, we had hoped to move into something a bit bigger, but that isn't in the cards right now, so in making the best of what we have and where we are, I finally got the urge and burst of energy needed to spur me forward into a few "around the house" projects.

The first project took several weeks and a lot of work for dh, but it is finally complete and we ABSOLUTELY LOVE IT! Here's the story of how it all began:

I had this neat metal bookcase (like the ones you'd see at the library) and I didn't have adequate room to maneuver it around and wanted something that would fit my needs better...thus I was able to negotiate the selling of it in exchange for another custom built bookshelf from dh. That was a pretty good deal in my book, but it gets even better -- as we somehow made a grand leap from a standard bookshelf to a wall-to-wall bookcase! I'm still bewildered as to how that happened quite so effortlessly, but I'm counting it a blessing and you certainly won't hear any complaints from me!

To get started I Googled a few pics, found one I liked, drew up some plans, (yes, I got the easy part here!) and then dh went to work. The results are below...

The plans!

Setting the base with pre-built cabinets.

Building upward. We used the wall for the backside to save cost.

Cabinet fronts removed for ease of painting. 



Absolutely Gorgeous!

It holds SO much stuff and cleared up some desperately needed space in our living room. Next, we added some new picture frames, a couple fresh couch pillows to brighten things up, and it feels like new.

I am thrilled with how it turned out and only wish we'd done it years ago!

One project down....and on to the next. We have limited funds for remaining projects and still have a septic tank and dry well to have filled in, so it will be budget conscious means of making things "new" - removing wallpaper, painting, countertop replacment, etc. Fun, fun! Gotta run with it when the mood strikes, hee-hee!