Building Built-In Bookshelves

I've always wanted built-in bookshelves - not just for books, but as a place to display the many treasures I've collected over the years.  

In all the houses we've owned, it never happened.  

Until this one.

Welcome back to the next installment of Creating a Charming Cottage.  We've been very busy with all sorts of projects around here and I thought it was time to share a major improvement we made to the living room.  First, let me show you what we now have:

And now, let's talk about how it came to be.

It all began with this little wall:

Remember that green paint?

You are looking at it from the front door.  Now let's look at it straight on:

The molding on the right is the coat closet.  Please ignore the 'extras' on the floor.  This picture was taken soon after we moved in and this is how things looked...you know I like to keep things real, but let's move on.

In my mind, I could see cabinets across the bottom with shelves above, so I started measuring. That little wall was only about 12 inches deep - not deep enough.  Earlier, I had mentioned my dream of having built-ins in this space to my contractor. He said it was no problem to build it out and accommodate the standard depth of cabinets and a countertop.  

Good to know!

The next measurement was the width.  Remember, this is a small house and that means a small living room.  I needed to consider the swing of the front door.  If you look at the straight-on before picture, you can see the wall protector for the doorknob. (BTW, not a fan of those wall protectors, but that's a problem for another day.)

I really wanted the width to be 72 inches, but that was going to be really close to the door when it was open.  So with cabinet dimensions in mind, I started drawing my idea with a width of 69 inches.  Here's what I came up with:

I also used Google Gemini to create a design for me.  It was good, but clearly thought I had 9 foot ceilings!  Not in a small house!  Time to call the contractor.

He actually liked my drawing better than the AI version and snapped a picture of it for reference.  We talked a lot about the type of cabinets to use (more on that in a minute) and the width.  He was confident we could get 72 inches of cabinets in the space along with a 73 inch countertop and still be able to swing the front door.  

Well, he was right and here's the picture to prove it:

How's that for precision?

Let's get back to that wall that wasn't deep enough.  After popping off the moldings, a couple of 2x4s were added.

Then there was sheetrock and cornerbead.  Before you knew it, the wall was built-out to accommodate a standard cabinet and a countertop.

What were the dimensions, you ask?  Cabinets have a standard depth of 12 inches and the countertop was ripped to a depth of 14 inches.  As you can see in the first picture, it was a perfect fit.

Yes, there was mud and sanding, but I just didn't get a picture of everything.

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The cabinets chosen were solid wood and needed to be assembled.  I originally planned to use standard cabinets from the local home improvement store until my contractor recommended these.  They were a little more expensive, but I felt it was worth it to have solid wood, rather than MDF.  I don't have the link to the exact cabinets, but these look just like them.  

Two 24 inch and two 12 inch upper cabinets were used in this project.  The first step was to assemble and attach them.

Then the bottoms were reinforced. 

Three men lifted the entire unit and put it in place and the kickplate was installed.

I know the countertop is in place here, but it's the only pic I have before the rest of the unit went up.

To help with the cost, my husband and I did the painting of the shelf wood and finished the countertop.

You know how I love my power tools!

The countertop was stained with dark walnut and sealed with 2 coats of polycrylic.  Before attaching it to the cabinets, we all signed the top of a cabinet and I left my initial drawing on one of them.  My husband always gets creative!

On to the shelves!  After consulting the original drawing (and me), the upper shelves were cut, assembled, and brought in.

Some of the wood did not get painted in time, so we painted it after everything was in place.  Sometimes it's just how things go.

A header was found it the ceiling and the unit was secured to it with screws.

Some 1"x1" strips were attached to the shelf edges.

Nail/screw holes were filled, edges were caulked and the built-in bookshelves were done!

A couple of questions you may have:

1.  Why didn't you use the same size cabinets for the base?  

     Two reasons.  I wanted a couple of large cabinets for storage and I wanted a unique look. 

2.  Why isn't there any hardware?  

     We really like the clean look and they don't get opened and closed often like a kitchen cabinet.

So, now I have a place for some books and many treasures.

My Waterford crystal vase sitting on my antique tea caddy.

My oil lamp base that cost me 33 cents in a large lot of glass, and yes, I finally found a chimney for it!

The crock I bought from the sweetest lady who was selling her home to move into an apartment.

The shell I found on the beach on our honeymoon.

And the little wicker suitcase that my Dad bought for me at an auction when I was in my teens.  

When my husband saw that, he pulled out my Dad's harmonicas and his old Timex watch.  Things I never he knew he saved after my Dad passed away many years ago.

True treasures!

Now you have the story of the built-in bookcases.  Something I've been wanting for a long time.  

The best part?  Those cabinets hold more treasures to be displayed another time...and maybe a little overflow from the craft room!  Wink!

Where do you display your treasures?

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