Wednesday, March 7, 2012

The Wall Make-over


When we moved into our house last May, we were absolutely thrilled with the large living room.  We filled one area of the room with our furniture, but we planned to leave a generous amount of open floor space in the middle of the room and put our bookshelves on either side of the sliding glass back doors. 

 Before:

Unfortunately, our flimsy book shelves did not survive the move so we needed to move on to Plan B. 

Our motto since moving here has been, "Do it right the first time," so we've determined to take our time to have things look the way we want them rather than rush into quick fixes.  We decided to ask my dad to help us create built-in book shelves to frame the back doors, but he took the project on himself and built us a custom bookshelf/cabinet unit!  

There were numerous over-the-phone consultations about measurements and location of outlets and the number of shelves we wanted...and then Dad spent numerous fall weekend hours in his workshop sawing and hammering and designing until one Sunday afternoon in January, it was ready to be delivered and hauled into our house.  (Yes, hauled!  It is heavy!)



It took the following week to prime and paint.





Then once it was bolted into the wall, the fun began!  It was time to sort through our many, many boxes of stored books to decide what we wanted to put on the shelves.  (Since the shelf for the left side of the door is not yet complete, we had to make choices.) 





Then the fun continued as I got to decorate.  I made a wreath, inspired by this tutorial.  (I used a copy of The Prince and the Pauper that Brian found on the library's free shelf.  It may be silly, but I just did not want to use a trashy romance novel!)


Then we ordered a chair, took down our ugly vertical blinds, and hung a cheerful valance to complete our cozy reading corner. 


After:









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18 comments:

  1. Looks amazing! Will the one on the other side of the door be a match?

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  2. Beautiful! I absolutely, positively LOVE it! (I loathe blinds too, they are on EVERY window in our current rental home...AND! EVERY SINGLE WINDOW is painted shut!...so no fresh, spring air for us!)

    You make me laugh over your wreath...do you think someone would've noticed it wad Danielle Steel?!

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  3. *drool* we're saving up money for custom bookshelves. i can't wait. ((but i think i'll be waiting a long while.)) oh well. love the book page wreath, i did one a bit differently, but i love yours because it doesn't stick out of the wall so much like mine does. (well you know, if it were actually ON the wall, and not in the attic. lol)

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  4. I LOVE the bookshelf (and the closed cabinets below)! In fact I'm trying to just be happy for you and not a little bit jealous :)

    You should definitely link up to Finished Friday this week.

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  5. Love the new look, the bookshelf is beautiful, it looks like a totally different room. Good Job!

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  6. What a nice shelving unit! Your reading corner looks great!

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  7. Your dad did a great job! And I'm glad that you have a reading corner, just like your mom recommends!

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  8. Joy,

    The other side is actually going to be full bookshelves from floor to ceiling without the cabinets.

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  9. I simply adore the bookshelf! Love the personal touch of the wreath, very cute. Enjoy!
    ~Sheri

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  10. Very nice!!! What a wonderful spot to curl up with a book.

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  11. Kristin,

    It is delightful! What a wonderful space! Your Dad is very talented!

    Deanna

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  12. I love the reading nook! And the valance. And the book page wreath. (And of course you would want to use a classic instead of a cheesy paperback.) The picture wouldn't be complete without the sweet little girl sitting in the new chair.

    Do I see By the Light of a Thousand Stars on your shelf? Would I be able to borrow that one from you. That is one we don't have.

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  13. The built-in looks SOOO good! Lovin' the reading corner! Oh, and I'm so with you about not making a wreath out of a trashy romance novel!

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  14. Your mom sent me over.. and I'm glad she did. What a testimony to doing it right the first time. It looks amazing!

    Blessings, Debbie

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  15. It looks wonderful!!

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  16. What a great bookcase! We love books and have lots and lots of bookcases. You have a very handy dad! You're right - taking your time to do things and do them well - that's my husband's motto too.

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