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One Room Challenge, Week Two

It’s been a big week at this casa thanks to Linda and her One Room Challenge! I’ve been dreaming of a wall of bookcases for just about ever and the ORC was the perfect motivation to get this done. I can’t think of a better room to have in a house than one that is piled high with books. Never mind that our current abode has about zero character or architectural interest – it’s an empty canvas just waiting for the likes of me – who fancies myself as a carpenter despite having no real skills – to come along and bling it out.

First up – the wall I planned on putting the bookcases on – the one surrounding the French doors – did not work out.

I kind of ignored the fact that the huge armoire in our living room had to go elsewhere to make the bookcases happen on this wall. I envisioned the armoire in our finished basement, storing blankets and bedding for the extra teens and tweens we always have around the house on the weekends. Long story short – it weighs a ton and took 4 burly movers to get it in here in the first place, so moving it would not be easy. (I had blocked that out when I was dreaming of my bookcase wall.)  SO. Plan B. Keep the armoire (that I actually like, it just takes up a lot of square footage) in the room, and reconfigure the bookcases.

We put those little furniture sliders under the feet and I pushed it onto this wall. I don’t HATE it there, and there is NO other place on this floor it can go to, so guess what – it’s staying. More on the armoire at a later date because if it’s staying it’s gonna have to earn it’s keep in here
(and can someone tell me why the blinds and armoire look so red in photos but not in real life?)

Down came my black & white photo wall on the wall facing the dining room – and up went three Ikea Billy bookcases.

(They are just leaning against the wall here – not built in yet.)
I toyed with building them from scratch using this bookcase tutorial on This Old House. In the end, I decided on the Ikea bookcases because they are easy to assemble and I am tackling these on my own. The bigger task with this project is stabilizing the bookcases to the wall and trimming them out to make them look built-in.
The jury is out on whether buying the Ikea kits is more cost effective than building bookcases from scratch. At the end of the ORC I’ll tell you how much the bookcases and supplies added up to.
The three Billys I built for the front wall were almost a perfect fit here – just half an inch too long! I immediately loved them in this spot…..except for the fact that the other side of the doorway into the dining room looked awfully lonely and unbalanced.

I showed some of these last week – bookcases that span over a doorway. I am a huge fan. I think they look so custom and just AWESOME. What do you think about them?

1//Unknown   2//Salt Magazine    3//Lisa Hubbard    4//Madeline Weinrib
Since the ceilings are not very high in this house, there is less than a foot over the bookcases, and crown molding will be taking up a good bit of that, so while I wouldn’t be able to have a shelf up there I can box out the space over the doorway like in #4 above to unify the bookcase wall.
Placing a bookcase on either side of the doorway gave me a feel for it and I love them framing out the view into the dining room and our backyard beyond.

Of course no project would be complete without a few issues to work out. That little wall to the left of the doorway is a funky size and I’m going to have to retrofit the final bookcase in there. That should be interesting 🙂

Next week I’ll show you what I did to customize the bookcase backs….it might be the part I am most excited about!!

Did you see the progress of all the ORC designers yesterday? So inspiring! Today is the day the ORC Linkers share our posts at Calling It Home, and wow is there some crazy talent amongst the linking participants! Check them out here.

Thanks for stopping by. The Mister and I are headed off for a very long overdue 3 day getaway tomorrow morning, and I cannot wait! I have the best parents in law and mom in the world taking our kids to their 27947 activities while we’re gone. #thankgodforgrandparents

Wishing you a wonderful weekend ahead, my friends!

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Comments

  10. Simply LKJ says

    Love the idea of framing the doorway. We added a wall of bookcases in our living room years ago turning it into a music/library room. We love it! A space that now gets used.

    Reply

  11. Privet and Holly says

    Wish you could bottle
    your energy, Lisa! Loved
    all the posts that you put
    up today : ) Your book cases
    are going to be amazing
    and I know you'll love
    having your favorite books
    displayed so beautifully!

    We did the armoire dance
    last year, which included
    moving two down to our
    finished basement and one
    up and out to the garage
    to be given away. You may
    decide that it's worth it to
    hire the burly men and just
    be done with it. I was glad
    to open the space, as we
    didn't need it for housing
    a TV anymore….

    Enjoy your love weekend!!!

    xo Suzanne

    Reply

  12. pam {simple details} says

    Oh no, dang that armoire, come on big boys!! Any possibility it could work in the new kitchen, a free standing pantry, glass doors?? Oh my gosh I couldn't love the new spot any more, it's going to be gorgeous! And, I'm so intrigued about the back!! Ahhh, hope you have the best time, you deserve a nice weekend away! 🙂

    Reply

  15. Dana Frieling says

    It looks amazing already and you haven't even shown us the good part! I share your affection for bookcases that frame doors…greatness. Enjoy your hubby time!

    Reply

  17. Cathy Wall says

    First of all, enjoy your getaway, I am jealous! Don't think about the ORC while you are gone, the bookcase install will be there when you get back, unless of course your inlays finish them while you are gone. I love the look you are going after and know that you will make it fab. Too bad about the armoire tho…. Pam had an excellent solution I thought!

    Reply

  22. Sara Lorton says

    I absolutely love the armoire, but I even more adore the bookcases framing the doorway. I can't wait to see it all finished :)See you next week!

    Reply