DIY, Built-in, Glass-front Bookcase.
Back when we were overhauling the third floor, I got questions about the built-in bookcase… I am finally getting around to writing it out.
It is not original– Paul made it… it’s really more of a false front than actual furniture.
It’s very simple!*
*(if you don’t actually make it yourself and just watch someone else do it.)
You can also read this post to see the pre-renovation attic; will give you a better feel for the third-floor’s layout (and some truly alarming paint choices)… I never wrote a full blog about the bath remodel up here, but you can see parts of it in this blog– we did traditional Carrara marble hexagon tile which I really love!
As you can see in the video below, the ceilings are 10′ tall and slanted at a bunch of different angles— a challenge to make ALL the space usable!
By the time we got everything insulated and sheetrocked, I had an idea for the nook, pictured below– it was the only recessed area, had a visible pipe, and no knee wall.
Note: these before-photos were taken pre-blog, so not my finest photo-demonstration.
First, let me get the pipe-explanation out of the way.
We painted the pipe but otherwise made no attempt to disguise it inside the cabinet… the part that extends above the cabinet got boxed behind a false wall– bumped out just far enough to sheetrock over the visible pipe.
Before Paul did anything with doors, he did shelves.
The shelf-supports go right on the wall itself— fixed in place, they are not adjustable.
To determine the best size, we played with the height/width variable.
I knew I wanted double doors, but figuring out the proportions was give-and-take… the taller we made the bookcase, the skinnier the doors/access would be.
The two rectangular doors are operational, the side panel on the right is fixed.
We used hinges that are full inset, full wrap; same as our DIY medicine cabinet– I wanted the hinges to OVERextend, but also be totally flush, and also have visible fancy knob bits.
For the pulls, I bought a bulk pack of these knobs– identical to what RH sells for nine million dollars.
I was in a very NICKLE place at the time, but if I could do it again, I’d go brass.
We used also used them for the bath’s transom window we added… you don’t really need a handle, but I like the added detail.
Random FYI: I sold that Victorian bookcase when I got rid of all my unwanted stuff… BUT the top piece is actually from a headboard– that piece I kept.
I tried to figure out how to use it as a header to frame out the refrigerator nook, but Paul saw me standing on a chair and holding it over my head and he was like– whatever you think is happening with that, is not happening.
Did I ask Paul to please now remove all the walls and replace them with bookcases?
I did.
No dice.
So weird.
What I’m Reading: Heartland: A Memoir of Working Hard and Being Broke in the Richest Country on Earth, Sarah Smarsh
I love memoir, and this one is particularly excellent… the grinding experience of rural poverty; in the vein of The Glass Castle… an American story.
December 19, 2019 @ 11:36 am
Do you never read anything frivolous, like a witch/vampire love story or something? 😉
December 19, 2019 @ 11:48 am
lol… I really enjoyed the Deborah Harkness trilogy!! The first one was the best, the last was not my favorite, but still very creative!
December 19, 2019 @ 1:19 pm
YES! Me too!
December 19, 2019 @ 11:55 am
I loved Heartland. You might also like $2 a Day: Living on Almost Nothing in America by Kathryn Edin. Very juicy and a little more academic than Heartland.
I also want all my walls turned into bookshelves. And I lack any talent for precision work and I don’t own any of the tools, like a chop saw, that would allow me to actually do any type of finish carpentry. And I have no Paul of my own. Woe is me! Woe! Woe!
December 19, 2019 @ 12:13 pm
I hope you know how absolutely fortunate you are to have a husband that can do what he does to bring to fruition your brilliant ideas… mine is an invited guest!!
December 19, 2019 @ 12:14 pm
You use the “royal we” with such wonderful abandon. My husband uses it all the time in regards to the meals I cook. He is not allowed to cook since the mandoline event.
December 19, 2019 @ 12:19 pm
It looks fabulous, but I’m wondering why the two of you didn’t just build the shelves all the way to the top and leave them open, without the cupboard doors. Knowing how particular you are, Victoria, I’m guessing you already considered that, and I missed something here. Anyway, they look great, and I LOVE the airy feeling of your attic space. What is the paint color you used on the walls?
December 19, 2019 @ 12:29 pm
I don’t think I could take on Heartland. It would make me feel too sad. It’s a travesty what has happened to the middle classes in our country. Many of the jobs they once held don’t exist anymore, but I think much of it is corporate greed, and it is killing our country. My late father used to work in the investment business for Merrill Lynch, (which incidentally doesn’t exist anymore either), but everyone that worked there made a living wage – from the people at the top on down to the person in the mail room. They could afford to pay rent, feed themselves, they had medical coverage, stock options – you name it. Now the greedy people at the top take everything, and treat their employees as if they were something to use and then dispose of.
(Apologies for my rant, Victoria.)
December 19, 2019 @ 2:39 pm
When my Chemical Engineer Husband(along with thousands of others) was forcibly retired after 27 years with Bethlehem Steel he was assured this would be fantabulous for America because steel manufacturing going south would raise the wages/income of our neighbors to the South to the middle class who would then purchase tons of American manufactured products. Their wages did not rise/the rest of our jobs offshored to again cheap labor no environmental regulations/no OSHA to protect workers from work injuries with safety requirements.
I believe only 1 in 4 Americans graduate with a usable College degree-manufacturing was entree into advancement based on hard work and intelligence. Those two could take one up the pecking order to Supervisor,even management. Today- highschool grads find work that will support them (not still living with parents) where? Fast food-soon to be automated-Packing boxes at an Amazon facility? We need to make our own products with regulations on low energy use and low or no air and water pollution. For the children of our future. We put a man on the Moon 50 years ago-we can do this! Don’t buy till it’s Made in America!
December 19, 2019 @ 5:07 pm
I’m with you Lisa… I grew up in the 70s when we were all middle class and happy. CEOs lived a neighborhood over from the laborer. What we have now is a mess.
December 28, 2019 @ 2:36 pm
Then the rest of the world started working harder longer smarter, studying harder, and aspire to be themselves middle class. While America remained in place.
December 19, 2019 @ 12:42 pm
These look fabulous! Where and how did you get the glass cut?
December 19, 2019 @ 2:02 pm
Ha! Remember when Paul claimed he wasn’t a finish carpenter?
December 23, 2019 @ 8:36 am
May I ask – is Paul a carpenter by trade? He is easily the most talented remodeler I’ve ever come across. He is the House MacGyver.
December 24, 2019 @ 1:30 am
You HAVE TO READ Educated by Tara Westover. My pick for best book of 2018. I haven’t decided on best book of 2019….
I also read Heartland. I just found myself talking to the book so much. The family kept making the same mistakes over and over again.