Today was a planned day off of work so we could get the last bookcase installed in my studio and install the finish trim. It took us about four and a half hours to get everything done today. I have some trim left to do in my office space but otherwise we are ready for painting.
Because everything is going to be painted we were able to use a lot of scrap trim to finish up the job; holes and edges can be sanded, caulked and painted and look just fine.
I really like the new angled bookcase we installed. It’s in my top five favorite things I’ve designed in my lifetime. It’s going to look great when it’s painted. The middle shelves are angled to get more storage capacity for larger books on the left side. At the right side it’s all the same depth so it doesn’t protrude into the floor space below. There is still room in my studio nook now to put a chair and ottoman for reading or relaxing (sleeping).
We also trimmed out the tall bookcases with a wrap of 1×3’s at the ceiling and a band about 90″ up. This lower band is right at the height necessary for a library ladder, should we ever choose to install one down the road. Note to separate the wall color between his and her studio (above) we nailed up a small block of trim next to the window at the top of the tall bookcases (see photo).
I’m not sure what colors I’ll select for my studio, other than I think the bookcases will be “cardboard” in color, with the wall likely being a tone lighter than that. The painter recommended oil paint for the bookshelves for durability but we don’t think we want to deal with the smell and the long term chance that the paint might yellow. Instead we’ll tell him to paint the shelves in latex (which isn’t as durable and never really “dries”) and then I’ll hit the horizontal surfaces with a water based clear coat to make them more durable, almost like plastic.
Take a look at the photos and let me know what you think.
Chris
Below the new bookcase is an access panel for the water shut off
The tall bookcases are all trimmed out and ready for painting.
The angled design of the bookcase allows larger items to be stored to the left, smaller items to the right, while preserving usable floor space.
The angled bookcase installed and ready for painting.
The three peanuts we grew this year.
nine apple trees 