Tuesday, October 19, 2010

our own library...

We finally finished the built in bookshelves in the hallway! Now I have most of my homeschool books there and it frees up the space in the schoolroom to build a custom long desk for the girls. Our plan is to have three computer stations on the long desk and shelves above. First priority though is to finish the upstairs bathroom.

Here is what the hallway looked like before. I loved it but it was a lot of wasted space.


So after Brian tore out the chair rail and the baseboards we discovered really cool old wallpaper. It had been painted over so many times (including 3 by me) we couldn't save it but we did create this mess.


Oops! So I decided I would really like having beadboard paneling behind the bookcases since there was no way we were going to rip out the lathe and plaster and sheetrock.


Brian built the frame work.

Then we had to stop for a quick trip to Urgent Care as Brian had cut into his fingertips with his new circular saw.


Okay, back to work. After the base went in and before he nailed it down we put in a letter to future homeowners and a copy of that days newspaper.



Shelves up and ready to be caulked, primed and painted. I painted it with our trim paint, tried and true Behr Decorators White in semi gloss.


I layed some really cool contact paper down so the shelves wouldn't get scratched or dirty and we loaded it up with all our homeschool books.




Please ignore my pull up bar. I'm doing another round of P90X and this is the only place I could put it and still see the tv. I guess I could have taken it down for the pictures though.


Brian even found a library stool that needs some work. I'll probably play around and rearrange books for awhile but it's fully functional as is and I love having the extra space. My favorite part is the trim around the top and bottom. It makes it looks like it's always been there.

Linked to:
The DIY Show Off





11 comments:

Sara Bette said...

Somehow part of me suspects that one day you'll be ripping out the bookshelves and doing something new with the space and you'll discover a letter written by yourself to yourself...

Roeshel said...

Amy (& Brian) - I love it! Thanks so much for sharing in the DIY Project Parade! I'm going to feature you tomorrow! Stop by and grab an "I'm Featured" button and show off! ;) You two did an amazing job making a wasted space useful. I love the part about the letter and newspaper!

Have a great week!

Roeshel

tasha said...

amazing.....i want one too! ;)

glad your hubs was okay. and i also loved your hidden treasure! how fun!

Radiomom said...

WOW! That turned out BEAUTIFULLY!!!! I LOVE the new use of your space!!! :)

Jillbert said...

I love it!!! I've been considering turning our upstairs hallway into a "library" and seeing this motivates me even more!

Anita @ GoingALittleCoastal said...

This was a great use of space! You guys did a great job. Looks like it's always been there.

Kristy said...

I came over after seeing this featured on the DIY Show Off - what a fantastic way to use what would otherwise be wasted space!

I've browsed around some of your other posts - your house just oozes creativity. Love that!

Anonymous said...

What an awesome idea. It looks great!

ann @ mylifeasprose said...

i saw your post on the DIY showcase... i LOVE the look of floor-ceiling bookshelves, and i'm sooo impressed with how you re-purposed this little space! kudos!:)

Unknown said...

great job! I wish I had nook to convert.

Deborah@Green Willow Pond said...

Nice job. As a homeschool mom I can appreciate much needed bookcases! Now if I could just find an unused corner...