Since we moved in a year ago I’ve been dreaming of building in some bookshelves next to the fireplace. The wall area always looked a little blank and it was hard to position furniture without a ton of wasted space under the windows.

Thank you Craig.

Craig is my stepfather and a lover of carpentry – so the labor was cheap. I drew up some plans for what I wanted and through the magic of plywood and tools he constructed a pair of very simple bookshelves.

This is the base that matches the molding and is set back to create a two inch kick gap under the shelf.

This is one of the finished shelves getting ready to get installed.

Ta-Da!

There were a few weird hitches, like trying to fit the electrical outlets through the shelves and dealing with the uneven plaster walls. Craig was a champion DIY guy and we couldn’t have done this without him. Every new homeowner needs a Craig.

I primed each case with two coats of Kilz. THIS I know how to do. Awesome fun.

I caulked all the gaps around the edges. I love caulk.
Then I painted them with three coats of Behr Ultra Pure White in a satin finish.

Wasted space finally made useful.

I FINALLY finished them last night. They look surprisingly nice and very seamless. I love the off-set vertical supports mirrored on each side. Saving the outlets and installing them through the bottom shelf really adds to the illusion that they may be original built-ins.

Now its all about filling them up with crap.

Coming soon…the built-in breakfast area in the kitchen