As soon as Emma could read fluently, she started reading constantly. She reads anything she can get her hands on. During the school year, when her teacher required 20 minutes of fun reading per night, it was all I could do to keep books around that she hadn't already read.
While the love of books is awesome, the storage of books can be problematic. Emma's room is about 10'x11' with a tiny closet. There's not any room for a big bookshelf, and now that baby brother has moved in, the space is tighter than ever.
There are of course a few non-storage solutions for the avid reader. The library is great, because you can give them back. We also like to pass books on to friends who love to read. And while Half Price Books gives almost nothing in exchange for them, I get a rush from taking in a huge box of books we don't want, and coming back with one or two that I actually do want. Gain some space, get a great new book.
But what about the favorites? The books that we want to keep forever, the books that are next on the must-read list, and the books she wants to re-read still need a place to hang out til their time has come.
Emma and I have been stashing them wherever we can.
The closet is piled high.
This box used to hold Esther's diapers and wipes. Now it holds books. And other crap.
Aunt Elizabeth sent a box of classics in the mail, and instead of putting them away, we added more books to the box.
That was the last straw.
But where can you store books when there is just no space to spare?
I walked around and around the room, and that's when I spotted it.
That spot between the bedroom door and the closet door!
I turned to the Ana White website, and it turns out (of course) she had the perfect plans just waiting for me there.
Her shelves are 24 inches wide, but I wanted to make the most of the space, so I lengthened mine to 26 1/2 inches.
The trickiest step is cutting the end caps. You have to use a jigsaw, but I thought that was fun. I love seeing identical handmade objects in rows or stacks.
The rest of the shelves were so simple to put together.
I think the total assembly time was about an hour for all four shelves. I used pocket holes and had to change the order the boards were attached to make sure all the holes would be hidden in the end. (Attach the back of the shelf last.)
After sanding them to soften the lumber's crisp corners, I painted them with a coat of "Honey Bear" from Behr.
Emma's walls are aqua, and I love the vintage look that comes from the unexpected combo of aqua and golden yellow.
After the paint had fully dried, I scuffed up the corners again with a fine grit sandpaper, and rubbed wood stain over the entire surface. This is the same finish I used on the entryway bench, and I love how it makes it look a bit time-worn.
Ready to see the secret library?
I still can't believe there's a whole library wall behind this door.
A close-up of the stain-rubbed paint finish.
This 27-inch stretch of wall space is finally pulling it's own weight. I can't wait to make the rest of the room work this well for us.
These shelves are shallow, but they really do hold quite a few books. I probably could have fit one more, but I like how there's plenty of space for some tall books or other flat items. We were able to empty the two boxes of books, and still have room to spare. The closet books are still in the closet, but this creative space making thing is a process. I have a couple other ideas up my sleeve for those guys.
The total cost for the shelves was about $30--including the finish. I looked up similar shelves on Pottery Barn's website, and they cost $39 each!! And they're not as long as mine, and only come in black or white. I feel like I just saved myself $130 by building my own.
Now I'm looking behind every door in the house, brainstorming what kind of shelves I can stash there. I've already started some for Ethan's room.
One tip to remember, before you make your own shelves for behind the door, hold a 1x4 perpendicular to the wall to make sure the door will freely open after they are up.
Do you have a creative space-making tip to share? Leave it in the comments! Links are welcome!
And if you don't already follow me on pinterest, I'm always pinning new fun ideas on this subject. Plus, I'm really close to 800 followers--maybe you could get me there!
Follow here. And just hover over any of the photos on this post to pin them to your own boards.
Till next time!
Anna
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