What to do with 6' bookcase? Too short

11 years ago

I went to Brimfield for my first time yesterday! I found something that i loved, and might go back for tomorrow. It's a bookcase, I guess, or more likely general storage for the old European home it was built for. The problem is its height. It's about 6' tall, 4'wide. It's unique and has graceful, curved lines, but at 6' it's lower than the two door frames it would sit between in the upstairs hall. I won't be using it for books, more likely to store linens. It's got open shelving, but maybe I could hang a fabric in front. Maybe this particular piece isn't practical, but I often see antique cabinets of this height, and they're awkward in 8' tall rooms.

Any ideas about what to do to make it fill the space better? Besides putting things on top of it? I guess that's worth trying. I'm even considering building a 2' tall chest to sit under it, and painting them the same color. It needs a coat of paint anyway.

I get frustrated when I see a beautiful piece of furniture but don't know what to do with it! Thanks for your help.

Sort by:Oldest

Comments (11)

Oakley
11 years ago
I have a lowish piece of furniture that sits too short for me also. What I did was find a rectangle picture to go above it and it's perfect! The picture is kind of narrow which looks better than a large rectangle shape. Does that make sense? lol
patty_cakes
11 years ago
Why not just buy another vintage piece rather than building one? It doesn't have to be the same width, as most of the time the bottom of a china cabinet is wider than the hutch part. As long as the style is similar, it would work.

You lucky duck, I've heard so much about Brimfield! I'm in Austin and will be going out to Round Top in a couple of weeks. If the weather would just cool off!
Related Discussions
What do you have in your built in bookcases???
Q
Comments (40)
Chelone's post inspired me to share something: we have almost no books in our house. (awaiting the gasps of horror!!) We recently donated most of what we will not read or use again to our local library. We make weekly trips to the library and are very well read, but you wouldn't necessarily know it to look at our house LOL. I was tired of dusting, storing, and caring for something that really could be enjoyed by other people. We also donated most of our DVDs. It was very liberating and freed up a lot of storage space for us. Now I have a small collection of cookbooks in the dining room, some computer language reference books in the office, and just one or two beloved fiction anthologies in the bedroom. Not a solution for everyone, but it really helped reduce the clutter in our house. It also saves a lot of money on purchases that may only be used/read once or twice. My shelves are only about 25% books, and 75% storage (baskets and boxes storing our camera, computer cords, greeting cards, sheet music, extra reeds, decorative dishes, and photos.)
...See More
Back of my wooden bookcases too thin and cheap looking
Q
Comments (3)
It does depend on how its attached now. If it's just nailed or stapled in, go for it. If it's slid into a groove anywhere, it may be tough to do and you can't go much thicker anyway. But even if you stay thin, you can get really nice plywood - check a specialty lumber supplier if you can. In Canada, Windsor Plywood has great stuff (they have a couple of American stores). You don't always have to sand like crazy when you use filler if you are going to paint afterwards, provided you apply the filler smoothly enough in the first place, usually using a nice wide scraper (may look a bit rustic in the end, but might be better than what you have now). In any event, if you want to do that, it will be easier to work on if you remove the back. You might also consider wallpapering the back (again, if possible, remove the back first to make the job much easier). KarinL
...See More
where do you get nice bookcases with glass doors?
Q
Comments (21)
Thanks--Crl, I'm gonna go to that place. It's not too far. :) I've really tried to figure out how to make the IKEA bookcases work. IKEA is just so easy to deal with I always look there first. (Cash. Carry. Assemble. Done.) I haven't been favorably impressed with Billy in the past but haven't looked at them in a while--they used to be just printed melamine but looks like they now have actual wood veneers! I guess I need to go down there too. But I'm pretty sure the colors won't work for Billy or Hemnes. While we do have a LOT of different woods in the general vicinity of the future bookcase, we don't have any blacks or browny browns or natural birches--we have more of the reddish brown mahogany of the 40s and the rich oranges of the 60s. I'll do a lot of things, but I won't refinish new IKEA furniture! :O On that subject, which I though was ridiculous a minute ago, can you paint a bookcase the wall color (maybe in a glossier finish) and have it look okay?
...See More
Need bookcase with Armoire Desk . What works?
Q
Comments (12)
Thanks Flo...see you're a night owl also! The room is 12'x12'. The desk wall is 8'H x 10.75 wide. North. Ceiling is lath and beams painted same color as wall. Will add photos of the other three walls. Couch facing east with windows, west facing T.V. closet and entry to room, south two windows and door to deck. Sooo, the only wall for the desk is the north wall. I like Doherty Penthouse renovation photo...bookcases to ceiling painted same color as wall. these are pretty narrow so what dimensions would we want to use. Carn have bookcases made with cupboard at bottom. Can paint or stain. maybe put speakers on bottom shelf. Also like the "home office". we can have bookcase made as cupboard wall to wall with glass doors. Like because it can be dusty. The shelf at the ceiling, impractical ...books get dusty and not very accessible. You inspire me! have an opinion re. stain or paint?
...See More
erinsean
11 years ago
Could you put legs on it....that way it would be around 4 inches taller. Or put something on top...basket, plate, figurines etc. to fill the space. As for what to put on the shelves...linens folded nicely, pretty jars/bottles, decorative boxes, pretty books etc. Sounds like nice furniture.
cindyloo123
11 years ago
Why not mount more shelves on the wall above it?

Buy or build a bookcase with cubby size sections designed to hold drawer type baskets. That will give you some closed storage either above or below the new cabinet.
cooperbailey
11 years ago
both lucky ducks, brimfield and roundtop- i am not near either one.
susieq07
11 years ago
I have a bookcase along side of me, and it needed to be higher, so my hubby made a nice base from plywood, and stained it, put trim on top & bottom, set bookcase on top, trim makes it secure and it looks like it is all one piece, turned out great!
tetrazzini
Original Author
11 years ago
Thanks for your ideas. I guess the options are pretty much limited to adding something to the top or to the bottom.

Looking at the picture I took, I realize the cabinet was probably used in the kitchen. (Duh, dishes are displayed in it!) I saw a few interesting ideas on Houzz: one had a similar sized cabinet on a bench-like platform, another finished off the top with an exaggerated crown-type molding.

Further question: what do you think of the idea of hanging fabric over the front to keep dust off the contents of the case (and to hide it)?
camlan
11 years ago
If you are going to put curtains on it, you will want to be able to move the fabric easily and quickly. Use curtain rings--they slide easily. Or have a curtain hold-back mounted on the side of the bookcase, so that you can easy tuck the fabric there when you want to get something off one of the shelves.

Honestly, I cringe every time I see a home makeover show use a curtain for a closet door. They always use rod-pocket curtains, which don't always slide easily on the rod. So every time someone wants to get something out of the closet, they are fumbling with the curtain, and having to use one hand to hold the curtain out of the way, while trying to get what they want with the other hand. I spent a semester in college in an apartment with a curtain for a closet door. Never again.

Curtains can work, but you have to plan them carefully.

You could also look into baskets or attractive bins to hold things, instead of covering them up with a curtain. Then the bins act as drawers--you pull one off the shelf and get what you need.
cindyloo123
11 years ago
I don't care for the curtain in place of doors look, but if I felt I had to do it on a cabinet, I might be able to live with it if I used the prettiest fabric I could find.

I think the part that always looks so wrong to me is the gathered fabric projecting from the cabinet. I'd use a treatment that looks good when it closes FLAT against the cabinet. Either a roman shade (it will not give you very easy access but it will certainly hang flat), or grommet panels that have only enough fabric to close flat against the cabinet.

I think we really need to see the cabinet in question though!
tetrazzini
Original Author
11 years ago
Okay, you both convinced me! I've never used a curtain this way, and now I'm not going to try. It was a last ditch hope of using a nice cabinet that really doesn't work for me. Thanks for your honest responses!
lynn_r_ct
11 years ago
I am only about an hour away from Brimfield and I have to force myself not to go! Obviously, you could not have seen the whole place in one day unless you just skipped through. Go back and find something more to your liking. Don't just buy it because you "have to buy something".

What to do with 6' bookcase? Too short

Comments (11)

Oakley

patty_cakes

Related Discussions

erinsean

cindyloo123

cooperbailey

susieq07

tetrazzini
Original Author

camlan

cindyloo123

tetrazzini
Original Author

lynn_r_ct

COMPANY

BUSINESS SERVICES

GET HELP

CONNECT WITH US

What to do with 6' bookcase? Too short

Comments (11)

Related Discussions

tetrazziniOriginal Author

tetrazziniOriginal Author

COMPANY

BUSINESS SERVICES

GET HELP

CONNECT WITH US

tetrazzini
Original Author

tetrazzini
Original Author