There are many different ways to do a wooden BS. I have seen something similar in my KD's showroom. It's a nice look and takes the guess work out of an entire BS, but you still have to figure something out behind the range.

I also would go with a solid wood over particle board where kids are concerned. I had a lot of particle board furniture over the years because it was affordable. It will start to sag rather quickly, and if the kids rough-house around it, the hardware will start to pull out faster, and once that happens you cant' repair it. I'd go with the Target one over the Ikea on for the price difference. The Ikea one is painted particle board, and if if the paint gets scratched and then gets wet, the particle board will start to swell and come apart. The Target is painted wood. The Vallvik is also painted wood (I own two of them) and is very solid. It would be very easy to paint and add a back to the vallvik. When my kids were little I went with cheap, as I figured they were just as likely to scratch and mess up the expensive stuff. I have a really nice antique dresser that I used in my daughter's room for a while. If you get in just the right light, you can see, in childish script, her first name carefully scratched across the bottom drawer face. It's so light I never even noticed it until she was 20. Had the drawer out and it was in very bright light, the Mom in me thinks it's kind of nostalgic, I'm sure I would have been horrified had I caught her doing it when she was 6.

Outside, I enjoy those books too--- my late FIL went to school with Ferrol Sams and we love his novels. I hadn't realized he wrote essays as well. "When attending art shows, I swear off coffee table books but I am weak." We share that weakness, lol. Seems I am "always" never going to buy another huge book... Beagles, that room is fantastic, and I do see your pile of books peeking out from under that chair to the left :-) I'm with you on the kindle, but every now and then I like to hold a real book. Even though I find myself pushing the edge of the page instead of turning it (hanging head). No screen can reproduce the heft and color of those prints in large books, there is something about a good quality art print that is somehow more convincing than an image on a screen. Sloe gin, over the past decade or so I've seen many people putting lovely shelving in their dining rooms to combine functions or simply bring books into a room that doesn't often see them. I love that look, of a literary dining room! And your basket sounds eminently practical, we use our shagreen boxes and ceramic bowls for the same purpose--- the "stuff" has got to be corralled somehow. I have seen that Circus book, Robo, and the Atomic Ranch book also, they are both marvelous! It's clear that our collective enjoyment of these tomes is at least partly for the esthetic quality of the books themselves in addition to the content. I suppose that's what makes them "useful" decor :-) In some cases they might function purely as decor, as the leather books you've used, tinam. Have you seen the book purses that are so popular in some circles? Kate Spade has or had a few, and there's quite a cottage industry on Etsy making real old books into small handbags. They aren't a tenth big enough for me, but I love looking at them!

I do think that is a really cool recycling set up. As far as compost, after trying different methods for 30 years, I like this pivot out waste container the best. I used an old stainless stockpot on our counter for years and years then graduated to Norpro with filter (I loved the filter) and then to this. The lid lifts off when the door is swung open so there is no lid to deal with and to put down on the counter (my lids got pretty yucky at times.) I can usually get the door open with my pinky when my hands are gunky or are full of scraps. The weight of the pail is not on the door--the pail is supported by a bracket screwed into the cabinet itself. This one if made by Rev a Shelf. I don't find any problem with the plastic liner pail--no odor is retained as far as I can tell. There is no filter but the lid seems to keep the odors contained. I wouldn't want an in-counter system. It's too permanent. What if you decide to switch to something else (i.e. worms or whatever else is coming down the road)? A business friend put this type of system in 25 years ago and stopped using it after a couple of years (not because she stopped composting--she was an avid composter and gardener) and was stuck with the hole in her counter.