If it will have the look of built ins I would match the room. Your furniture/decor will likely change over time. The books shelves you want to have lasting power, I would assume. Do not lock yourself into painting/color/repainting.

I think if the intent is for them to look like built-ins I would consider matching the wall color or the trim and not worry about the furniture. Cherry will definitely darken the room quite a bit, is that the look you are trying to achieve?

Thanks for the input!

I think I'm afraid to commit to permanent placement of things which is why I'm looking at individual bookcases instead of builtins. :)

Paint has certainly been considered--especially when I was thinking I could make IKEA work--but aside from yellow walls and a white ceiling, there's no paint to match. I'd rather stick to a wood finish so that in the future I can shuffle the bookcases around...split up the set and stick them in the kids' bedrooms, whatever. I do like those green bookcases though! But I'm looking for something simpler and midcentury-inspired and I'm not sure that would work as well with paint as a traditionally detailed bookcase.

I don't think the cherry would darken the room much (maybe all the junk/books inside would, though). I'm looking at unstained cherry which darkens into a medium light orange tone. This is in a low ranch house with 8 ft ceilings and I don't think bookcases can be tall enough to be oppressive in there.

But it sounds like dark wood is out!

Hi Fori, I don't know what your style is but wouldn't this be pretty with stained to match book cases on both sides?

Yes, that would be very pretty. And I would like glass doors on it all! I've been watching CL for years looking for a proper curio/china cabinet/wall unit or something of that type and I've given up. I want BIG storage. I will train children to dust.

Although much of my living and dining room furniture is midcentury Duncan-Phyfe ish (or art deco--don't judge me!), the house itself is a simple '50s ranch with clamshell molding and slab doors throughout. I think I will just do something with very simple lines that will just recede without making much of a statement. Like this very plain style from Room & Board:

Wow that is a large, blurry image. Anyway, it would match the woodwork in the house. (I would naturally get some hardwood mushroom knobs.)

That's nice Fori!

I wish I had room for this. I'm keeping this ad though as someday I would love to change out the doors on my kitchen cabinets to something like this. Love those roundish door pull thingy's .

I would have made that work!