Wow, lazygardens, that looks great. We're having shelves made for a weird corner in our LR. I priced Billy bookcase components at IKEA at about $800 (IKEA is six hours from us, plus we'd have to rent a trailer to take it all home). We got four bids from local carpenters, and the guy with the best customer recommendations also came in the cheapest, at $1100. We have a lot of friends who are delighted with their Billys, so if you're near an IKEA I'd take a look. (there are also a ton of Web commentaries on using these: I found one hilarious article titled, "Pimp my Billy," about innovative reimaginations of Billy bookcases...) THere are doors that can fit on Billy units, turning them into cabinets. There's also the Benno shelving, which is pricier but I think better-looking. If you want ideas on how to make IKEA components work for you, go over to ikeafans.com and post a query. The folks over there are hugely helpful. If you go with a contractor, and if your area is anything like mine, you'll be waiting a while and doing a fair amount of pursuit. Tradespeople are just incredibly busy right now. The guy we hired had just finished making the cabinetry and built-ins for friends of ours, so we got to see his (beautiful) work installed before making a decision. I'd recommend you do that. And expect delays, expect to have to chase them, all of that. Not fun, but it seems to be almost universal right now re home renovation.

This is probably way too late, but if not....I was flipping the channels the other night (be so glad when the writer's strike is over) and came upon the last few minutes of HGTV's Color Splash, with that David guy. (He's very talented, but can only take so much of him.) The segment was "Dramatic Den Makeover" - (the number for the episode is HCLRS.304 and it will be aired again on January 28 at 8:30 ET. Anyhow, he transformed this space to a gorgeous libary setting. Took prefab bookcases and added crown molding and it was phenomenal! You might find it interesting.

My husband built new bookcases and cabinets on either side of the fireplace and we got ride of the old entertainment center. All of the sound equipment went into the cabinets and the T.V. was moved downstairs (we hardly ever watch T.V. so we don't miss it in the living room anyway). This week's project is putting up all new crown molding in the living room and dining room - I'll post pictures when we're done with that part. It's shaping up nicely. BEFORE: AFTER:

Glad to hear your girls like fairy tale characters. The book was rather difficult with a jillion characters to keep track of but maybe someday they will tackle that also. As far as a pic of the room, it doesn't exist except in my mind. Right now it is filled to the ceiling almost with stuff moved out of our kitchen which has been demolished and any furniture now in the room such as a loveseat and coffee table,etc. will be given/donated away. I'm even not absolutely sure of the arrangement in my diagram but so far I'm tending in that direction. May have to close the wall a bit between living room and dining room because I think a little less openness there might add some coziness and also give me room to put a corner cabinet in the dining room that will kind of be hidden but still useful for storage which is what this house has least of. Obviously, I don't have this all together but I do best one step at a time so if I could make up my mind about the bookcases, I think it would help me move on to the next step of deciding the rest of the furniture/room. Even the fireplace is unfinished and covered with cement backer board ready for marble (which we haven't picked out yet) but I think the bookcases because they will be first thing one sees when they enter the room should be decided first. Thoughts? The house though small is quite nice even if I do say so myself - especially once we get the kitchen remodel finished. (Though we also have a big job ahead of us doing the hardwood floors plus other tasks by contractors - this is not diy). The house is 75 years old but as I continue on this journey of remodeling, it seems my tastes have definitely moved from vintage/eclectic to modern/eclectic. Hence the reason for my indecision. I think the builtin bookcases will definitely bring me back from my modern direction. And I've heard it mentioned here that some think builtin bookcases give a room character. We are very fortunate that our house has so much character that it is not a major concern to add more. Though guess it never hurts. (sorry I'm rambling, it is late , will stop here...)