Refinishing bookcases and creating a library/lounge and dining room
NE Broe
5 years ago
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holeinwall
5 years agoNE Broe
5 years agoRelated Discussions
Reading Room/Home Library - Paint Color Help!
Comments (53)Love the room! I admire your courage in going dark (I love the look, but am into a 'neutral walls' phase right now. Might be laziness, really.) BTW: re: RH pic of the books with the covers ripped off. Do you suppose they do that because of liability issues? I mean, couldn't the publishers of books featured in ads go after the advertiser for using their books without permission? So, it's easier for ad directors to simply remove the covers rather than have to get permission from all those publishers to use the image?...See Moreseeking opinions on these bookcases for the library
Comments (36)loribee and Connie, thank you for the kind words. Connie, I just spent some lovely time on your blog, totally captivated by your new kittens and your roses. (I'm a new native gardening.) I love seeing what people have done with customizing other pieces but we're just not DIY folks at all. Hubby has ZERO interest and my abilities are limited. So mostly we either have to buy ready to go or pay someone to do things. One other reason to replace these is that I can then move some of them into my office which has shorter shelves and into hubby's office which also has shorter shelves. We need a lot of bookspace. les - no, the store won't come out here and it's not custom as in them building various sizes. Plus the store is an hour away. The fitting is pretty basic - I have 67" on one side of the fireplace and 73" on the other. All bookcases are 12" deep and there is 33" and 46" wide one to be used. So 12" + 46" = 58 with 9" left on one side and 15" left on the other because of course the fireplace isn't in the middle of the wall. :) Those gaps are too wide on either side of the fireplace to look decent and if I use these cases, I can't really make something to fit the small space and match. If I use the pine ones I have more widths to choose from, 24, 30, 36, 48 so I could do a 24 and 30 on one side and 30 and 30 on the other side which, when I add in the 12" depth for the cases from the other wall, gives me an inch to spare. But I need to figure out the heat registers and look at the case bottoms better today to see if we can cut the fronts for registers or mount them on bases of some kind. I tell you, I'm exhausted by all of this. Watching them demo the ceramic tile for the wood floor is going to be a piece of cake after this. :) The other think you might consider, and I dont know for sure what would be cheaper, would be to have the bookcases made of stain-grade plywood, or paint grade that you do in a deep black brown, or a white to match the fireplace. I spent another couple of hours looking at the various manufacturers on the stores website and found a couple of entertainment units that should work. I'll ask about them when we go today. Hubby is picky. We need something for the TV, no problem, but then the 4 components (DVD, TiVo, subwoofer and CD player) need a space that is open on both the front and the back. He won't use glass or cloth doors and wants an open back. (We'll just cut what we need from the back if it doesn't come open.) But like I said, I think there are a few pieces that would work and the handyman came by last night and said that he could do the bridge stuff I wanted. It's the heat registers to solve now. And can I just say again, thank you to all of you who read and comment and hold hands through this process? I don't have anyone local here to bounce this stuff around with so I really, really appreciate it....See MoreLooking to create a British men's living/sitting room
Comments (10)Sources to google for ideas and inspiration: John Soanes' house in London. Also check out movies like Gosford Park and mini-series like BBC's "Jeeves & Wooster" or "Rosemary & Thyme" or the old series of "Sherlock Holmes" Let's see: A gentleman's study or library would be lined with dark bookcases (with a rolling ladder) filled with books; a fireplace with real logs and a proper fender; old portraits and an old mirror over the fireplace mantel. There would be old maps and botanical prints -- along with old prints of wild animals from around the world. There would be "interesting" collections -- like a grouping of old tortoiseshell boxes and silver frames with photos of the "ancestors" A comfortable sofa (maybe a leather chesterfield) with a couple of leather chairs sharing an ottoman (maybe covered with an animal-skin fabric like zebra or leopard) flanking the fireplace. A good worn old area rug like a Heriz. Lots of lamps around the room -- and lots of tables and a desk. A bar suitably stocked; a tray on top to hold a decanter, an ice bucket and a silver cocktail shaker and its stirrer. Tiny bottles of club soda and ginger ale would be stashed in the cabinet. Sometimes bottles of liquor are kept on top - or stashed in the cabinet. Decanters are brought into the room when serving up snifters of brandy or a schooner of sherry. Don't forget a lovely platter of cheeses, grapes/sliced apples/pears and water crackers. Also a box of very nice chocolates to be passed around the room. Jan at Rosemary Cottage...See MorePeek at the new library bookcases
Comments (52)Allison, good to know you also feel that way about the trim over the entertainment center. I will do a mock-up. I guess my one question would be, if I were to decorate the ledge above that white trim (the trim is the forward edge of a ledge that goes back about 3 feet and the full length of that wall) would it still be good to have it all one color? I don't know that I would decorate the ledge. I've been on the lookout for something to put up there but in almost 4 years, I haven't found anything yet. I just wonder because it defines a change in levels....See MoreNE Broe
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