custom book shelf design
We just built our house. Unfortunately the design plans (photo 4, original design) weren't followed at all so we need to redo them to go around vents, light switches, and plugs.
photo 1 is the space as it is today, please ignore all the clutter...
photos 2 and 3 are new designs.... please let me know which one is better, or if I need to go back to the drawing board. I'm thinking that the overall height has to match the other ledges and there should be adequate space from the light switch and vents.
photo 4 was the original concept which is now not possible as I don't want to relocate AC vents, light switches, and plugs.
thanks!!!
Comments (21)
Irene Morresey
5 years agoSindy W
5 years agoRelated Discussions
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Comments (26)Wow. Interesting thread. Since this book thread has morphed into a general conversation on garden design I just wanted to share my recent experience with hiring a garden design professional. My husband, family, & friends thought I was nuts because I have been a professional floral designer most of my life, & have all that good stuff going for me: sense of proportion, balance, texture, color, etc. However, I have been gardening in containers all my life & have been able to rearrange things as they matured or changed to create pleasing compositions. When I bought my first house & it came time to plant things in the ground, I was seized with fear. All of a sudden I realized that ultimate landscape size, and the happiness of a plant in it's permanent position was critically important. The person I hired was excellent. He liked a lot of what I had done & worked from that. He suggested shapes more than specific plants, although he had a few plant suggestions. And some of his ideas surprised me. Things I wouldn't have thought of. A lot of it was based on classic English garden design even though my yard is tiny. It was such a pleasure to plant the first tree, and wake in the morning and realize not only did I see it out the living room window but I could see it from out my bedroom's french doors. He had thought of that! And having a design plan that said "deciduous tree here up to 25' high, or tall narrow conifer here up to 12' high" left my brain free to focus on the plant that would ultimately fulfill the design goal, and thrive in it's location. When I was a floral designer I had friends who were too snobby to do funeral work. As if this momentous occasion were above them. Well good design is good design, as I think several of you have pointed out, even it's resting atop a casket. So I guess what I'm saying is good design is important but also hard. Even for those of us trained in it. And the plants do matter. Without the right plant in the right spot the design doesn't come together. And even if you think you know what you're doing it's always great to have another set of eyes....See MoreMaster Bathroom Cabinets Custom or Off the shelf?
Comments (20)I have no idea why you were quoted so high for Aristokraft. I sell it, and in the Select series, what you are asking about is $2355, and there's no way that there is $1800 worth of install there. Maybe they included counters? Even putting the whole order in the All Plywood Cabinet line with the full extension drawers, I only come to $2829. Also, Aristokraft is a builder grade stock cabinet line, as are the others you are looking at. Meaning there is no way to "upgrade" Select to APC. You do the order in one or the other. A pantry comes from the kitchen line and will be 24" deep, not 21" deep like the vanities. A 24" linen tower is available, and is what I used for clearance sake. I can do the whole thing in Kemper, which is a true mid grade cabinet line, for $3880. It has 1/2" sides instead of 3/8" (with better construction), upgraded to all plywood (only 5%) with standard soft close drawers and doors (with better quality hardware), in a standard stain on a maple slab door (Caprice). With the listed accessory parts. No crown, but add another $100 average for a stick of crown. The only changes are a 21" wide linen tower (as wide as they make) and an 18" wide drawer base. (To use the 3" lost on the linen tower.)...See MoreHelp with custom bookcase design
Comments (3)Thanks. We thought about shelving under the windows, but in order to make a windowseat it really would have to be 18" high and probably more than 14" deep, so it doesn't help with tranistion to the bookcases on the side walls. If we went 18.5" deep we could get the outlet inside the cabinet (top would still be higher than windowseat) but really too close to floor vent which cousin says is too hard to move rigid ductwork in basement and patch the carpet. I think we'll be fine with the outlet just in front of the cabinet so we can recharge Game Boy, cell phones. We may try to put outlets on the walls behind the bookcases (full basement) but since they're exterior walls I don't know if that's going to be hard - would need 90 degree drill bit to drill through sill plate? The walls are just barely 24" so builder didn't put outlets there. Not sure if we could squeeze one on the same wall, right in the corner. I want to add another one at the next stud location so it's more behind the sofa/end table - I hate having the lamp cord trailing over to the side. Plus if we went with the windowseat we would have no place for the new loveseat we bought last summer (thinking it would be a while before we would put in windowseat). It's just in front of the slider now b/c we had the Xmas tree in the bay, and now the bay is a play area. We'll move the LS back to the bay later this year. I guess we could just do shelves and no door/drawer, put the board games in the extra-deep coat closet (when I get the French doors, short pieces of baseboard and casing out of it). But I really need drawers for pens, pencils, markers, paint pens, glue sticks, and pads/coloring books. I don't think chests or cabinets or bins on shelves would work for those. Unless I store them in my kitchen island after I get 2 new drawers in there (used a bath vanity in center of island for baking center, still trying to get Merillat to give me part number for drawer boxes that will fit - might have to do custom). Oh, and the color of the baseboard (and window trim when we put it up - Honey Maple) is pretty close to my kitchen cabinets (Oak Cider). The furniture is a mix of golden and mission oak. Do you think a floor poly or varnish (Waterlox?) would be a good choice for horizontal surfaces (vertical I'd probably do the satin poly I did the baseboards in so the sheen would match)?...See MoreLiving Room Book Shelf Ideas
Comments (9)PDB : 7 was my favorite. 4 was the inspiration to 7 and 8. I'll wait a few more days before revealing the winner. Open and closed storage was always the concept. cdee18: There were several meetings. Excited by my portfolio and secure from the recommendation the client received there were a few very basic arrangements to understand the client's needs. Then, 1 and 2 were presented - based on Golden Proportion kitchen concepts the client understood. 5 and 6 were presented together as variations on the client's existing Japanese wall unit. I may have sketched a rough form of 7 from a brainstorm of 4 with the client next to me. The boxes are the same - only the doors are different....See More
felizlady
5 years agoshirlpp
5 years agolast modified: 5 years agoci_lantro
5 years ago
PROJAN MOYER
5 years agolast modified: 5 years agoNone of the above. If you're going to do it, you need a cabinet maker. You need proportional elements . Proportional trim. It should be built with a "back" not just the drywall behind the shelving. Get a local pro. Even in modern styling.....all of the details count. It is best done with a designer and cabinet maker working together. Even in those that are traditional, it can be difficult to get proportions right, and a look you want . .........a reasonably good look in different styles below. The look and feel must harmonize with home style and your intent for what will be housed in any built in. Otherwise, some wasted $$$ and a lot of clutter can be the result. Order is necessary : )
- PRO
Patricia Colwell Consulting
5 years agolast modified: 5 years agoMy first question always is what are you going to display in all those nooks. In my experience these end looking like a cluttered mess or “designed” beyond belief. Have you ever looked at the Besta from Ikea it is so flexible in configuration you can get exactly what you want with some closed and some open storage IMO a lot more interesting than a series of boxes or a bunch of shelves that are just too many the media one could be awesome just some shelves where the TV is in that pic.
thinkdesignlive
5 years agothinkdesignlive
5 years agoJen Moye
5 years agoleelee
5 years agoshirlpp
5 years agocreekgirl
5 years agoSindy W
5 years ago
groveraxle
5 years agoI wouldn't choose any of the designs, including the original. Unless this whole wall is going to be filled with books, it runs the risk of being a cluttered mess. I think you need to go back to the drawing board and I wouldn't build anything there till you know it's right.
I think an artful mixture of open and closed storage would be more aesthetically pleasing.
Modular bookcase / contemporary / commercial / for offices - PEOPLE - PIANCA · More Infoshirlpp
5 years agoleelee
5 years agootterplay
5 years ago
miss lindsey (She/Her)
5 years agolast modified: 5 years agoThere are really interesting ways to do book walls. I feel it's always best to incorporate other objects too, and to vary the sizes of the openings.
Relaxation Master Bath · More Info
Sous les toits_Paris 10 · More InfoWhen all the openings are uniform, a More elongated space looks better and suits the nature of books better:
Take the shelving right over the door. And don't worry about the vents, they can be incorporated into the design. See how the light switch is on the side of the built-in in the last photo? Depending on which direction your wiring comes from and if there is any slack wire, you could potentially do that too.
Kitchen with Library and Guest Bath · More InfoOr you could use a funkier design, if that suits your sensibilities. This way the light switch could stay where it is and become part of the design.
Residential Interiors · More Info
silviakunst