That "maybe" is why you should go out and get brown tape and just mock it up to remove all doubt! You'll know one way or another, then. Hallarum, ah, it came out in 2004, won an Elle Decor award, was the Toast of the Ikea Town until they encountered insurmountable quality assurance problems wrt delamination and had to stop the line. I serendipitously avoided those problems, I think, because I elected to have an extra coat of conversion varnish professionally applied to them by some refinishers here to make them tougher. No delamination problems here, thanks to our overbuilding gene :) Just go get that tape and you'll know once and for all. And then you may write me an e-mail :)

I assume your desired end product will be a large circle with a hole in the center to go around the shaft. I've done this successfully in about 4 kitchens now. The key is making an exact pattern. It's kind of difficult to explain without sketches, so my explanation may not be the most efficient, but you should be able to get a perfect result anyway. 1. First, you need to buy 24" wide liner. I love the quality of LifeLiner that you can buy at Linens 'n Things or Bed, Bath & Beyond. 2. Next, get a couple of sheets of newspaper and cut a circle in the middle just a little bit bigger than the shaft. You do not need to be precise yet. 3. Slit the newspaper from the hole to an outside edge. Place this around the shaft and tack it lightly with scotch tape. Cut off excess paper, but leave about 1 inch overhang. 4. Cover any gaps on the outside of the circle with extra newspaper and tape down. Again, cut off excess paper, leaving about 1 inch overhang. 5. Cut a smaller square of paper, about 6" square, and draw a circle in the middle about 1/2" smaller than the diameter of the shaft. Using smaller scissors, make 3/8" slits into the circle, every inch. For example, if the circle is 2" diameter, it would have 6-7 slits. 6. Extend one slit out to the edge of the paper. Place it around the shaft and on top of your first sheet. Tape it firmly to the bottom paper. 7. Using a sharp pencil, score the fanned-out pieces of paper at the junction of the shaft and the tray. Do not trim yet. 8. Score the outside part of your circle, first gently with your fingernail, then with the pencil. 9. Make a cut between the outside circle and inside circle. Remove the paper gently and place the pattern on a flat surface. Trim the outside and inside circles using the scored line as a guide. Place this pattern on the lazy susan to check the fit and note any adjustments that need to made. Make a second pattern using your first pattern (with any adjustments) as a guide. This step is very important because your first pattern is likely to be wrinkled and in not very good shape. Put the second pattern in place and note any additional adjustments. Repeat until your pattern fits perfectly. Tape your perfected pattern to the back side of the liner, trace the inner and outer circles. Using a straight edge, draw a line between the two circles. Cut the outer circle, inner circle, and line neatly. Lay this on your lazy susan and admire your perfect job. The second shelf should be the same as the first, but verify the size with your pattern before you cut it out. I know my explanation may seem complicated, but it really is not that hard to do.

The most effective way to make floating shelves is to create a torsion box with a pocket in the back edge. A ledger strip is then attached solidly to the framing in the wall (3 inch #12 screws at every stud). The pocket in the back of the torsion box slides over the ledger and enough fasteners are added through the top and bottom of the box into the ledger to secure the shelf. There are metal brackets that appear on the market from time to time that faster to the wall and have a metal post sticking out that enters a pocket on the back of the shelf. The tend to have problems with securing the metal brackets to the wall solidly enough. Hollw wall anchors will not work for thses shelves. The shelf creates a large withdrawal load on the fasteners and will pull anchors right through the wall. You might be OK for a small shelf with light loads, but not books or heavy items. Rebar would be fine as a support, but it would need to be driven into a hole in the studs or glued in using epoxy to fill ang gaps (while making sure it stays level).

Run the great room off the entire side or across front of structure. One position only for opening to bedroom and bath corridor. You have two openings to bedrooms ... not feasible. Don't you want to run the great room all across one side or the other w kitchen contained within....toward the rear, envision French doors to outside deck or patio. Use a table at a position within the great room that is an easy position for real use. There are lots of manufactured homes popping up w similarities...maybe you should have a look Instead of wrestling w something nearly impossible.