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...)

I really wish I knew how to post pictures. Hopefully, when my house is done I can take the time to figure it out and post. Yes, the door is hinged. I know the builder used heavy duty hinges and had to build out the backside/part that goes inside the closet. It does take up a lot more interior space than a regular door, its made that way to balance what you put on the front of it. Books, accessories, that are heavy.

Thanks--Crl, I'm gonna go to that place. It's not too far. :) I've really tried to figure out how to make the IKEA bookcases work. IKEA is just so easy to deal with I always look there first. (Cash. Carry. Assemble. Done.) I haven't been favorably impressed with Billy in the past but haven't looked at them in a while--they used to be just printed melamine but looks like they now have actual wood veneers! I guess I need to go down there too. But I'm pretty sure the colors won't work for Billy or Hemnes. While we do have a LOT of different woods in the general vicinity of the future bookcase, we don't have any blacks or browny browns or natural birches--we have more of the reddish brown mahogany of the 40s and the rich oranges of the 60s. I'll do a lot of things, but I won't refinish new IKEA furniture! :O On that subject, which I though was ridiculous a minute ago, can you paint a bookcase the wall color (maybe in a glossier finish) and have it look okay?

Perhaps all that really needs to be done is to actually furnish this room first. Get a tall lamp, some artwork, two side tables, and a rug for the room. Once you have all of these piece your room can be put together. It just looks unfinished right now. Try placing the bookshelf where you have it currently, as close to the window as possible. Then place the tall lamp behind the chair and get a small side table to place in between the bookshelf and the chair. You can then hang a few small pieces of art over the chair. Once that is complete, remove whatever the tall thing is that your other lamp is on and get an actual side table and place the lamp on it. Then hang a nice big piece of art next to the window. This should balance out the room some. You will also need a piece of art over the sofa. Make sure you have a rug that will fit the room nicely and you can add lovely pieces on the bookshelf when you would like. Here is some art and decorating inspiration for you. Note the lamps, art, rugs, plants, etc.