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.

Arrange them in a way that pleases you - that's the only rule! And I'm another one who thinks whether or not you see "books on display" in someone's home isn't an indication of intelligence, education or whether they value books or not. I'm a librarian and you won't find books on display in my home. I do have a small bookcase in the kitchen which houses my favorite cookbooks. My husband has a study in the rear of the home which does have several bookcases. If you walked into my home you'd think we weren't readers - you wouldn't see his study and even my magazines are housed in a closet off the kitchen. And with the prevalence of Kindles and other types of readers fewer people are purchasing expensive hardbacks.

Florantha, I am planning a bookcase almost exactly the same dimensions as yours (30" wide by 84-90" high depending on what looks eye sweet at the time.) I have built zillions of bookshelves in my day, and if you use full 1" or 1 1/8" dimensional lumber for shelves up to about 30", you can usually avoid having to have a vertical in the middle. Having the shelf without an extra vertical in the middle looks better, IMO, unless you are going to having a second unit next to it. (And anybody who already has that many cookbooks may need another case soon, what with the way books breed when you're not paying attention......) A couple of things to think about: do you want adjustable height shelves? These allow for later adjustment when your collection grows, but they are not as sturdy as shelves that are fixed from the start. It's possible to have some of each, too. I also advise having at least some different height shelves, in order to maximise the books you can store. A case in which all the shelves are the same height is boring to look at, IMO. In general cases look best with wider spacing on the bottom, gradually moving to shorter heights above. But you can have a couple of tallish shelves underneath a single shelf that's even taller at about waist or windowsill height, followed by the rest of the shelves being shorter. Sometimes it looks better (in case of taller shelves X2 or 3, below the tallest shelf) to have the bottom shelves a few inches deeper, then have the case step-back a couple of inches, sort of like hutch, at the level of the floor of the tallest shelf and from there in upwards. Be sure to have the bottom shelf several inches off the floor (I usually do about 6">; floors are not good places for books. It can also look good to have doors over the lower couple of shelves in a hutch-style step-back case. This is great storage and good for those messy-looking papers. If you paint the shelves, you'll need to let them cure for at least a couple of weeks, preferably a month, before loading the books. Book edges have a fatal affinity for un-cured paint (even after it seems dry, it is not cured). They may stick, tear, and discolor if stored on or even near, fresh paint. Even after a month, I always lay down a liner of that polypropylene stuff that they use to cover dust jackets on library books. (You can order it from library supply houses like DEMCO.) For strength I usually have a cleat nailed along the back of the case underneath the shelf. Along the sides, another cleat can be nailed, as long as it kind of fades away before reaching the front, sort of like a very narrow corbell. But your cabinet maker may have ideas, too. The key thing is to not skimp on the thickness of the shelf boards. Properly sized boards will stay true and level, no matter how many copies of Gourmet and Mark Bittman you plunk down on them. When you have a plan (shelf height and widths) get some large newsprint paper and draw it, full scale and stick it up and see how you like it. As for lighting, it's hard to tell what will work for you. I plan to have a reading chair by my shelves in a corner of my kitchen near a french window. I'll probably have a floor lamp, because my chair is meant for reading, not just decor. Keep in mind that sunlight is hard on books, as is the light from CFL bulbs. I don't know about LEDs, though. I plan to put UV resistent covers on my favorite cookbooks as they will get sun during the winter, alas. To my mind a reading nook by a window is a kitchen essential, (more essential to me than a window by the sink, for which I am getting prodded on my current layout critique thread). But then I think a reading nook is essential in every room. My dining room is a dining room by grace of a table in the middle of a library, with a sideboard thrown in for effect. I think if you're a book lover/fiend then rooms without books look nekkid, in ways that mystify non-book people. Face it, it's a disease, for which there is no easy cure. Oh, yeah: books and steam and grease are not happy companions so make sure your venting is good. There are also some books devoted to pictures of (whate else?) bookshelves, perhaps your library has some. I can hunt about and get some titles if that will help. Nancy

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?