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When we moved in to our home, I noticed the 12-foot ceilings in this little room right away! What could be a better place to build my dream library bookshelves? My husband asked what my plan was. This was my plan: 1) Go to Home Depot. 2) Get wood. 3) Build. I like to operate with basic plans, but find that they change so often in the midst of the project. I’d rather get started, and see what happens! (I did know that I wanted the shelves to be 12 feet high with two sections, totaling 5’8″ in width). Since the walls were 12 feet high, I started with two 2x12s (12 feet long) and one 1×12 (12 feet long) for the upright pieces. I also used the same 1×12 boards for the shelves. I also bought trim pieces for the crown molding and the sides and fronts. Here’s the process. First, I marked the 12 foot boards and had my husband cut them to the exact size of the height from floor to ceiling (the boards were not exact at time of purchase!) Then I decided on the height of the shelves. I wanted 18″ for the first two, 16″ for the next two, and 12″ for the rest. I measured and marked the 12 foot boards with lines for the shelving placement, keeping in mind the thickness of the shelving boards (3/4 inch) and the 4.75″ box at the bottom. (By the way, my base boards were 4.75 inches high, so this worked perfectly.) Once I had the shelving placements marked, I knew what I needed to compensate for at the top (there was some extra space). This would be covered with crown molding and would also be a great spot to add extra support with a 2×4.
Then, I took off the baseboards, and used this tutorial to do so. I asked hubs to build two boxes that would form a platform for the shelves and brace the side boards.
He built the boxes with 2x4s for the sides, front and back. Then he screwed the 1×12 onto the top (all of it was screwed together. These boxes sit on top of the floor, with the side boards screwed into them, also resting on the floor. The next step: Screw the side board to the wall studs (this board was 2×12) for security and begin attaching the first set of shelves between the two side boards. I used a Kreg Jig for this, creating pocket holes in the shelves, and then attaching them to the side boards.
I also screwed 1x2s to the wall studs for added security. I drilled pocket holes with the Kreg Jig into each of these, and secured them to the side boards as well. I don’t want those shelves moving, ever!
After one set of shelves were up, it was time for the other side. I did use a level to check the shelving placements, and because of the imperfections of the wood, not everything lined up perfectly. I wasn’t super concerned about that, because it was really close, and I knew I’d be caulking like crazy. In the picture below, you can see the extra space on the top. I put a 2×4 back in there against the wall (did the right side first), screwed it to the wall studs and then screwed the side boards to the 2×4. Nothing is going to move!
I almost decided to leave that upper shelf open for some art, but in the end decided against that, and also added in an additional shelf to divide one set of the 16″ inchers to house all of our CDs. I love CDs and the kids love looking at them all and picking out music. Once those decisions were made, I nailed on the crown molding, front trim, and some side trim for decorative effect! I also nailed the baseboards back on, and was able to reuse the board we had taken off. It took some trial and error, and my cuts were not precise, but…caulk!
Because the boards were imperfect, I had to shave some of the shelves with the hack saw you see in the lower picture to get the trim to sit flush. Again, I wasn’t worried…caulk!
At this point, the assembly was finished, and now I wanted it to look awesomely built in! I put pocket hole plugs (paint grade) into the Kreg Jig holes with wood glue and sanded them flush. Then I used about 4 canisters of wood caulk in white to get into all of the cracks so it all looked perfect. This made a huge difference! I caulked like crazy!
Finally, I gave it two coats of High quality Behr paint plus primer in Polar Bear, satin sheen. I matched it to the paint already on the base boards, and it looked great. I was so excited to get our books up there! We have had those books in boxes for 2 years, since we moved in. The final step was to build a library ladder, but with hardware and ladders so expensive, it took me a while to think about how to do that. You can see that post here.
I love that I can sit in this room, read, play music, and look up at these gorgeous shelves! This room is our library/music room, and here’s what the other side looks like. The art is a print of the Chagall artwork on the ceiling of the opera house in Paris. It was a Christmas gift from my husband before we were married, and I love it! I recently picked up more Chagall prints at the Metropolitan Opera in New York City….where will they go? Hummmmmm.. Right now they are under my bed.
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