Saturday, September 10, 2011

The Library - Part One Complete

I have lots of books. Way too many really. When we moved 2.5 years ago all of those books got packed into boxes. Well, some of them were already in boxes because I didn't have enough shelves or even places to put them in the old house. While space was no longer an issue after the move, I still didn't have bookshelves for the books. So the books sat packed away in boxes again. That is, until recently. Our 2 1/2 story house has a wonderful attic area that we turned into a library.

Bear in mind that it's not done yet. We still need to remove the texturing on the ceilings and sloped walls, paint, then put in flooring, baseboards and new lighting. That's going to be a year or two away. Also, right now, the area is only accessible by a pull down ladder in the hallway. Eventually, we want to install a spiral staircase that goes between the master bedroom and the upper library floor.

Anyway, here are some before and after photos. The angles of the shots are different so it'll be a little hard to see that they are the same areas:















There are three more bookcases tucked into the storage area on the left hand side above.   There's another storage area on the right hand side, but it doesn't contain any books.  There's one more area that's not pictured above.  It will eventually have the spiral staircase coming up into it and possibly a window seat/reading bench.  

Like I said, we still have work to do, but at least the books can breathe and I can see them.  Hopefully, at some time I'll have time to review the bookcases we purchased and assembled.  

I think I have some weeding to do.  Book weeding, that is.   As much work as this was, getting rid of them is going to be harder.   I'll let you know how that goes, too.

10 comments:

  1. Very nice! What a fantastic library. You must be very pleased with the result.

    Weeding? Ah, why bother! You seem to have enough space! :-)

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  2. Thanks Beth and Judith. I love it. I still have a hard time believing that it's mine and that it turned out as well as it did.

    I might do a little weeding. I have to make room for new ones. Books just seem to follow me home. ;)

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  3. What a fabulous use of this unique space! The spiral staircase will certainly complete the look. It looks like a beautiful place to relax with a book, especially in that nice comfy chair!

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  4. This is amazing! What a wonderful space. And how fortunate that you live where the climate allows this. I tried storing books in a similar space about 15 years ago - lost huge amounts of books to mold/mildew because it got to hot/humid up there.

    I just wish I lived closer so I could come browse your library shelves.

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  5. Thanks Melissa, Peaceful and Tami. I'm really surprised how comfortable it is. Before I put the books on shelves, I spent only a little time up there...only when I needed to get a book or put something away in storage. I didn't know if I was going to be able to read there or spend any time. However, it's exactly the opposite. I lose all track of time and if it had a bathroom or small kitchen, my husband would never see me!

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  6. It looks great. I love those dark shelves.

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