Tara’s Before & After Photos: Brand New Book Wall
Whew, that was a whirlwind of a month! Did you finish your January Cure project? I’m happy to report that this wall is no longer bare, and my books are no longer in boxes. Check out my “built-in” bookshelves:
This wasn’t the bargain project I was expecting it to be (it cost about $125 total, since I had to do some stocking up on basics like screws, sandpaper and paint brushes) but no out-of-the-box shelf would fit just like these do.
This was the first time I’d stained anything, and boy, I did not expect it to be such a time suck. All the sanding, and waiting, and staining, and waiting, and poly, and waiting, and poly, and waiting… It was a good three days to get five shelves done.
I’m loving the over-under brackets! They’re sleek, slim, and modern. I decided to keep them white instead of spraypainting them gold, since they blend in so nicely with my walls. They’re workhorses, too— supporting up to 100 lbs. per shelf, so no worries about them coming crashing down!
And a fun bonus I’m discovering during this snowy Boston work-from-home day: one of the shelves is a perfect standing desk height! Win!
I had my party on Saturday, and the shelves were appropriately oohed and aahed over. Having more than three people over for dinner meant I needed some additional seating, so I picked up the new NORNÄS bench from IKEA, and it got rave reviews as well (you can see it in the top after pic above). It will probably get a combo of stain and paint, after I recover from doing these shelves.
The January Cure may be over, but I know I’m excited for the Weekend Projects series! Are you continuing the cleaning?
TARA’S JANUARY CURE:
- Tara’s List: New Apartment Needs a Cure
- Tara’s Project: Empty Wall to Go “Built-In”