Impending Bookshelves

We finally found a carpenter in Elgin. The listing agent who sold us the house, Paige Johns, passed some names on to us, and their prices were MUCH more reasonable than the cabinet studio guys we had spoken to before. We're going with a guy called Javier* whose price was good and who also just felt reliable to Matt & me in some undefinable way.

So to help him draw up an estimate, I threw together a quick mockup in Photoshop. I mention this not to show off my mad Photoshop skills (ha!), but to give a general idea of what we're looking for. (In my defense, I had to toss the whole thing together in a few spare minutes at work, so I didn't have much time for beautification or accuracy or other such frippery considerations.)



Anyway. The key elements are a floor-to-ceiling bookcase on the right, over-the-window shelves, and a window seat with lateral file drawers below. The picture maybe gives the impression that the bookshelves will somehow be recessed into the wall. That is not the case. The shelves will be 12.5" deep and the window seat will be 21" deep. Also, the shelves and window seat will actually be made of the same wood and the same stain. (Just thought I'd better clarify.)

One way we're keeping costs down is that Matt & I will do the staining ourselves. So this should be an adventure. I've stained bookshelves before, but never built-ins, and nothing this extensive. The opportunities for personal growth when you own your own house just never stop coming!

I'm awfully pleased about the shelves, though. The study still looks like Dresden in 1945--it kind of looks like a small city exploded in our study. We can't put anything away because there isn't enough space, and then the cat does his whirling dervish impression among the heaps of books, papers, and office supplies, and the result is a maelstrom of officey detritus. But once we get the extra shelf space that comes with floor-to-ceiling bookshelves, we'll finally be able to sort and store everything, clear the crap off the floor, and liberate our horizontal surfaces. Yay!

And then perhaps we'll tackle the problem of window coverings. The study is currently the coldest room in the house, and I suspect part of the problem is the lack of window coverings (others than pieces of crepe paper, that is.) We've had a week in the 30s and 40s, and this drafty old house with its (lovely, but very chilly) high ceilings is a beast to try to heat. Another day, another project.

(I still love you, house. You're very, very chilly, but I still love you.)

* Technically, Javier is from Bastrop, not Elgin. Close enough, though.