Library Built-in Bookshelves Progress

One strategy of DIY-ing with a small child is to get the small child out of the house. In order to enable Brent to be able to set aside some dedicated time to work on the library (and the painting of all the hallways, but I'll talk about that in another post), I have been taking Tessa to a 9:00 Barre3 class followed by her 10:30 gymnastics class every Saturday morning.  Or I have taken her out of state for the whole weekend. This dedicated time has allowed Brent to make some serious headway on the library's built-ins, and I love being exercise buddies with Tessa.

After we had assembled the Ikea bookshelves, Brent started to work out how to build them in in such a way that they would make sense with the original mantle and trim in the room.  Step 1 was to raise the bookcases up so that the baseboard trim will be able to continue around the base of the bookcases.  Next, Brent built boxes to separate the upper added on parts from the top of the Ikea bookshelves.  This is also where the wiring for the lights runs (you can see the boxes above the wider sections). Some strategic painting has also happened so that the outside edges won't need to be painted in place.

Tessa did get to help out on this part.

Next came some more of the tinted primer. (Again, this is NOT the final color - this was tinted NY State of Mind, and our final choice is Washington Blue)

Next step: base molding is in the works!

I had a very difficult time choosing lights - partially because the picture-light style fixtures I have been eyeing are just so expensive! There was no cheap way around this one...and on top of that, all the options I liked were out of stock.  It was starting to look unlikely that we would have lighting for our upcoming holiday party! (We use our two annual parties as hard deadlines for house projects) Wayfair's back-in-stock-notification to the rescue!

Funny thing - I just tried to link the lights here...and they are already sold out again!  Luckily, ours arrived on Halloween. I can't wait to see them in action.

So, I believe the steps we have left are:

1. The vertical trim
2. The middle trim (continuing the dental molding on the fireplace around the bookshelves)
3. Top trim (a stand-alone, fairly substantial crown molding, I believe)
4. Paint
5. Install the lights
6. Find knobs for the drawers that I love
7. Move rug, sectional, chair, end tables, lights back in
8. Purchase new coffee table (I'll gladly take your ideas on this one)
9. Move TV back in on its current stand for the moment
10. Artwork on wall
11. Style bookshelves

OH WAIT....

we still need to figure out window treatments that will also be in the Living Room...they have to be mounted outside the trim...I will accept ideas here as well! I'm 90% sure I want bamboo shades like in my inspo pics...

I'm wondering JUST how expensive this will be to pull off for 6 rather large windows :(.

Posts coming soon:

• The painting of the upstairs and downstairs hallways and main stairwell (including an engineering feat)
• The front door refinishing and shutters

A sea of blues

This weekend saw a major shift to a fully painted room. First, we had to pick the color...blue, blue or more blue? Not too purple, not too green, not too gray, not too dark, not too light...

I'm so glad Brent tinted the primer one of the colors we were considering, because it became very clear that was NOT our color. It read very purple in the space, and we had an inkier color in mind. Enter the sample cans. As much as I dislike spending money, when you're going to commit to a color that is literally going EVERYWHERE in the room (trim, walls, bookshelves), this was a wise investment. 

Tessa even got in on the action!

Colors we actually tested from top to bottom, L to R, (all Benjamin Moore):

• Gentelman's Gray (this is our powder room color)
• Washington Blue
• Newburyport Blue
• Van Deusen Blue
• Summer Nights
• Blue Danube

It became clear pretty quickly that CW-630 was winning us over. I also really liked the slightly more green Summer Nights, but ultimately, Washington Blue (CW-630) prevailed!

Next came the first coat of trim:

And then the walls!

Brent was on a mission, and finished it up late last night after our neighbor's BBQ.

The early morning light (this room faces west) revealed the inky, mercurial, stately blue I was hoping for.  It kind of draws you in and you peek in from the Living Room or Dining Room.  

Brent also braved late-August-weekend Ikea (he went straight to the warehouse armed with the exact spots he was heading and brought home the bones for our will-be bookshelves on the mantle wall. 

We are excited to get them assembled so we can start problem-solving a couple of issues and finalize some details on the design. 

More to come this weekend!