Home Is Where the Shelves Are

My bookshelves are finished (already).  They were easy, inexpensive, and basically revolutionary.  Our books have been in piles around the house for almost two years.  Finding that one book has been hard.  Treasures have been damaged in frequent avalanches.  And it all looked so untidy.  One evening this week, I lit a floating candle in a teacup, chose a book from my new shelves and curled up on the couch.  Soon, Beth was snuggled next to me with her book.  Then Mary joined us with hers.  We sat together quietly reading and it felt so good.

I built five bookshelves using twelve inch wide laminated pine boards that I picked up at Home Depot.  If you would like to build a shelf like mine, cut a thirty-one inch piece for the top, two thirty-five inch pieces for the sides, and three twenty-nine and a half inch (the width of the top, minus two times the thickness of the wood) pieces for the shelves.  If you buy two eight foot lengths, you should be able to do this with very little waste.

I wanted there to be ten and a half inches between the top and the first shelf, and between the first shelf and the second shelf, which left just a wee bit less than twelve inches between the second shelf and the bottom shelf.  I attached all the pieces using wood glue and two and half inch screws.  Before I got out my drill (it's yellow, pink drills may be against my religion...but if you have a pink drill, we can still be friends), I used my square to mark the side boards.  I put lines on the insides to indicate where the shelves would go, and evenly spaced dots on the outsides for the screws.  Then I countersank the screws and covered them with wood filler, which made them invisible.  Then I sanded, primed, and painted.  Then I grinned.