Thursday, May 13, 2010

PBK inspired bookshelf

If you spend any time flipping the pages of designer store catalogs then you know there is a lot of inspiration to be had there.  I pair a lot of gasping with my page flipping since typically the prices are SO ridiculous -- or I'm TOO frugal.
A few months ago I saw a cool bookshelf and that was all it was -- a cool bookshelf.  I didn't get it much more thought until my sister in law mentioned wanting one for my nephew's room but not up for paying the price.  At the time I was not spending any time doing woodwork or even giving it a thought.  When the topic of the shelf came up it was actually to see if I knew if someone could re-create it.
Fast-forward a couple of months and it is winter.  Just a couple of weeks prior to Christmas I got the woodworking bug and decided to make good chunk of the presents we were giving.  (I get wild hairs like that and just go out and tackle things - I will have to say my husband was a bit shocked when he got a call from me at work in regards to the usage of his circular saw.  Always keep'n him on his toes). It was on one of my late nights of working where the spray paint fumes and saw dust were starting to cloud my brain and I decided that I was going to make the bookshelf that my sister in law had been eyeing.  I looked over it several times and developed a plan.  After several trips to the home improvement store and hobby lobby; I had my supplies.
Well Christmas came and went and my goal was to finish the project for my nephew's birthday (early January).  Well wouldn't ya know that it came and went and the weeks wore on and it just didn't seem like I could spare any amount of time to be out in the garage playing carpenter.  So finally in March I drew a line in the sand (eerrr..sawdust) and decided I HAD to get the bookshelf done.  
There were many ideas I had rolling around in my head and as I sat out to do it I realized that I was going to need some help from my mister.  He has terrific ideas and can execute them so wonderfully -- I have to admit that my ideas aren't always executed well, especially in uncharted territory.
Here are a few "at work" pictures : 
(the hood of my car is an appropriate work space - right?)
Coming together -- except not "together" AT ALL!
After 2 coats of bright white spray paint (matches my nephew's room and I didn't have the budget or patience for stain)
Here she is

And a view from the front

We (or I) opted for 2 shelves instead of 3 since it was my first go around and I wasn't sure how it was all going to come together.  It works well for my nephew since this piece hangs over his bed and I didn't want it to be too heavy.  They just picked some of his favorite books to display - I'm not sure there is a bookshelf big enough to contain all the books our kiddos have (with have some book loving gift givers in the fam...so there is no shortage)

I'm linking up here
DIY Day @ ASPTL