“A room without books is like a body without a soul.” ― Marcus Tullius Cicero
I have always dreamed of having a library. Maybe not a library in the traditional sense, but I have always dreamed of having a wall of bookcases in my home to hold the books I love.
Anyone who has looked into buying a bookshelf, whether it is made of wood or of wood-looking particle board, knows how quickly the price tag goes up for size and quality. For years, I have priced out building Ikea shelves and fastening them to the wall, or placing a series of tall shelves side-by-side to get the built-in bookcase look. But the look, quality, and size put together that way kept me from building the piece-meal shelves.
Meanwhile, my small bookshelves piled higher and higher with precarious stacks of books I want to keep. (I lead GreatNewBooks.org — great books are important!)
For some reason, this June I decided I was going to try it. How hard could building bookshelves be?
I compiled a collection of Pinterest photos, read as many How-To manuals that I could find, and began to measure and draw up plans.
How to Build a Built-In Bookcase (without any carpentry skills)
Steps 1 – 10 … this is what I started with:

2. Measure and plan: After I measured the width of the room and the height, I divided it up into 3 sections and calculated the lengths and types of wood I would need.

3. Buy lumber. I bought Pine “whiteboard,” which is economical and solid.
*Learning: it helps to live close to the home improvement store. In my case, I visited Lowe’s 5 times more than I thought I would.


*One learning — insist on buying only straight wooden planks. Some were warped, which meant I had to work hard to get them to mount to the wall straight.

*Another learning: I am not a carpenter. I did have to work carefully with a level, etc. to ensure the angles would be straight. Even still, there is some degree of inaccuracy. I am okay with it. The imperfections emphasize that this is mine, built with my own hands. 🙂




The result? A very happy me.
I agree with Cicero, who also said: “If you have a garden and a library, you have everything you need.”
Yes.
Cheers to working hard and accomplishing the things we dream of.
Now, I can rest, read more books, and enjoy my built-in bookcases.
Impressive ! Hope the bookshelves, over the years, represent amazing reading adventures !
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What a great way to phrase it — thank you, Barbara!
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It’s fantastic, Jennifer!
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Thank you, Beth!
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Wow. You must be so proud. The shelves are amazing. Good for you for just getting in there and doing it!!!
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Thank you, Christine!
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Your book shelves look great! When I went back to college (after my divorce), I took 3 years of woodworking (along with the classes required for my education degree.) I had been asking the men in my life to make a blanket chest for each of my 4 children. When I didn’t get the help I wanted, I decided to sign up for woodworking and do it myself. I loved what I learned and am very proud of the projects I made–as I’m sure you are of your shelves. Congratulations on the realization of a dream 🙂
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That is a fantastic story, Kim. I love the way you embraced a skill that isn’t traditionally female-filled. I especially love that you made your own heirloom projects for your children! Thank you for sharing!
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Wow! You did an amazing job!!! It looks beautiful! I have the piles of books syndrome as well! You may have inspired me to do something about it!! Congrats!
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Thank you, Felicia! Let me know how yours develops!
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I’m so inspired! When my second child moves out and I have a mostly bare room, I’m going to do this, too! Thank you for sharing.
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I look forward to hearing about your experience building it exactly the way you want it to be, Jennifer!
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LOVE this! You’ve inspired me. xox
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