Create Custom Bookshelves Without Breaking the Bank
Built-In on a Budget
Built-in custom cabinetry and shelving are popular trends in home design and remodeling. They increase a house’s value and storage space. However, custom carpentry costs have soared, making DIY built-ins the only affordable option for many homeowners.
Begin assembling your bookshelf by standing each side piece on its side, using clamps to attach the shortest spacers to the bottom of each side piece. Place the bottom shelf on top of the spacers and drive finishing nails through the sides to secure them in place. Repeat the process with each shelf. THE GRAND FINALE The last shelf piece is the top of the bookcase and should lie flush with the sides. Attach a final support piece across the back, touching the bottom of the last shelf piece and lying flush with the backs of the bookcase sides. Stand the bookcase upright and use screws or metal brackets to attach the support piece to studs in the wall. Attach the footer and header strips to the top and bottom of the bookcase to achieve a more finished look. To make your creation appear more substantial, you can attach 2 1/2-inch strips of MDF to the front of each side piece and shelf. Sand the raw edges of the MDF, caulk the seams, and cover your entire creation with an oil-based primer. Then, top it off with two coats of semi-gloss paint.
If you envision a wall of custom bookcases but can’t afford a carpenter, here are three guidelines for DIY success.
SKETCH YOUR VISION Start with a sketch showing the dimensions of the shelves, sides, footers, headers, and trim for your bookcase. For a pair of open bookshelves, your shopping list should include four sheets of 3/4-inch medium-density fiberboard (MDF), 2x4 scrap pieces to serve as vertical spacers between bookshelves, oil-based primer, semi-gloss paint, sandpaper, and 1–2 tubes of caulk. Before you start, consider painting the wall behind the bookshelves the same color as planned for the shelves. MEASURE AND CUT A typical width for bookshelves is about 12 inches, with 4–7-inch footers and headers, and 2-1/2-inch trim pieces. Cut shelves and side pieces parallel to the longest dimension of the MDF. Use a miter saw to cut each 12-inch piece to the desired lengths for the sides and shelving. Next, cut two scrap-wood spacers as long as the planned distance between shelves.
Now, step back and appreciate your creation. You’ve achieved a master- carpenter look on a bargain budget! Nowhere to Hide ARE OPEN-CONCEPT HOME PLANS ON THE WAY OUT?
open-concept floor plan is difficult. Also, in an era of soaring energy prices, open-plan designs are expensive to heat and cool. Designers are responding by creating more homes with closed rooms or separate spaces that allow for privacy and quiet. Meanwhile, open-concept plans aren’t going away completely. If you are a remote worker stuck in an open-concept home that isn’t working, consider these strategies to aid concentration. • Try to transform a room or defined space close to your internet router with a door you can shut. Many remote workers have converted closets, garages, laundry rooms, and sheds into functional offices. • If you manage to create a dedicated workroom, you will probably spend a lot
of time there, so consider ways to make the space multifunctional. Add compact workout gear, a meditation mat or chair, or a window seat for reflection to break up that monotonous focus on work. • If your only alternative is to continue working out in the open, use props to signal to others that you’re working, such as noise-canceling headphones or a standing screen around your desk. And as Nir Ayal writes in his influential book “Indistractable,” the most important boundaries may be mental. Cultivating the ability to focus intensely on what you’re doing and manage the psychological discomfort that leads you off track can help you create the privacy you need. Regardless of your future work setting, these skills and room strategies will help you improve your productivity and sharpen your focus.
Isn’t it great to enter an open, sunlit home and gaze from the entry through to the kitchen, the family room, and beyond, without obstructions or walls? Maybe … or maybe not. For sheer aesthetics, few layouts rival the open- concept plans that won favor in the mid-20th century. As postwar families grew and the average house size shrank, designers opened communal interior spaces to make houses seem larger, brighter, and more pleasant for entertaining. By the 1990s, open-concept designs had become the standard. Then, along came another mega-trend: the move to working remotely. As homes began doubling as workplaces, the shortcomings of open-concept plans loomed large. Avoiding interruptions by family members, children, or roommates in an
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