i was so sick of picking up the pile of books from the floor in my 3 year old dd's room that it inspired me to build this built in shelf. there is a corkboard for all her "picasso renditions" and a felt board for cut out shapes and even a white board that is removeable. it is only 4" deep so it takes up very little floor space. but most importantly it keeps her books tidy and OFF THE FLOOR!
here's a pic of my handi work:D-
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I may try this one myself. I have 2 boys and perhaps changing colour from white to a dark navy or a rich red would be more masculine. You should be very proud!
kennedy
Brilliant job, France!!
france...not at all...i love it...i will defenitely try it out...you did a great job..it's really pretty...i'll have to try and make it more boyish tho'...DS wouldn't be too pleased with a girlie one...lol
jenjen, i would love to oblige your request but please bear with me i kinda build stuff like i cook...with no recipes and i never read the directions either. so i'll do my best and forgive me now for any unclear directions but here it goes.
i sketched out a design i liked that i thought would suit dd and the wall space i had available. i came up with a drawing that was basically made up of two sections with the bottom section further divided into two sections. the top section was a sheet of beadboard that measures 32"widex28"long and the bottom section was a sheet of 1/4" masonite that measures 32"wide x 36" long.
to attach these to the wall i used 1x2 strapping nailed to the wall in the overall dimension of the unit with a piece of strapping in the middle where the two boards would eventually butt up to each other. (are ya still with me?)
here's where i may lose you...then the two sheets were nailed to the strapping.
from there i measured out for the framing (the part that runs from top to bottom) which is 3"MDF boards. two peices were cut and nailed to the side of the strapping (to cover it up) so the wide side of the board is what makes the sides of the shelf. with the same 3"MDF board i cut 3 peices , one for the top, middle(to cover the seam where the two sheets meet) and bottom and this is nailed flat to look like trim.
then i had some crown moulding so i cut two pieces to form the bracket for the book shelf and nailed them to the height i thought was good for the books. on top of the crown moulding i cut two pieces of 4" MDF board to form the shelf where the books rest. (are ya totally lost yet? :0) )
it gets a little worse and then it 's all better soon.... to make the end triangles where the dowel goes through is actually easy to do but hard to explain. make 4 straight cuts measuring 2" each out of 5" MDF board (or whatever the distance is from the reveal of the shelf to the edge of the frame, they should be flush to one another) . 45 the tops off of those 2" pieces and with a 1" hole saw bit on your drill make the holes for the dowel to pass through. i used two 5/8" dowels cut to 35" each.
for the bottom of the shelf i decided that she needed a cork board and felt shape board but you could make one a chalkboard or white board for your sons. then i applied two layers of cork ( i found one was too thin) to one side with glue and felt fabric to the other side. i cut a small trim to cover the seam where these two materials meet.
i then used a latex caulking to fill in all seams and imperfect cuts (thank god for caulking!). primed and painted. DONE!
i hope i havn't scared you too much as it really isn't a difficult project it's just my directions sound that way. my advice would be to draw it out first so you have a visual reference.
GOOD LUCK!:D-
Why don't you submit your photo to ne of the H&H contests in the magazine? (weekend workshop, or the other one I forget the name of?) You never know-you could win a prize!
ok now you have to pass along the step by step instructions for that...my dad my DS one a few years back but it's just shelves and it's a mess...none of the big books fit...and well it's just not working for him...he's a lil piglet when it comes to his room...so if you would be so kind...could you share how you made it...it would be much appreciated...
Well done. I love the look of it, and hey-it really takes care of business in there doesn't it! You did a really great job.
and custom to boot!
great idea and well executed as usual France
Very impressed with your handy work great ideas for little ones art work great job.