The Controversial Bookcase Removal
The largest task in my home office redesign is removing this expensive, custom bookcase that the previous owners had built-in. I know it was expensive because I have the receipt! And because it cost them a lot, it's controversial for me to trash it. I mean, it's custom work! Why? Because...
1 - YES, it was a selling feature in this house. It's "pretty" and "stately" but it's SO NOT my style. This swings really "traditional" (layers of classic molding) and that's a contradiction to my minimal, modern style.
2- And YES, if we were selling the house tomorrow, I wouldn't touch it. But this is our house and it should be a reflection of us, and this bookcase isn't it. It just isn't.
3 - PLUS, look at all the room it takes up on that desk counter. It's crazy. The middle 1/3 is really all the work space you have. The other sides are walled off.
And while I'm at it ...
If I had my dream setup in this office, I would also remove the base cabinet and granite counter, too. It doesn't stretch across the whole wall, there's only one spot for one chair, and the cabinets are higher than standard desk height, making it hard to find the right desk chair.
But it just doesn't make sense to pull out perfectly usable cabinets and a nice granite slab just because I have a few grips. More importantly, it would also BLOW the budget.
Clearly, the point of this piece of furniture was to have something that just looked grand ... with little thought to function. And that's not OK in a room that I want to be very practical and productive.
Here's a slightly angled view of the counter top.
My plan is simple.
I'll demo out the bookcase gently, so I can either reuse it in another room or sell it. And fingers crossed the wall won't be in bad shape behind it. I'm also assuming the granite counter is underneath it and in good condition. So I'll clean that up and maybe pick a new color for the base cabinets (which currently reads really dark orange!)
Once it's gone, I'd like to replace the bookcase with an airy, floating bookcase that's more modern and simple. One that hangs high on the wall that I can still reach, but I will fill with so many books.
I'm looking at my options and will decide on something once the bookcase it removed and I get a sense of the space, but I'm leaning toward something like this ....
Though, I'm not totally sold with the industrial look of those plumbing pipes, but it's so close to the direction I want to go in. And totally on budget! Bonus!
I'm also going to price out ...
simple iron shelf brackets ...
... floating shelves (maybe Ikea)...
... iron brackets, instead of the plumbing pipes ...
just to see what will fit into my budget and skill set. I've got a bunch of inspiration pictures on my Pinterest board, in case you want to see where my head is at.
However, it's going to be KEY to see the wall behind the bookcase and get an idea of what will work with whatever shape the wall is in.
Stay tuned!
Related posts:
More Home Office Project posts
1 - YES, it was a selling feature in this house. It's "pretty" and "stately" but it's SO NOT my style. This swings really "traditional" (layers of classic molding) and that's a contradiction to my minimal, modern style.2- And YES, if we were selling the house tomorrow, I wouldn't touch it. But this is our house and it should be a reflection of us, and this bookcase isn't it. It just isn't.
3 - PLUS, look at all the room it takes up on that desk counter. It's crazy. The middle 1/3 is really all the work space you have. The other sides are walled off.
And while I'm at it ...
If I had my dream setup in this office, I would also remove the base cabinet and granite counter, too. It doesn't stretch across the whole wall, there's only one spot for one chair, and the cabinets are higher than standard desk height, making it hard to find the right desk chair.
But it just doesn't make sense to pull out perfectly usable cabinets and a nice granite slab just because I have a few grips. More importantly, it would also BLOW the budget.
Clearly, the point of this piece of furniture was to have something that just looked grand ... with little thought to function. And that's not OK in a room that I want to be very practical and productive.
Here's a slightly angled view of the counter top.
My plan is simple.
I'll demo out the bookcase gently, so I can either reuse it in another room or sell it. And fingers crossed the wall won't be in bad shape behind it. I'm also assuming the granite counter is underneath it and in good condition. So I'll clean that up and maybe pick a new color for the base cabinets (which currently reads really dark orange!)
Once it's gone, I'd like to replace the bookcase with an airy, floating bookcase that's more modern and simple. One that hangs high on the wall that I can still reach, but I will fill with so many books.
I'm looking at my options and will decide on something once the bookcase it removed and I get a sense of the space, but I'm leaning toward something like this ....
 |
| Pipes! DIY and Under $150 |
I'm also going to price out ...
simple iron shelf brackets ...
However, it's going to be KEY to see the wall behind the bookcase and get an idea of what will work with whatever shape the wall is in.
Stay tuned!
Related posts:
More Home Office Project posts
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