A Home for Our Books

Our office has been a journey. Two weeks after closing I started peeling off wallpaper while Poole and his dad demo'd the shed consuming our backyard. I didn't know at the time it would take months before the office would be furniture-ready. Once Poole and I realized just how long it takes for amateurs to update an entire house, we shifted our focus to spaces we needed to live in.

The office and the goals we had for it continued to play on my mind. We needed it to house a growing book collection (currently stuffed into a guest room.) But none of the bookshelves I saw appealed to me or fit our budget.

Inspired by airy bracketed shelves on Pinterest, I started examining the pile of salvaged 2x10s from the shed. They were not cute, but they were free! Luckily, one of the tools my father-in-law gifted us was his old orbital sander. After hours of brushing and sanding and more sanding, they looked decent.

To finish the shelves, I used a white semi-transparent stain and polyurethane. I'm not going to go into details about this process because there are abundant resources on the internet with better tips than I have.

Now, with books on display and a fresh coat of white paint, the office is ready for furnishings. I am in search of the perfect mid-century mod desk, hopefully I'll be sharing it with you soon!