Finally I can reveal our library!

Katie and I have been working on our house a room at a time. For this post, I want to share the library. It's the only room that's completely done. With just the two of us, we didn't need a formal dining room, so we made that room into a library. With all the books we have, we needed to shelve them somewhere, too.

About 2 years ago, when my daughter and her crew were vacationing here with us, we went to IKEA. She had rented a long van — first to keep the family comfortable during the long trip, then to bring back the short and tall shelves we would be buying at  IKEA. Our small car would never have been able to accommodate all of what we intended to purchase and still be able to close the hatch. Katie and I had never been to IKEA before, and my daughter and her husband enjoy going there. IKEA in Charlotte, NC is about a 3.5 to 4-hour drive from our home. Some of the kids stayed behind, because they would have whined the whole time if they came. Lucky us. Video games. Need I say more?

We had a great time at IKEA, and thought about what else might be useful as we worked our way through the store. There are plenty of ideas for every single room in a house.

So...the shelving sat. And, it sat. It sat some more.

Finally, we painted the library! We did plenty of preparation, like we removed the baseboard behind where the shelves were to go and taped other baseboard so painting would be easy. Katie did the high and low painting — near the ceiling on a ladder and near the floor sometimes on her knees — because my knees are shot. I used the extension to get up high and down low with a roller. It worked out well for the both of us.

Soon after the paint was dry, we built the shelves and put them into place. I filled the shelves with books until we realized we didn't have enough shelves. All the books would fit except for our personal reading material. Sooo...

Katie petitioned some friends from school to see if anyone would be available to meet us at IKEA. We would be away at a conference near Charlotte, and rather than come home and then go out again, we wanted someone to meet us there. This time, we only needed tall shelving. Friend, Melba, with a big SUV, was game. We owe her so much. The meet-up and shopping went smoothly. We didn't get home until late, then she had a ways to drive home. We sure appreciated her help.

I rearranged books for a good long time. I think we still need more shelves, but there is no more room in the library. We need to read a bunch in order to get more space.

In the meantime, a friend of ours changed out the chandelier and we bought a rug for the space. We haven't yet had the settee reupholstered or the coffee table painted. Soon, I hope.


So, here it is. The library:

The short wall separates the dining room from the living room.

This was a fun wall to put together. Katie's books occupy the first two shelves from the left.

Here are a few close-ups of some of the elements:

Two kaleidoscopes.

Small bookcases for small books.

A blackboard eraser holds the two postcards, and a frog holds the fish card.

These items were collected for a long time. I had some of these elements in another house.

Dice ashtrays that I've had for years. They're special now that they're under glass!

There are many birds in this area. You can find some if you look.

That's a tiny original oil painting in the center top of the photo.

I knew I needed her for our library!

Love my globes. I hope to find a medium-sized one someday. There is also a working clock.

 

There are more than books to collect and display: an old View-Master, some clocks and skates.

Here are the children's books.

Now we continue to the window that looks out onto the front yard:

Some of my books are to the right of the window. The rest are in the hall to the bedrooms.

This is my grandfather's chair. It is well-padded with quilts and faces out to accommodate the kitties. There are also leaded glass art objects hanging up inside the curtain.

I'm going to stop now and show you the last wall next week. There will also be a living room teaser! So, stay tuned!

Showing off with: 
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Talk of the Town #112 
Create, Bake, Grow & Gather Party #304
DIY Salvaged Junk Projects 417 
Snickerdoodle Create, Bake, Make Link Party No. 221 

From books to shelves and from clocks to skates ... and everything in between ...