Built-In Bookcase - Finished

I know you've been waiting for the final reveal.  I've been waiting, too.  It doesn't matter how many times CG and I DIY something, I always think we can just bang things out in an afternoon that will actually take a full 3 day weekend.  If I plan for a weekend, you better believe it'll take 3 weeks.  I am in awe of DIY bloggers like John and Sherry at Young House Love or Justin and Cassity at Remodelaholic who seem to be able to crush projects in their sleep.  Here's where we left off last week.

living room side

foyer side

We needed to fill all the cracks and nail holes with some wood putty.

After sanding, and spot priming, we were ready for paint.

I brushed some Minwax wood conditioner onto the top,

and stained it using an old rag.  I used one coat of mahogany, followed by one coat of black walnut.

It still needs a coat of poly, but I'm waiting for a nice enough day to do that outside.

The shelves sit on some chamfered cleats along the sides and back.  I checked the shelf length against the weight of the books with the online sagulator tool, and no additional bracketing was needed.  Here she is all decked out with my home decor and gardening books and the book vases I made here.  The top shelf holds a phone, notepad and pen, and the local coupon book for those days when you've spent the entire day painting, staining, moving furniture, and running kids around and would rather check for restaurant coupons than mess around in the kitchen.

I love the detail of the v-groove back paneling.

And here's the foyer side.  Love that we decided to add the horizontal battens.

You may have noticed that there was some furniture moving this weekend, too.  I felt like the loveseat was crowding the new bookshelves.  The wingback chair that I covered here sits in this corner of the room now.

Thanks for popping in and DIYing with me and CG.  Check out parts 1 &2 of this project here and here.