LIBRARY BOOKCASE - STAINING

The joy of stains!

Wood stain colour charts – almost as interesting as political manifestos and the current lot on offer aren’t exactly a riveting read, are they?

This time I’m looking for a colour that closely matches the oak doors of the Vladon Cuba cabinet being used as the foundation for the library bookcase.

Colour matching to cabinet door is not easy

This shade of oak appears to be of a slightly different hue to that of the office cabinets which were more reddish brown in tone. The Vladon doors are a lighter, almost sandy tone so annoyingly that means the purchase of different coloured stain. (more tat to store later)

Using this to stain the pineboard

Not all stains are created equal and even the colour names albeit similar give you a different result. To buy the right product, arm yourself with whatever it is you are trying to colour match then look for the closest shade available in store. Tricky to do when matching to a cabinet door or if buying online.

Colour test on some scrap wood first

All the horizontal shelf panels are being stained prior to the unit build, vertical panels to follow when we’ve decided on the final height.

Using a piece of wood to work out final height

Once again, the lounge looks like a timber yard; planks everywhere! Lucky you if you have a proper workshop in which to do this sort of stuff.

Can't move for bits of wood!

RITE HERE RITE NOW

It’s not all sand, stain, curse, sand… although that pretty much sums up my week so far.

Time to slip into a little black number and head off for a bit of demonic R n R with a special pilgrimage to see ‘The Papa’ in his new blockbusting feature film called ‘Rite Here Rite Now’.

Rite Here Rite Now

OMG! What a mind-blowing experience! Over two hours of pulsating satanic metal music from Ghost to accompany the on-going story of Cardinal Copia, the latest papal incarnation heading up the band.

Cardinal Copia or 'Cardi'

This movie is a stunning spectacle of metalness – think Phantom of the Opera with guitar riffs that will make your brain explode. Who else could write mental songs encouraging you to kiss goats? Only Ghost, that’s who.

Spectacular live concert footage from Los Angeles

Over two hours of music from Ghost

After a rollercoaster ride of numerous outfit changes and comic vignettes backstage – will it be curtains for Cardi?

Kiss the Goat

No spoilers here folks – Rite Here, Rite Now might be haunting a cinema near you for one more night so you’ll just have to find out what the future holds for Papa IV yourself!

For all Ghost fans out there – this is the best £20 you’ll ever spend.  Enjoy!

LIBRARY BOOKCASE - BASE

As before, we’re building our library bookcase before painting the lounge so that we won’t have to worry about scuffing any of the walls in the process. With design plan in hand then to begin at the very beginning what is needed to support the cabinet foundation is a plinth.

The cabinet I purchased from Amazon (Vladon Cuba) for our bookcase base doesn’t come with a plinth as it is designed to be suspended on a wall. But a simple plinth can be constructed from timber on which to sit this cabinet.

Vladon Cuba wall hung cabinet

This plinth is made from pine strips 70 mm high and 18 mm thick, about skirting board height. Cut the timber strips to make a rectangular shape the size of the recessed gap. Add two evenly spaced cross members so that any weight placed on to the plinth is distributed otherwise your cabinet might sag over time.

Rectangular shape with cross members

Use heavy duty angled brackets to brace together each corner section. You wouldn’t want it falling apart like a timber Tory party, would you?

Angled brackets to brace the corners

Fit brackets when plinth is on a level surface

To save time, money and paint, I’ve only given the front face a couple of coats of black furniture paint as this is the only visible part once the cabinet goes on top.

Paint your plinth then position

Cabinet base should overhang the plinth

And talking of which, it’s time for a bit of flat pack therapy. In a perversely masochistic way, everyone secretly loves flat pack assembly - those incomprehensible instructions, hieroglyphic diagrams and that sexy little leftover piece at the end. Did the earth move for you darling? Yes. No. Maybe but where does this shiny bit go?

New masters degree in flat pack furniture assembly

You lie on the carpet after successfully assembling your furniture with a huge grin on your face and that all-over glow – yes, I did it! And unlike my lardy bits, it doesn’t wobble!

Darling, I think I'm almost there...

I mentioned earlier that the width of the recess gap is 179 cm but this cabinet is 181 cms long and that additional 2 cms is the difference between ‘ready-made’ and ‘bespoke’.

That's never going to fit the gap

To get the item to fit our gap, some do-it-yourself surgical intervention is required or a ‘hack’ as the internet calls it. Pssst! - don’t ever say ‘hack’ near the other half unless wearing a full visor bike helmet – you might get a black eye! He hates this term with a passion.

Shortening the cabinet with a 'hack'

Back to the ‘hack’ which is simply this:

• Build the unit’s carcass complete with internal shelves but leave the top, back panel and one side unattached.
• Carefully cut top and bottom panels by the surplus 2 cms.
• Shorten the back board panel to fit the new length
• Place the completed carcass on top of the plinth in its final position.
• Slide the back panel into place.
• Glue the unattached side piece onto the bottom panel of the carcass. It should be tight against the recess wall.
• Apply glue to the top edge of the side piece ready for the top to be stuck onto it.
• Finally lower the top panel into position ensuring it is firmly adhered to the side panel.

The cabinet should now perfectly fit into the gap.

Put partly assembled carcass in the gap

Then add the top panel

Two things to point out about this ‘hack’ and these are as follows:

This surgical procedure should only be attempted on a cabinet side that does not have a door fitted to it otherwise you would also have to re-size the door which would make it rather complicated. In this case, I’ve decided that the first compartment of the cabinet will double up as a wood store so no door required.

Assembly can only be fully completed once the cabinet is ready for final fitting because after the side panel is glued into position, you may not be able to get it out again.

Here’s one we prepared earlier, ready for final fitting once the walls get painted.

Not fully fitted as painting yet to be done

The perfect kitty house

LIBRARY BOOKCASE - IDEAS

The plaster has barely dried and I’m already working on plans for our next furniture build. What is it this time? A library bookcase.

Of course, there’s always something I’ve spotted on my travels that I want for our home and here’s the design I am using to concoct a plan to replace the old bookshelves I ripped out.

I like this design

Good old Nev (Neville Johnson) has come up trumps again with a bookcase storage unit that would look fabulous in our cash strapped home so time to put those carpentry skills to the test (again) to make our own.

The NJ bookcase is quite complex. At a glance it looks like 2 tall rectangular shelf units sat on top of a couple of cupboards but then you begin to notice the subtle details. The shelf units have been designed symmetrically to mirror each other from the centre outwards. Each unit has shelves broken up into compartments built to contain objects of specific sizes. Some compartments also have lighting and mirror backs. Then there is the ornate pelmet and side panels to finish off the whole unit. Phew! Sounds like a lot to take on board.

However complicated, it all starts with an idea that eventually gets translated onto a bit of paper to form the design ‘bible’ for a project. I find that to make things simple you need to start by breaking down that idea into its component parts and sketching it out.

Here's one I drew out earlier

Firstly - Familiarise yourself with your work space. Measure it well. Measure it again just to be sure you’ve written down the right numbers. This space is your world. Get to know it well as your whole bookcase universe revolves around its dimensions.

Our library work space

Our library bookcase is constrained by the size of the recessed gap next to the fireplace which is only 179 cms wide and 37 cms deep, not really a great deal of room to build something that will contain our large collection of books. But that’s the space you have to work with. Nothing more, nothing less.

Secondly – cupboards form the foundation of this bookcase. What will you use for your foundation? Is the gap large enough for readymade cupboards or do you have to build these from scratch?

We already have a pre-packed cabinet unit to form the base cupboards of the bookcase. It matches the one on the other side of the fireplace. Problem is it is 180 cms long so can it be made to fit in our gap?

Our Vladon Cuba cabinet is too long 

Thirdly – to build the NJ type of design you need to be very clear from the outset as to what specific objects are going to be contained on each shelf or compartment as this will dictate the shelf spacing. 

To work out the shelf spacing for my design, I rounded up all the ornaments and books to be housed in the unit then created a list of their measurements, grouping everything of the same height together in order to determine how much of a gap to leave between each shelf.

What size compartment for this?

As if all these considerations weren’t enough, there is also the other side of the fireplace to factor in. Ideally the library bookcase should visually align to what will be built on the other side so that overall symmetry is achieved.

Visually needs to fit in with the other side of the fireplace

It’s no joke when I say it took me several days just to figure out the shelf spacing on this unit and even then, the final dimensions are likely to be determined on the day of the build.

STANDEN HOUSE

It’s going to take a while for the newly plastered lounge walls/ceiling to dry before any decorating can be done so we’re making the most of one of those rare weekend’s off to visit a place called Standen House.

Standen House

Front entrance

Situated near East Grinstead, Standen House is a testament to the beauty of the Arts & Crafts movement being full of gorgeous nature inspired fabrics and William Morris wallpaper.

Gorgeous floral William Morris wallpaper

There are many rooms to explore. Marvel at the sumptuous furnishings in the bedrooms or look for the cute little mice dotted here and there.

Cosy or cluttered?

Lovely bedroom

Bookcase envy

Look there’s another one!

Look out for the little mice

Ahhh! Isn’t it cute?

This one has a hobby horse

As much as I admire the floral artistry of this period, I much prefer the clean, geometric lines associated with Art Deco which always make rooms look less cluttered. However, you can’t deny the beauty of some of the artifacts displayed in the house.

Ornate candle holder

This beautiful framed tapestry must have taken hours to hand stitch.

Amazing handstitched tapestry

When your brain can’t take any more of the over-patterned interior, there are some lovely woodland walks or gardens to unwind in. The estate grounds are large enough for everyone, plenty of places to picnic or enjoy a nap in the sun.

Loads to explore

Back of the house

Lots of gardens to explore

I’m always drawn to the gardens in these stately places purely to see what’s been planted in the borders. Do they have any plants that might look great in my own little garden? You can get a lot of ideas about planting schemes, garden layouts and ponds just by mooching around someone else’s bit of paradise.

I think these are fox tail lillies

Colourful rose

Rhododendrons - my favourites

I was more than surprised to come across this lovely garden called the Rosery as it contained a single vertical pergola lining a flower bed, the type of thing I recently had in mind to build in my own garden to divide up the lawned area into a series of ‘rooms’.

Single line pergola in The Rosery

‘Take note’ I said to the other half as that’s likely to be on the DIY project list at some point in the future.

Hmmm - might want of these in my garden

Here’s a few lovely flowers that caught my attention during border patrol:

Gorgeous almost black iris

Nice colour combo

Nestling in the undergrowth

Tiny orchid in the wild flower meadow

Yellow and russet brown iris