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.
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| 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.
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| 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.
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| 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?
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| 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.
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| 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.
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| 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.
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