The HH was been busy plugging away at the {ever growing} list of home projects and yesterday, he made me a little bookshelf!
We have this awkward little space next to the fireplace in our dinning room and since we’re not 100% sure the fireplace is going to stay when we demo the kitchen {which is directly behind the fireplace} we didn’t want to spend a ton of money on a fancy built in shelving system.
The space is narrow, only about 34″ wide and since we already have large wooden pieces {the dining room table and chairs, a sideboard and a bench} in the room, I wasn’t super excited about another big clunky piece of furniture in the space, and so I thought a little set of shelves would work well.
Plus, it would be the perfect place to store all my books on Maine. And if we do end up taking out the fireplace when we re-do the kitchen, I’d be able to re-purpose the materials used on another craft project. So it was kind of a win-win idea of you ask me.
Yada yada yada… Pine stair treads. Who knew they were a thing?
The HH went to the Home Depot thinking he was just going to buy some pine boards and cut them down. It was only by accident that he happened to wander past some stair treads on a shelf and a lightbulb went off.
Grade 1 {no knots!} pine boards with a rounded edge on one end for only $9.86 each. Oak boards were going for $49.96 each {what a difference}.
The 3/4″ square dowels he needed to support the pine boards were $3.61 each {he bought 5}.
We were limited to where we could start the shelves because of a vent on the side of the fireplace, and because we didn’t want to be drilling anything into the brick.
He cut, and pre-drilled holes into the square dowels and then screwed them into the wall.
And then he cut the pine boards to fit the space and popped them on top.
About an hour later he had put together 3 bookshelves for the little lady. 🙂
And then we couldn’t decide if we should paint them or not.
Or rather, I suggested we paint them. And he was like, I think their fine the way they are. And then I was like…. I’m not asking you to paint the shelves…. I’ll paint them. And then he agreed they should be painted. {Funny how that works eh?}
And so there you have it. A simple set of shelves in an awkward space for under $50.
Now all I need to do is fine some more books about the great state of Maine.
Life is good!
~Mavis
Paula says
I love your Maine shelf! (especially the whale) I have a question from a previous post. Where did you get the basket/bowl from your dining room table.
Thank You
Mavis Butterfield says
Well-Housed in Kennebunk, Maine. It’s a white washed clay bowl with grooved sides and there are no markings on the bowl. I think it was around $25 {on sale}.
Meg C says
Those look great! & you can’t beat the price. 🙂
Is there enough light in the room to put a nice indoor plant in the space under the shelves? I know you didn’t ask, sorry! I immediately thought “ooo! A plant would look great under there”.
Mavis Butterfield says
Tons of light. Great idea!
Tracey says
Perfect!
Vicki says
Such a great idea having a Maine corner. I love the whale.
Nancy says
Love the bookcase solution! As y’all begin to plan the kitchen renovation and debate the fireplace staying/going, go ahead now and check for structural issues you may encounter. Years ago we were looking at removing a fireplace only to discover that it went through the floor all the way to the ground under the house. It was going to cost thousands of dollars and add weeks of labor to change some support beams and build-in the gaping hole/re-do kitchen and den floors. Just something to think about.
PattiCinCO says
We did this in a tiny 20″ closet with no door. Seriously a 20″ closet what the heck fits in there? It became a great place for HBA storage
Pat from Buffalo, NY says
Your HH is a genius! I wish I could hire him for some of my “one of these days” projects. The shelves look fantastic.
Laura L. says
I’m with you on that! Plus, Mavis is soooo lucky to have a husband who not only is very talented but actually finishes what he starts so she’s in a win-win situation.
Linda Sand says
I think you already have the perfect number and type of things on those shelves. But, I’m a minimalist so I like all the white space around your items.
Lynda says
I can tell you’re not a NE native! People want all the heat they can get and don’t take out fireplaces! Plus it’s a huge structural thing…..chimney all they way up, supports, etc….
Dianne says
Hi Mavis,
HH did a great job on the shelves. What year was your house built? Curious to know if there were warming cabinets in that space originally.
Dianne
Sherry in Sumner says
I think your husband needs another H added to his name: Handy Handsome Husband!
Cheryl says
Very nice! Very smart to use stair treads, and I do like them painted. Much better than nekkid. 🙂
Jules says
What a great idea! I’ve got an awkward space that needs shelves but I didn’t want to spend too much on them. I think I’ll go price stair treads
Diana says
I’m in agreement with two of your posters above. You need to have a structural engineer – or a really knowledgeable contractor – come and look at the fireplace before you consider removing it. Since it’s in the middle of the house, it’s original and there may be considerable structural issues (wall support, foundation support and roofing) with removing it (is this a ‘historic home’?). Plus, for resale (in the far, far future), fireplaces really add to the sellability of a house. I know, I have 4, with 3 chimneys, in my house. They’re a pain to work around for decorating purposes, but they sure are nice with the extra heat when needed. Since there is a vent in the side of yours, that is probably a return vent for HVAC and you’ll have to deal with rerouting that as well.
Maybe consider just removing the walls on either side of the fireplace to improve flow and, if possible, maybe shrink the size of the surround. The chimney is probably a lot smaller than the width of the surround and you could shrink it down to be closer in size and create a more open space as well as increase the flow on either side. If this leads into your dining room, it would sure be a nice feeling to have a fire going during holiday meals and maybe at other more ‘romantic’ times during the winter.
Laura L. says
It’s rare to hear of someone wanting to take a fireplace out since most people are looking to put a fireplace in. I was wondering when I read that the fireplace is on the other side of the kitchen wall if it might be possible to make a two sided fireplace using the existing one so you could enjoy it in the kitchen too? Just an idea, who knows but as one other poster said, don’t forget it’s Maine and the winters there are mighty frigid.