Book nook

Remember the charming tower of boxes that has inhabited our stair landing since we moved in? Well, we're finally trying to do something about it by working on the built-in bookshelves. We had a fantastic visit with my parents this past weekend, so of course we put 'em to work helping on projects (to be fair, Roy is always up for kicking it on the stairs with a drill).

Partway through the project the landing was basically an explosion of tools, books, boxes and wood pieces.

That last pic shows the two bottom shelves in place - there are seven in total. After doing some upper-level painting yoga to prime the undersides of the supports, I decided to curtail the installation until I could get the rest primed and painted BEFORE they were attached to the wall. This involved some late-night painting in the PJ's avec beverage.

You can blame Brandon for that blurry artistic shot. But at least he looks cute with a level and safety glasses.

During this process I learned that the air nailer makes him reeeeeeal happy. Simon the dog, not so much - he was cowering in my lap during most of this process.

Yes, that's a single 37" board with 31 nail holes. Yes again, I counted them as I caulked (side eye Brandon).

Six of the seven shelves! Here's a shot of what it will look like as you climb the stairs, but I'd taken the shelves out to caulk and paint, so you'll have to use your imaginification.

The original plan was to paint the supports and shelves the same white as the rest of the trim... but after doing a lot of staring and hmm-ing, I am pretty sure I'm going to poly the shelves to hopefully match(ish) the treads and bannister - they are all red oak, so it should be pretty close. What do you think - white to match the trim, or natural wood?

"But will they hold... a book?!"