Built-In Bookshelves Add A Quality Touch To Custom Homes
I see custom built-in bookshelves / bookcases in many of the upscale homes for sale that I visit. Many times they flank a fireplace, show themselves in a cozy den or library and sometimes they are built in the sitting room of the master bedroom suite.
No matter how many times I see them, I never think to myself, "...what in the world was going through the builders' mind when he/she stuck them here?!" They are always a welcome sight because of their utility and space saving design.
I've gathered a few photos below of custom "built-in-the-wall" bookshelves / bookcases from my travels to homes under construction. Take a look to gather some ideas for your home.
There are three things I look for when I see custom built-in bookshelves / bookcases:
- Flexibility - Is the homeowner able to configure the shelves according to their personal wants and needs or are the shelves fixed?
- Quality - Are the bookshelves / bookcases made using quality materials and is it quality workmanship from top-to-bottom?
- Overall Design and Placement - Is the bookshelf / bookcase architecturally in keeping with the rest of the home's design? Does it overpower the room it's in or does it blend right in? How does the trim work look?
Below are many great ideas for built-in bookshelves / bookcases.
Notice the coffered ceilings and trim work...and please excuse the dust spots on some of the photos. It's often difficult to keep a lens clean on a job site.
Want to see some more photos of built-in bookshelves / bookcases?
How about custom built-in bookshelves / bookcases in the master bedroom sitting room?
The library is the most obvious room to load up on built-in bookshelves / bookcases.
Even more areas within homes that built-in bookshelves / bookcases work well.
...and finally...
Now aren't you glad you took the time to gather some ideas for your home?
Dawn...
Excellent questions! Now here are my suggestions.
1. You should be able to acquire the hinges at any Lowe's/Home Depot/ hardware store. You might also want to call a frame shop and see if they have any hinges made specifically for frames, such as strap hinges or pivot hinges.
2. The rule of thumb for correct scale is fairly simple. Take another look at all of the photos in my article. Look at this photo in particular http://homebuilding.thefuntimesguide.com/images/blogs/built-in_bookshelves_fireplace0.JPG. You'll notice that the bookshelves stop at a reasonable height (approx. 10 ft) but that the mantle extends to the ceiling, even though I couldn't quite capture the entire mantle in the photo. That was a very tall ceiling like yours, if I recall correctly. Keep the bookshelves at one-third so that they remain completely useful from top-to-bottom and then extend the mantle to the ceiling. Install your mantle shelf at a normal height above the firebox but extend the "mantle-back" upwards. This will draw your eye upwards to admire the grand space you've got while at the same time it keeps everything else within a reasonable scale. Read this article, as well, http://syvjournal.com/archive/6/9/1421/. It gives some good advice on scale.
Hope that helps. Good luck with your project!
Hi,
We are putting in a firplace in our gathering room.
We want to put a tv above our fireplace recessed and then we want to place a painting on top of the tv with hinges so that the painting can be moved to the side when viewing the tv. Do you know where we can get the hinges to do this.
2nd problem - we have 30 ft celings - how tall does the fireplace and bookshelves have to be to be corrrect scale? Thanks, Dawn
.
kevin
I'm not a builder, and it's hard to know exactly what you're asking not having seen a photo of what you're talking about, but it sounds like you want to get rid of the header above where the door used to be and the associated 2x4's. Just make sure that the header isn't load bearing, rip it out and drywall where needed. Sounds like a great idea you've got there. Let me know how it goes and I wouldn't mind seeing a before-and-after picture.
Good luck.
Hello,
I'm actually changing a closet into a in-wall book shelf. I've gutted it however I am wondering how I can avoid seeing the 2x4's. Any ideas? I'll frame everyting out with 2x4 then get some nice shelves and so forth however I dont think there is a way to hide the front 2x4's
Angie...
I don't think you'll find that very often due to the fact that having the fireplace on one wall and the TV on a different wall would create 2 focal points in the room (a conflict)...unless you keep the TV behind closed doors when not in use.
I love the look of built ins, but I have noticed that they are usually around the fire place. In the home we just purchased, the fireplace is between a large window on one side and a french door on the other, so it would be impossible to do built ins around the fireplace. Have you ever seen built ins on a wall to house the TV and store 'stuff' and having a fireplace on a different wall?
I am wishing to have a bookshelf full-length across my wall (approx 4-5 metres)with a space in the middle for a wall hung television and a section below it for the DVD player etc... I was wanting an inbuilt one with a plaster facia not from timber. Can you please assist mt withmy enqui-ries
Christi...
To make the shelves, I would just buy prefab bookcase(s) and insert them into the recessed space. Then, trim them out with your favorite molding to look like built ins.
How tall is the space? To make the space seem taller, I would make sure that there are lights above the top shelf to draw the eye up and make the space brighter. Lighting kits are readily available at the big box home improvement stores. Also, use accessories on the shelves that are tall, like a vase, rather than squat, like a basket. Be sure to pare down the items you display on the shelves. If they are crowded or cluttered, they will look short and fat.
I'd love to see a picture of your finished project. Good luck!
I love your ideas! I have a 5' wide recessed arch way in a living room. Any ideas as to how to add bookshelves without making it look short and fat?
Sorry Harriette...I cannot provide you with estimates. This is a blog, not a carpentry service. Wish I could help you out. Ask some friends of yours if they have any experiences with good carpenters and then give them a call for an estimate.
Could you provide estimates for the floor to ceiling bookshelves for the 4-column white shelves and the 3-column sort of knotty-pine looking ones.
The height of my room is probably 98" - 100" approx
We want to build a floor to ceiling bookshelf covering the entire wall of our living room. We will prefab them then tilt them up and screw in place. Do you know how many inches shorter than the ceiling we have to make so it won't hit when we tilt it up?? The ceiling is 97 inches high and the shelf will be 11 inches deep. Thanks!
Thanks.......that would be great!!
Hi Randy: Your photos and replies are wonderful. We have a family room with crown moulding all around the top and a lovely gas fireplace with mantel in the middle of one wall. It looks boring though and I want to put in built in bookshelves on each side of the fireplace. The thing is, the wall is flat except for the fireplace mantel. The wall is an exterior wall so how would we get the look of built in bookshelves without cutting into the wall? Or is that the only way ( I wasn't sure if we could remove the mantel and build up the wall or something)? You can tell I am not very handy.
Thank you.
Kathy,
Thank you for the kind comments. I have a personal favorite that we've been using in and around our house for the past 20 years. There are 2 that you can choose from depending on your preference. I'm not sure how you're going to match it at the paint center from what I'm going to tell you, though, but here goes.
Benjamin Moore - White Dove (this is our exterior trim color) This color is a little brighter than the color below.
I'll have to get back with you on the interior trim color. There is no name on the paint can and I'm not sure how to decipher the colorant codes for you.
i am having shelves built in my family room and love what you do! Would you mind sharing with me what is a nice warm white paint color to use the shelves and trim? Our mantle is currently stained but we are going to paint it white also. Thank you!
Lori,
Symmetry and a single focal point should be your goal here. Personally, I would not put the flat screen TV in the bookshelf. It should be mounted directly above the fireplace mantle (if you're insisting on a TV being in the same room) to do the two things I mentioned above; a single focal point (same direction anyway) and it increases the symmetry by not drawing your eye towards the television in the bookcase, which looks lopsided.
We will be doing the same thing when we buy a flatscreen tv. As it stands right now, we have two large bookshelves flanking the fireplace with the TV to add above the mantle later.
Hope that helps.
I would like to incorporate an existing fireplace with bookshelves on both sides. One side would host a flatscreen 37" TV while also having cabinet drawers below. Does it need to be symmetrical?
great picts - thanks for the ideas!
Hello,
We have a 14' wide wall. We would like to build a fireplace with a mantel and bookcase for a pellet stove insert. To the left, a bookshelf could go against a wall, but to the right is a door. Would you make a sitting bench to the right,or in your opinion it should look symmetrical.Do you have any pictures of a fireplace with bookshelves on one side and just lower cabinets on the other?
Thanks,
Lynn
Hello - these pics are fabulous. Exactly what I am looking for my living room. One wall is mirrored. I would like to put the shelves over the mirrors. I think it would be a very interesting effect. Is that feasible - anchoring wise. Thank you so much!
Comments on built-in bookshelves flanking a fireplace in a room with a vaulted ceiling?
Thanks Randy. Keep in mind the fireplace is on a flat wall even thought it's in the corner. I will be hanging a large picture over the fireplace, but I'd like to incorporate the fireplace in a built-in wall unit on either side of it. I have 44" of wall to the right of the fireplace and 9.25' to the left of it.
Debbie,
Interesting question. I'll look through my files when I get a chance and publish a photo of a corner fireplace with bookshelves surrounding it if I have one, then notify you.
I have a fireplace in the corner of my living room. The wall it's on is flat, not an 'L' shape corner. I would like to see some photos of custom bookcases that would incorporate a tv and stereo on one wall and wrap around with the corner fireplace included.
I've been searching the internet for picture of bookshelves flanking a fireplace. My husband wants to do that, but also include bookshelves over the fireplace. I don't think it will look good. Do you have any advice.
Lisa,
Funny you should ask. We happen to have an old bookshelf that I repaired and repainted. I painted the entire exterior creamy-white but I painted the shelves and interior walls blue. We've seen it done like this in magazines, as well, just like we've painted it.
Personally, I would not paint just the back interior wall of the bookcase but you can paint it first, see how you like it and then continue to paint the rest if it doesn't suit you.
Is there any advice on painting the back of an otherwise white bookcase a darker color? I'm considering a cappuccino-beige.
I was thinking it would make the contrast of books/back of shelf less stark.
Lisa
Thanks so much for sharing these terrific photos! I was looking to find some built-in ideas and inspiration for our new home, and this is exactly what I needed!
Shawn,
It does my heart good to know that people. like yourself, are using my photos for their intended purpose...to help them see the many different styles to help them make a decision on their own. Although my photos only show what I've come across.
I'm not a builder so I may not answer your question the way a builder might, but if it were me I would have to know the size of the room and which way the doors swing open. Other than that, I think building a bookshelf in-between two interior doors would look fine. Sounds like a great way to use some dead space. If they are to be recessed you need to consider the load-bearing door headers before you move forward.
Good luck with your project!
Thanks so much for sharing the photos for eveyone to see. It has been a huge help in making decisions for my bookcases. Is it alright to build bookcases between two interior doors? Should they butt up all the way to the door frame? The room is a rec room. Thanks so much for your time.
Betty,
I don't sell plans for bookcases. I'm glad you like the photos I provided on my website, though. There are lots of great ideas to be had.
You mentioned something about incorporating a flat screen tv in one end of a bookcase. The Victorian home I've been featuring on The Fun Times Guide To Homebuilding is in the process of doing something as you describe... I think. It's still in the works but check in periodically to my homepage to see what I'm talking about.
Take care and thanks for commenting.
I really like your built in wall units. I have a very small livingroom [12 x 14 tops]! I would like to have a flat screen TV incorporated into a built in at one end. Any great ideas-my husband can build anything if I give hime the plan.
Thanks for the pictures. I am starting my project today and I needed some ideas. You helped me to visualize as well as rethink the amount if effort and money involved.
Tony
Tony,
I do not sell plans for any of the bookshelves in the images featured in the article. Perhaps one of the advertisers surrounding the article itself carry plans.
How can I obtain plans for some of the bookcases you display?
I would love an estimate on whitethe book shelves on either side of the fire place.