DIY shelving unit for the den

When I first began dreaming about changing up our basement living space I knew one thing for sure: there had to be books. Books, and room for more books!

I began online shopping for bookcases six months ago and became more and more discouraged with each search. Something was always off — the price, the dimensions, the color, the negative reviews... all of a sudden it was the end of January and I still hadn’t landed on “the one.”

That is, until an image of open shelving magically appeared on my Pinterest page that made the six months of searching worth it. I loved the look of shelves of different heights and widths, which would allow me to display decorative items that don’t fit on standard bookcases. I spent hours poring over the original post before landing on my own design:

My dad picked up the supplies and stained the wood yesterday. I could hardly sleep knowing today was THE DAY THE SHELVES WOULD GO UP! I spent the morning clearing out the leaning bookcase in our living room so I can switch things around. 

Andy had zero interest in the shelves until today, when he joined my dad in hours of measuring, drilling and sawing. He suddenly got the fever, though, and wouldn’t let me come in the room until they were done! I loved seeing the twinkle in his eye as he shooed me away. It felt like Christmas!

!!!!!!! :) :) :) :) :) :)

Then my dad reminded me the boards need to be coated with polyurethane, and it really felt like Christmas... you know, when you’re handed the new toy you’ve been begging for and it takes hours to get through all of the thick plastic without losing a finger and then it requires triple A batteries but all you have are double A...

But they are mostly done, and I am over the moon. I’d like to give a round of applause to my guy, for spending the weekend shoveling snow, vacuuming the house, putting up my dream shelves and looking cute to boot, and to my parents, for being incredibly generous with their time and for accepting Peruvian chicken in exchange for their hard labor.