So I’m still in the midst of slumpaggedon, but in between constantly hitting refresh over the weekend, checking to see if BookLikes was back up, my attention was consumed by our latest home project, which I’ve alluded to in my previous 2020 post.
The start of this DIY saga goes back to last May, when MT took possession of what was to become the company’s new premises. It was formally a sushi bar, and the owners left the space abruptly, leaving everything in situ. The landlord refused to do anything to fit out the space, so MT negotiated with him to do it himself. This meant we (I) had first pick of salvage, before the contractors came in, and part of the sushi bar was the bar itself. A huge, solid, hardwood thing of beauty. The contractors dismantled it for us, and we’ve been storing it. Because I had plans ::rubbing hands together::.
It took some time to sort out exactly the way I wanted to do it, and the recent influx of furniture from MT’s parents caused a complete re-think, but over the holidays we finally fixed on a plan of action and started ordering the necessary bits.
Last weekend, MT and our incredibly kind neighbor with the cool woodworking tools started ripping the planks and cutting them down to size. As you see above, we started on the wall behind the door – that way, if we screwed up it would be easier to hide it.
As you can see, we have high ceilings (14ft), and we’re going all the way up. I’ve done shallow shelves up top, as I’m planning to put paperbacks up there, and I didn’t want the room to feel too top heavy. We’re also going to go all the way around the room, with plans to do the opposite corner this weekend. We’ve already started, in fact:
Those planks above the fireplace are temporary so I can get more books off the floor; they’ll be replaced with long shelves that span the width of the fireplace. We just have to wait until the neighbor returns from holiday so we can cut the planks for the next section.
Stay tuned for updates.