“Successful people jump, they don’t stand still.”
I recently heard this piece of advice from a fellow Junior League member during a networking activity. The moment Amy shared it with me, I got goosebumps. I hope we all are jumping at the different opportunities that pop up in our daily lives!
Here is a quick recap of the progress I made during week 6 and part of week 7. I had two wonderful people assist me during this time and it was a massive help.
Bookcases
Week 6 was all about the bookcases! I can say that the bookcases are now complete except for hardware and shelf decor. Wow! That feels good to say out loud.
I drew up a plan of what I envisioned for the reading nook with built-in bookcases. My plan was to tackle the vertical bookshelves first and then the horizontal shelf.
I’m using 30x30x24 cabinets. I used 3/4″ thick sanded plywood in 4×8 sheets. I cut the shelves down with my Kreg rip cut saw attachment. This was a must have. It made the cuts super easy and accurate. Once I had all my pieces cut for both bookshelves, I drilled pocket holes into each horizontal shelf piece. I used wood glue, corner clamps, a level, and screws to build the shelves. I attached a 1/4″ piece of plywood to the back using wood glue and my brad nailer. I attached the shelves to the wall into the studs and used a wall L shaped anchors too. I cut down some extra wood from the fireplace and added it to the perimeter of the countertops. I used door stops for the shelf facing and installed it with my brad nailer.
Next, I added another piece of door molding at the top of the bookcase along with scrap 2x4s. This will give my crown molding some stability. I also created a L shaped toe kick filler with scrap 2x4s and mdf board to conceal a gap. I wanted my baseboards to sit flush and wrap all around it seamlessly. I also added shoe molding in front of all the baseboards.
I added a decorative wainscoting on the sides of the bookshelves using some mdf, wood glue, and brad nails. I love the look from the sides. I’ll share a final picture of this with the reveal.
My good friend Kim came by again to help me with the crown molding. My ceiling above the bookshelves are incredibly uneven and let’s not talk about the walls either. It was a challenge and the crown molding took some finagling, but after lots of TLC it looks pretty good! I used backer rod and caulk in all my gaps. Then I painted over everything twice. Look at the before and afters below.
As you can see, everything has been wood filled, caulked, primed, and officially painted twice! My mom and Kim were a huge help with caulking and painting. I have some touch up painting to do around the room, but the bulk of it is complete. You’ll have to join me for the big reveal to see the final look!
Fixtures and Lighting
Door Redo
I knew I wanted to remove the door to the living room. This door is always open and it gets in the way of the closet door. I removed the door and door casings. Then I added these hinge fillers from Amazon. I used wood filler and then sanded it down. My mom painted and it looks so much better!
Frame TV
The frame tv was installed during week 6! I can’t wait to start using it. One thing I found out was that in order to conceal any electrical and tv equipment you have to get a media box with power outlet. This will be installed behind the tv inside the wall. See pictures below. Besides being aesthetically pleasing, we get a lot of sunlight in this room. The antiglare will come in handy.
Final countdown: FINISH the room!
I have quite a few projects left to bust out before reveal week! Don’t miss out on all the fun! And remember, you can check out all the other participants progress here! Reveal week is from Wednesday November 15th thru Saturday November 18th!
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