The Bookcase of my DREAMS!

If you are a follower of this blog you know that I lost my dear dad, unexpectedly, in February of this year. What you don’t know is that he passed away in the middle of panting and construction projects on my home. What grieves me mightily in all of this is that he never got to see this wonderful project completed. Dad was in on the planning stages from the very beginning. We discussed ideas, we went over pictures on Pinterest, and I sent him sketches of what I wanted. He was as excited as I was, and bought me the fireplace insert for Christmas. I shared pictures of early stages of construction with him, but he never got to see the end result.

Because of all this, I would like to share this project with you. These additions were constructed in the downstairs great room, my “chill zone,” where I go to relax and watch baseball. (In thinking about it, the words “relax” and “baseball” don’t really go together, but I digress…)

I was interested in having a fireplace, because I love them (if I had my way I would have a fireplace in every room), and I needed a large bookcase to hold all my books. (If you are a bibliophile like I am, then you know that this doesn’t begin to hold all of my books, again, digressing…)

Because my husband and I spent 20 years of our life together working in rare book rooms in libraries around the world, I wanted to replicate that in my own home, and thus I needed a ladder. Here is the end result, and I absolutely love it!

This bookcase holds a lot of history, literally and figuratively.

Many of Jim’s rare books are contained here, his collection of dictionaries, my collection of Nancy Drew books.

My collection of mystery cookbooks are here. I don't use them mind, and would never kill anyone intentionally with my cooking, but I do know how (evil grin).

Sherlock has his own space.

There is even room (well, I made room) for a bit of whimsy in this “Haunted Typewriter” that types out H E L P  M E when anyone passes.

My dad has his own little shelf where his textbooks from Yale are kept.

Walking Across Egypt was one of my mother’s favorite books. It is displayed on a stand on the table.

I LOVE dictionaries! Only a part of them fit here.

Sitting at this library table makes me feel as though my family surrounds me with their love. Dad always questioned my need for both lighted shelves and a ladder (and boy are they expensive!); Jim would have found it pure folly. True, I’m tall enough to reach the books on the top shelf, but it is an ornament that I had to have. 

While I eventually intend to paint and decoupage the top of the table with mementos from my life and travels relating to literature, I currently enjoy breakfast in this warm, bright, and wonderful spot. Come join me! Stay tuned for the fireplace addition in a future post.

As an aside, the builder on this project is the same wonderful man who built my deck. You can read about that here.