Overbooked? Making our Library Space 1A

I had a lot of books. Eric really had A LOT of books. Together we have SO MANY BOOKS and we've only acquired more. But as everyone knows, it's not hoarding if it's books. YEY! It's not really a surprise that when we left all those Craftsman built-ins in Portland, we lost a lot of book storage. Even though all our books are out of boxes and most of them are on shelves that are not in closets, the storage is unsatisfactory and makes the craft studio/library/auxiliary guest room layout unsatisfying. And since we (well I mostly, let's be candid) need to entirely empty the craft studio/library/auxiliary guest room in order to rip out the carpet and to install the new flooring, it seemed like the perfect time to figure out every other surface in there as well as address the book shelving situation.

I forgot to get a photo before I was well into the process. This big shelf was FULL of books on both sides and full on top.

These 24 boxes are tightly packed with all (well most) of those books! They will stay right there until most of the remodeling is done since that wall is where the new bookcases will be installed.

In addition to the carpet and the bookshelves, there are a few other issues. The dreaded painted-over wallpaper for one. If that wallpaper was put in by the original owners, then it is very likely glued directly to the drywall and will have to be skimmed over. If not, there's hope it can come down with my trusty (slightly crusty) steamer.

What is even under there? Did they throw dirt at the wall while putting up the paper?

There are also some seemingly random applications of that faux paneling popular in the 1970s when the house was built. This stuff could very well be glued to the drywall, too. Which could mean lots of repairs. I do believe there is a full or nearly full 4' x 8' sheet of this stored in the shop loft, too.

My guess is that the paneling was an afterthought, because of the extra mouldings applied above the base and below the chair rail.

The dinginess of the photo quality here betrays the feeling the finishes give the room. 

And to complete the wall renovation triple threat, a chair rail that goes all the way around. It was also painted over when the wallpaper was, so it's going to require some extra work to get off and also not be especially appealing to reuse in the future.

I don't know what the original look was, but it seems like when they decided to paint over the wallpaper they just pained painted over everything that wasn't fake paneling, including the chair rail.

Just as with the guest room, this seems like the perfect time to improve the storage capabilities of the closet as well as repaint in there. (no photo) In fact, I'll have to repaint the whole room and perhaps utilize my old decorative painting skills. [wildly waggles eyebrows]

I actually find both the ceramic base and the glass globe charming, but less so together. It's also inadequate in terms of both providing light as well as for scale. It's a very small light in a rather large room. Each of the pieces may find their way to other spots in the house.

And finally, we want to change out the central ceiling light fixture - hopefully with something that could give us more light around the room, which is actually quite large for a 2nd bedroom in a house this size. Which means installing a dimmer and while I'm at it I may as well update all the outlets and the closet light switch, too.

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THE BREAKDOWN

Phase I

1. Empty that room!

2. Remove base moulding

3. Remove closet doors & hardware

4. Remove the carpet and pad

5. Remove tack strips and staples

6. Remove chair rail and paneling

7. Determine if wall paper is removeable

8. repair walls

9. prime walls and ceiling

10. paint walls and ceiling

11. decorative finish(es)?

12. Replace light fixture

13. Replace switches and outlets, covers

14, make and install closet shelves, etc.

15. prime exisiting subfloor x 2

16. pour self-leveing subfloor

17. install LVP

18. reinstall base moulding

19. reinstall closet doors

20. install transition piece at doorway

21. make window covering

22. install window covering

Phase II

1 - ?. Build built-in bookshelves

... Finish last course of flooring

... Add base shoe or other moulding