Wednesday, August 26, 2009

Defining a Library

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Mr. H and I have dreams of a having a library in our home. We have a spare bedroom, and our family loves to read (and write) so why not?

When I think of a library, I think of this. (sigh) I just want to curl up in one of those chairs and lose myself in a book, don't you? Well, our spare room is nowhere near that size, so we'll have to scale down from this.

On our current precarious budget, we'll also have to take baby steps as we move forward on putting the library together. dictionary stand

Baby step #1: A Dictionary Stand. This is one of the things on the "library list" that Mr. H and I made a while back. Yeah, whatever -- where in the heck would you find one of those old-fashioned things, nowadays?

Uh, at a local thriftstore, apparently:

Woo hoo! Found one! $15? -- that's a deal.

(Sorry -- couldn't keep Bij away from the thing long enough to take a picture. He loves this thing! Silly gato.)

We've got some nicks and scrapes and a big problem: the shelf the dictionary's supposed to sit on is missing!

Ack. Time to get creative.

the stand has nicks and scratches but it's a good deal! Uh-oh. No shelf for the dictionary!

Bye-bye nicks -- say hello to some furniture touch up pens...

furniture touch up pens

OK. So, how to make the stand functional without adding a crappy looking shelf that won't ever match no matter how hard we try? Kitchen cabinet knobs! Mr. H, you're a genius! ♥  Flat ones that won't get in the way of the book, but hold it evenly (form follows function, ya know), and somewhat blend in with the look of the thing....

Mission accomplished:

Knobs filling in for the shelf

Add an old dictionary we picked up at that same thrift store... and...

it works!

It works!

Cool! Love it!

 

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Two things will put a polishing touch on this project for me. <-----  This idea. It's gonna go right over the space where we put the stand. Vinyl lettering defining the word "read":

... and to be able to tell my Sweet Girl to

  look it up 

-- like my parents did!

5 comments:

Anonymous said...

Awesome -- love it! -Betsy

My Random Cooking Creations said...

Absolutely brilliant! Good idea Wendy! We have a library section in our family room downstairs away from the hustle and bustle and I love it! Its the perfect "curl up" place!

Mama Williams said...

I never thought of that! Love it! Looks like new to me. My favorite library is the Library of Congress. Beautiful!

Rebekah said...

I saw those pens at the store the other day and wondered if they actually worked...Wow. I guess they do! That dictionary stand looks amazing.

It's my dream to have a library--floor to ceiling bookshelves and cushy chairs and a long table. And since this is only a dream, I'd throw in some antiquey-looking lamps, too.

Wendy said...

I read that all you need is a corner to cozy up with shelves and a comfy chair.

Go for it, Rebekah!