Bookshelves!

My first thought when I found out I was pregnant, after getting over all the excitement and all that, was "We need more storage for toys!". So Lance and I hatched a plan over 2 years ago to add cabinets and bookshelves around our fireplace. It seems like such a blank wall, I'm surprised none of the previous homeowners did this. We worked all last summer with Steve and Lance learned a lot about woodworking and all the details exact measurements that go into making all this. This fall/winter we worked on choosing the right combonation of stains to get just the right color. It ended up being a wood dye and stain combonation that took 4 separate speps each piece (conditioner, 2 coats dye, 2 coats stain, clear coat). And now we have it installed!

And it seems like it was born there!

But first, Alex watched Daddy and Steve do lots of drilling and he got right in there and did some "drilling" too! Lance got him his own tools last year for Christmas and they sure have come in handy. A drill, hammer, screwdrivers, etc. His "drill" has a drillbit (which we took out) and it just has a light and turns a little bit when you push the trigger. Apparently he did lots of drilling - about 2 hours worth Saturday afternoon. What an attention span for a 2 year old!

Alex also helped by loaning out his ladder - not an easy thing to do when it's "mine!". He finally let Steve use his ladder to install some pieces, but after much "No, mine". What a generous boy!

Here's the before picture!

(the boxes on the ground are the cabinet pieces that we just didn't have any room for in our garage)

And the after picture!

We are absolutely thrilled with the results. We love the dark color of the wood. We love how it "fills" in the wall. Now, you'll have to do some imagining - as the mantle isn't quite finished yet. Neither are the shelves for the upper part. But - I'm sure you can picture a nice substantial mantle running right in between the two bookshelves and on top of the stone fireplace. And shelving and books, etc filling the top part.

I'm now on the hunt for some art to put above the mantle.... Fun!