Design is fun, plaster and lath is not.
I'm being a perfectionist and it's really driving me mad how long it's taking.
The shelves are going up in the hallway. Sure I could have bought white laminate, but I don't want particleboard or plastic if I can help it. Aside from the processing of the stuff, I don't want the extra weight and I want to be able to screw into it without fear of it falling apart. So I bought real wood. That requires painting, then sanding, then another coat, then another (quicker) sanding, then another coat. Putting the shelves up on 100 year old lath & plaster walls means I have to use heavy duty anchors since the studs are irregular at best. I've placed brackets at either side of each doorway and I am allowing the shelves to rest on the doorway moulding. That should distribute the weight better and keep things from crashing down on our heads again. I'd feel better of all the brackets were screwed into studs, but we can't always get what we want. I tried to find them, what misery. At 1" intervals I had to screw 18 times before I found a stud. I still haven't located the next stud over, it's certainly not at a standard 16" on center interval. Apparently only crazy people with no understanding of geometry or numbers built houses 100 years ago. I am going to add a reinforcing bracket above the shelves at the few studs I did find. I may even do it on the bottom side, but I really don't want to clutter up the walls with too many brackets. It's bad enough as it is.
To top things off I'm moving rather slowly these days so a simple set of shelves is turning into a multiple day adventure. On the bright side I've hit upon a kids bedroom decorating idea. I'm going to design & build something inspired by this bookshelf, only scaled for a tiny room. For my purposes I want it a little lighter or more airy feeling. Maybe with well-defined branches.
Maybe something more like this by Matteo Casarosa:
I think it would be a perfect way to store all the bedtime books while freeing up precious space in the playroom. Now imagine big comfy pillows like mounds of moss piled up near the base. That could be perfect.
My next question is whether we shoud go with a soft soothing color for the walls (a nice soft green perhaps) or if we're better off with white. Lately I've been in love with the idea of white spaces, especially ones that have a soft, glowy feel. The room is rather small and dark, with only one tall but narrow window that opens to the alley between my building and the next. That could either be really good for a sleep room, or it could be depressing. Maybe one wall with a stronger color and all the rest white could work. Such difficult decisions. Not like there aren't, you know, important things happening in the world.
The shelves are going up in the hallway. Sure I could have bought white laminate, but I don't want particleboard or plastic if I can help it. Aside from the processing of the stuff, I don't want the extra weight and I want to be able to screw into it without fear of it falling apart. So I bought real wood. That requires painting, then sanding, then another coat, then another (quicker) sanding, then another coat. Putting the shelves up on 100 year old lath & plaster walls means I have to use heavy duty anchors since the studs are irregular at best. I've placed brackets at either side of each doorway and I am allowing the shelves to rest on the doorway moulding. That should distribute the weight better and keep things from crashing down on our heads again. I'd feel better of all the brackets were screwed into studs, but we can't always get what we want. I tried to find them, what misery. At 1" intervals I had to screw 18 times before I found a stud. I still haven't located the next stud over, it's certainly not at a standard 16" on center interval. Apparently only crazy people with no understanding of geometry or numbers built houses 100 years ago. I am going to add a reinforcing bracket above the shelves at the few studs I did find. I may even do it on the bottom side, but I really don't want to clutter up the walls with too many brackets. It's bad enough as it is.
To top things off I'm moving rather slowly these days so a simple set of shelves is turning into a multiple day adventure. On the bright side I've hit upon a kids bedroom decorating idea. I'm going to design & build something inspired by this bookshelf, only scaled for a tiny room. For my purposes I want it a little lighter or more airy feeling. Maybe with well-defined branches.
Maybe something more like this by Matteo Casarosa:
I think it would be a perfect way to store all the bedtime books while freeing up precious space in the playroom. Now imagine big comfy pillows like mounds of moss piled up near the base. That could be perfect.
My next question is whether we shoud go with a soft soothing color for the walls (a nice soft green perhaps) or if we're better off with white. Lately I've been in love with the idea of white spaces, especially ones that have a soft, glowy feel. The room is rather small and dark, with only one tall but narrow window that opens to the alley between my building and the next. That could either be really good for a sleep room, or it could be depressing. Maybe one wall with a stronger color and all the rest white could work. Such difficult decisions. Not like there aren't, you know, important things happening in the world.