I love the look of a built-in wall of shelves, with cabinets below and display shelves above. We had a tiny flat in Paris for awhile, and it came with a beautiful wall of bespoke shelving, with mirrors to reflect the light and increase the sense of space.
This was my inspiration for our London flat when we purchased it. We had one large wall that would be perfect for such built-in bespoke shelving, and it would add much-needed cupboard storage, as well as display space.
I also wanted to have a place for our television that did not take up more floor space too, and these shelves would be perfect.
We had considered having a carpenter build the shelves, but research convinced me the costs would be much too high, with £6k being at the low end.
I started looking around the interwebs to see what my options were, and I came across an entire world of Ikea hacks , from bespoke shelving, to interesting furniture details, to hidden cat litter boxes. (I saved these for future consideration. Maurice might need one!)
The more I read up on these hacks, the more I saw examples of beautiful and well-built bespoke shelving that were exactly what I envisioned for our space.
These are well done and look professional, and the makers have given loads of helpful tips, tricks and insights. Exactly what I need to instill confidence and help me tackle this big project in small, manageable steps.
Before I begin, there are a few unique challenges that I can not figure out.
- Our TV is too large for any existing shelves I could find. The television spans nearly two standard Ikea shelf units. My first solution was to get a smaller television. My husband instantly vetoed this plan. Importantly, he was not completely on board with the whole build-it-ourselves plan, so getting a smaller TV was an absolute deal-breaker. I need to find a solution here!
- Maybe harder to solve for is our slanted ceiling. We live on the top floor, so most of our rooms have at least one angled ceiling. I need to embrace this charming aspect of my home in my renovation efforts. But there are very few examples of angled bespoke shelving on-line. The few examples I found were light on details, or the approach was not as crisp or professional as I want.
After weeks of research and falling asleep thinking of solutions (this is when some of my best ideas come to me!), I finally came up with a plan I think I can manage. As always, if it doesn’t work, I’m out some expenses and time, and we will need to hire out the project, or at least parts of it.
Here is the plan, excuse my terrible drawing but I hope you can start to see my vision.
I’ve not been overly prescriptive of every cut or design detail, because I want to remain open to what happens, what I run into, etc. My plan is to tackle the bespoke shelving project in chunks of work. First, the bottom cabinets, and the base they will sit on. Then the countertop. Then, the shelves above. And finally, the trim work to finish everything off.
I am a bit nervous, not really sure I can do this. But at the same time, I am excited to try.
Super hero cape is on, here we go! See you here next week as I kick the project off.
Would you try building bespoke shelving in your home? Any advice for me before I begin? Tell me in the comments.