Book organization. Probably one of the most searched terms on Pinterest {I’m guessing here!). For a really, really long time I have been trying to figure out the best way to display my little reader’s mountain of books. The rental that we live in has a pretty spacious living area and master bedroom but the additional bedrooms take some clever staging to make everything fit. Not being a huge fan of bookcases {unless they’re built-ins}, I wanted to find a way to display books that he could 1) Reach, 2) See the book covers since he is still a beginner reader and 3) Look really, really cute. And I knew JUST the place to find them…. my basement! Well, let me back up. For years Meg & I {and our husbands} have been building furniture from Ana White. Console tables, farm tables, side tables, mommy command centers, the plans are honestly endless. At our last duty station my husband built me a set of three Barnwood Ledges for our gallery wall in the living room.
I promise I got MUCH better at staging them as the years went by. They had been sitting in my furniture pile in the basement ever since we moved to Virginia because I was having a hard time finding the right place in our house for them.. until now! I dug them out ~ of course they were in the very back of the heap ~ and dusted them off. I knew because of my little guy’s height that I would only need two of the three so I had to find something to balance out the ledges and hang above them so there wasn’t a lot of negative space. I found these letters that spell out READ at Hobby Lobby during their 50% off wood week – score! Then I hung the ledges making sure to find the studs in the wall {if you can’t find the stud just get yourself some drywall anchors… must have items for milspouses}. I checked to be sure they were level, filled them with books, and grabbed this Restoration Hardware knock-off bin from Target’s clearance aisle to corral all his bigger books in. I finished the whole corner off with a rocking chair that was my husband’s and his brother’s when they were kids. I think it’s the perfect little sweet corner to get lost in all kinds of adventures!
These Floating Barnwood Beam Plans are absolutely free on Ana’s website and are a really easy beginner project. They’re so versatile and perfect for the ever-moving military family. I could see these in a bathroom for storage & display, in guest rooms, entry ways, where ever. And you know how Meg & I LOVE double duty pieces! Do you have a piece in your home that has “lived many lives” in the numerous places you have lived? Share in the comments below! Let us know if you tackle this project and as always, come join in on the conversation on our Facebook page.
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