What to do with 1000+ books? That is the question.
There was no point in getting bookshelves until we'd been painted so they are still all in boxes in the corner of the living room.
I'm not sure about having shelves in the living room with the wood burner.......... I know how dusty they will get so the landing upstairs will be the place.
The painter has finished upstairs but......
What are the chances of finding the right size second-hand bookshelves?
Very unlikely but.................
Have you seen the price of decent wooden shelving?
I hate cheap shelving that bends in the middle.
Colin might have made them in the past but not now.
I shall measure up and search online but..........
Probably not room for everything so much culling will be needed.
Although I did abandon some before we moved and more went to Ziffit last year but..........
There are still 25, yes 25 boxes.
So I shall have to be very strict with myself.
I shall be glad to unpack them and they will be glad to see the light of day again........most have been in boxes for 18 months.
Back Soon
Sue
Hi, I have seen bookshelves made out of books, but I can't find the link. Take a look at this, lots of ideas for books.
ReplyDeletehttps://uk.pinterest.com/pin/147000375309566084/
Try this one as well.
http://dornob.com/recycled-books-turned-into-creative-bookcase-designs/
Ikea do nice shelving and you can add bits to it. I did get rid of some books so only have about 10 boxes of books and we have shelves just got to find where to put them when we move. (eventually)
ReplyDeleteGosh...that's a lot of books.
ReplyDeleteI hope you find just the right kind of shelving you need-x-
Fortunately we have good second hand shop here who do pine bookshelves at reasonable price as apparently everyone is getting rid of pine for oak now, maybe there is somewhere near you. Sandra Nix.
ReplyDeleteAt one time you could buy wooden cubes that just stacked together, some were just cubes, others had divisions for smaller things. I had a wall of these at one time for my books and they were very useful, especially at moving time when they could just be packed up without picking up 100's of books off the shelves.
ReplyDeleteAlso, I bought an extra large book case from Viking Direct, only one shelf has sagged slightly and that is remedied with a piece of wood cut to fit and slipped in instead of a book.
Such a difficult task for a book lover, good luck!
ReplyDeleteBooks need to breathe don't they? Chris is right Ikea does have some reasonable shelves. We have 2 large ones on the stair landing and they work well. We did put a 2 inch wide board underneath each shelf the length of the shelf to stiffen them and prevent that ugly bowing. Easy to cut even with a hand saw and then screwing the brace to the rear underside of shelf and a finishing nails in through the side.
ReplyDeleteI had enough problem with book storage when it was just myself stockpiling. Then my husband discovered the joys of a good book while recovering from swine flu. Finally my daughter went to university to read English Literature and guess where all her books ended up when she graduated! We have bookcases, but we also have piles of 'waiting to be read' and, much as I hate it, I seem to be constantly taking books to the charity shop. If you can find suitably strong bookcases you could try making double rows of paperbacks if the shelves are deep enough. It isn't ideal, but at least it allows me to hang onto more old favourites. Tracy
ReplyDeleteHard task, books are so precious
ReplyDeleteI used to love my shelves of books, but I'm quite good at letting them go now. Hope you find a happy solution to your shelving problem xx
ReplyDeleteIt's tricky getting rid of books, you just know that you'll need that book at sometime in the future. I hate to part with any of mine.
ReplyDeleteBriony
x
We are down to 4 book cases. I dont think I can go any lower than that. I agree there are some nice book shelves in Ikea. Even I can put them up on my own.
ReplyDeleteMuch to my husbands dismay my book collection is hovering very close to 2,000 books and that is after being very strict and passing on 80% of the books I've read! I love IKEA bookshelves. I have 7 of them and they are very sturdy and no sagging in the middle. If I could have more, and the room for more, I would.
ReplyDeleteI would say buy a kindle, but I do know that it is not the same as browsing through a good book. However, I would only keep reference books and get rid of fictional/biographries to try to cut down.
ReplyDeleteHope you can figure out a home for them without having to let anything too precious go. I love my books too so I understand the want to have them and keep them!
ReplyDeleteSorting through those boxes will be a huge treat, meeting all those old friends again, not seen for 18 months!
ReplyDeleteAfter our flood last year, and before we moved my books into storage, I did a major culling..... It hurt, but so needed doing.
ReplyDeleteGod bless.
There are charities & book sellers who will take a large donation of books (perhaps a skip load or house full etc) - it might be worth looking on line for these in your area. Sadly in my area the charity shops send unsold books to be pulped, & many now even refuse to take books as they take so much space for the price they receive. So it's probably better to find another way (if you can't find a dealer - perhaps a bookstall on your footpath, a garage sale etc).
ReplyDeleteWe've culled our books, selling some at the weekend yard sale and will be donating about 6 boxes this week. Still, we have several boxes of books packed to move... picking only those we really, really wanted to keep. Boxes filled with books are heavy!
ReplyDeleteP.S. The rooms in our new house are so much smaller than those in the one we've lived in for 15 yrs. that we've had to replace furniture. The dining table wouldn't fit in the new kitchen, and although the sectional sofa could have been shoe horned in, we'd have had to climb over it to get into the living room. Moving house can be trying.
ReplyDeleteLol sounds like my house! When we moved most of our things were boxes of books and they are not light either! Hope you find the shelves you want.
ReplyDeleteI think you have about the right amount of books. Just to say, we bought three sets of Billy Bookcases from IKEA in 1994, loaded them two deep in places, there's a lot of serious hardbacks on them, and they are still doing fine. They may not be your taste, though. x
ReplyDeleteMy 10 year old neighbor girl was here the other day. She looked at my bookshelves and said, "Why do you have so many books?" The only answer I could think of was, "Well, I love books." Thank heavens she said, "I do, too." Her dad says she's turned into a bookworm. What a wonderful thing for a child, to be a "bookworm." I give her books all the time, always thinking of her when I go into a thrift shop. I also told her that someday I will reread some of my favorites. I do, however, wish I could easily get rid of some books since I still have more books in the storage shed that have not seen daylight for 16 years. What to do? It's a good problem to have and I won't call it a problem again! My son David built the shelves in 2009, I think it was, and then his Papa painted them white. I love the way they look, but should STOP bringing more home! Help! This Spring I SHOULD reorganize them and dust each one. But....I am one of those persons who DOES NOT have a "to do" list and couldn't care a whit if I check something off. Guess I'm lazy.
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