We’ve been in our house for just over a month now and have been plugging away trying to get the downstairs feel more our style before the holidays arrive. Sunday we shared the progress we’ve made in our entryway and over the last couple of weeks we’ve shared little peeks of our living room here, our kitchen here, and our dining area here. Today I am excited to share the biggest project I’ve worked on so far in this house which is our Billy bookcase hack library. It was designed to be a dining room, but with such a large eat-in kitchen area and an island right next to that, we really didn’t need another eating spot. The one thing all four of us have very much in common is our love of reading. I’ve been wanting to have a “library” type room  for years and this seemed like the perfect spot for one. (I should point out that we have three more Billy Bookcases upstairs filled with lots of more “colorful” books which I’ll share a video of in our stories on instagram, and we also donated tons of books when we moved from Virginia to North Carolina and a ton more when we moved from North Carolina to Ohio so we don’t have nearly as many books in here as we have actually read…although I’m glad we have donated so many books, I also selfishly kind of wish I had held on to more of them.)

So here is what the room looked like when we moved in. I wish it didn’t have a trey ceiling but oh well, and then the small little windows on the back wall drove me crazy. I  knew right away I would want to find a creative way to cover them. Because of their existence, I couldn’t do true built-in bookshelves so instead I just tried to make them visually look like built-ins. I saved the process in our highlights on instagram so you can find more information there, but basically I used five Billy Bookcases from IKEA and pushed them together. I then filled in all the holes that make the shelves adjustable to make it look more custom and less like it was from IKEA and then I trimmed it out a bit. Then I did lots of sanding, priming and painting. I  used a bonding primer and then used the color Shade Grown by Sherwin Williams in a satin finish once the primer was fully dry. I also made sure to secure each bookshelf to the studs on that back wall with the metal bracket provided so although it is not a built-in, it is secure and can’t tip! So, by just removing those screws the whole bookshelf could be easily moved if future owners preferred to have the windows visible or wanted to use it as a dining room.

Here are a couple of “progress” shots:

And here it is now:

Here’s another before angle:

And now:

Along with filling in all of the holes for the shelves and adding some trim pieces to make it look like one piece, two other things I did to help give it a higher-end and more custom feel were to put doors on the lower portion of the bookshelves (I used the IKEA  Oxberg ones that are designed for the Billy Bookcase and added these knobs) and then added a library ladder with the rolling hardware. This was by far the cheapest option I could find and has a bit “heavier” of a feel to it than I’d been looking for and the hardware only came in black (I  would have preferred brass) but those options were triple the price on other websites and most were custom type designs so this was the most affordable option I  could find.

Another before angle:

And now:

I love this view through the pantry:

Although some of the vintage books are just “pretty” many are classics that we’ve read like Heidi, Little Women, The Great Gatsby, The Adventures of Tom Sawyer, etc.

These green and brown floral pillows are two of my favorites I’ve ever purchased!

And here is the view from the library out to the entryway area (for more pictures and all source information you can click here):

And here’s the kitchen and breakfast nook (for more pictures and all source information for the kitchen click here and breakfast nook click here):

And here’s the living room (for more pictures and source information click here):

Well, that’s it for today. Here’s all the source information for the library room:

LIBRARY SOURCE INFORMATION:

Wall Color – Shade Grown by Sherwin Williams in a Satin Finish
Bookshelves – Built using 5 Billy Bookcases from IKEA and then trimmed out and primed and painted in Shade Grown by Sherwin Williams in a Satin Finish, I  added the Oxberg doors to the lower portion and then used these knobs to finish it off
Library Ladder – Amazon
Library Ladder Hardware – Amazon
Light Fixture – Serena and Lily
Table – Home Depot
Vase on Table – Anthropologie
Chairs – can be found here and here
Pillows in Chairs -Pottery Barn
Fuzzy Faux Fur Hide – have had for years, similar here
Rug – Amazon
Dog Bed – World Market years ago
Bench – Target
Herringbone Throw – The Company Store
Green Pillow – Target years ago
Lumbar Pillow – Target, no longer available
Frames – Framebridge Richmond Frames roughly 16 by 20 in size
Draperies – IKEA Ritva Panels (four panels per window)
Drapery Rods – Amazon
Drapery Rings – Amazon
Bust Vase – Can be found here and here
Books – many are vintage, rest are just some of our favorites
White Rows of Small Books – Chatbooks
Picture Frames – Target
Wicker Magazine Holders – IKEA
Wood Vase – Can be found here and here
Bookends – have had them all for years

ENTRYWAY SOURCE LIST:

Wall Color – Pure White by Sherwin Williams in an Eggshell Finish
Door Color – Retreat by Sherwin Williams in a Satin Finish
Doorknobs – Nostalgic Warehouse
Light Fixture – Target
Runner – Rugs Direct
Entryway Console – Wayfair (unfortunately color looks nothing like what it appeared online)
Mirror – Walmart
Lamp – Visual Comfort
Vase – HomeGoods and then painted (similar to the one in our library from Anthropologie
Framed Canvas Artwork – Minted 16 by 20 Premium Ash Wood Frame
Candleholders – found locally but similar here

SOURCE LIST FOR KITCHEN:

Wall Color – Pure White by Sherwin Williams in a Matte Finish
Island Color – Evergreen Fog by Sherwin Williams in a Satin Finish
Door Color – Retreat by Sherwin Williams in a Satin Finish
Doorknobs – Nostalgic Warehouse
Wallpaper in Pantry Area – Wayfair 
Pendants – Visual Comfort
Counter Stools – Ballard Design (got mine on sale at the outlet but they can also be purchase online)
Brackets for Shelf – Amazon (8″)
Brass Railing on Shelf – Etsy
Brass Handles – Can be found here and here
Brass Pulls – Can be found here and here
Round Wood Tray on Island – Target
Vase on Island – Target
Cake Stand – Target
Faucet – IKEA (similar here)
Round Serving Board on Shelf – local find, similar one here and here
Bowls – have had for years – similar here and here
Brass Watering Can – Target
Artwork on Self – Frame Target, Art – Etsy
Wood Vase on Shelf – Here and here
Dish and Hand Soap – Williams-Sonoma
Marble Cutting Board – similar can be found here
Marble Paper Towel Holder – Similar one can be found here
Copper Strainer – Similar one here
Bust Vase – Anthropologie (also available at Amazon)
Faux Flowers – Target
Candlesticks – Walmart
Candles – Walmart
Green Mugs – Target
Wood Salt and Pepper Mills – Amazon
Raised Wood Tray – Amazon
Napkin Holder – Serena and Lily
Hanging Basket in Pantry Area – Wayfair
Round Wooden Serving Board – Target
Long Wooden Serving Board – have had for years, similar one here and here

Have a wonderful rest of the week!
Warmly, Jenni