Cookbook Shelves in the Kitchen

The plan for this nook was cook book shelves, we thought that they would look neat because you’d be able to see them from the living room.  IKEA didn't have a turn-key solution in the correct finish so the plan was to make our own.  

I have been storing bags in this nook.  I painted the back wall with chalk board paint, because writing on the walls or cabinets is pretty fun.

Dad and I started with a base of ply wood that would be the structural support and then be covered with the finish pieces.

I have some trim pieces to go around each shelf so we planned an overhang.

the platform was secured to the wall.

The second/upper shelf rests on furring strips, I cut them short and at angles to reduce how much they can be seen.

The lower board is nailed to the platform,

The plinth piece was screwed in. I had to add a spacer because I got distracted from the original plans a some point....

The most difficult part (other than dealing with a not square wall) was screwing the top shelf into the furring strip.

The front plinth will be finished when I get the other side done. (soon I hope)

Then I gathered all of my cookbooks and put them on the shelves, but they barely filled up any space so I added my sailing books and a bottle of wine.

At some point I asked Dad if he thought that it was ‘properly’ supported, he responded ‘well I don’t know where you are going to find an elephant to sit on it.’ Elephant jokes ensued:

‘Time to call Animal Control’