Spring 2022

I’ve been musing on bookcases, which I love creating. Not least of which because I have a a lot of books to create homes for. We have a new/old little apartment/flat we may have as a home again in the UK and as it’s small, every bit of space needs to be well considered and planned. And I have found that laying out the spaces with shelves and furniture to scale really helps get a feel for the space and what will work.

When I say small, I mean a one bedroom apartment with 550 square feet, at a push. But it’s well laid out with central hallway and bedroom, bathroom, kitchen and combo living and dining all lined up along outside wall. It’s on a corner so has good light from two directions. We’re really excited, not least of which because we will be close to friends and family and the area in Brighton Anna and I first had a home together back in 2004.

Back to bookcase. There is one wall in the living/dining room that is calling out for a well planned shelving unit. And I want to figure out how to have this unit, which will be 12 feet long by 8 feet high incorporate shelves for books and vinyl, a decent sized television, a stereo with turntable, a lamp or two and a seating nook. This is a lot to happen in a relatively cosy space. But if/when we pull it off it will define much of the feel of the space. We are also looking to go much darker in colors for the walls and ceiling and bookcases.

I’ll provide some periodic updates here as I play with designs. I’ve attached a couple photos of the existing living and dining space to give a feel.

The first sketch below is of a shelving unit with space on the left big enough for a seat with cushion. And that will rest on 15 inch deep bottom shelving unit big enough for records and bigger books and turntable and amplifier and lamp to sit on.

The second sketch is of the room footprint, which is 16 feet long and 12 feet wide. The entry door and shelving unit run along one wall and dining area and sitting area are created around the room. But just a simple decision of will a 5 or 6 foot dining table work better in the space is interesting to play with. Too small and looks pokey. I’m currently showing a 5 foot table but I think it may not be quite big enough? Too big and it overwhelms the space and feels crowded….. More to come….