ClosetMaid makes some nice fabric storage cubes for storing all kinds of stuff. They are called ClosetMaid Cubeicals. But you don’t have to buy cheap bookcases from ClosetMaid too. You can have your own custom-sized unfinished or finished partition bookcase built to fit the 10.5″W x 11″H x 10.5″W cubes.
Below is an example of a frameless partition bookcase with cubbies sized to fit the storage cubes. Our Nola frameless bookcases are more sturdy than what you see here. Ours are built using 3/4″ thick Maple or Oak plywood with 2-3/4″H bases. So, they are much sturdier than your standard ready-to-assemble or particleboard bookcase.
Here is how to size your unfinished bookcase (also available stained or painted).
Width: A 3-cube high bookcase would need space for three 11″H cubbies, plus an extra 1/4″ per cubby to make sure they fit easily, plus a 2-3/4″H base and three 3/4″ shelves (including the top).
Height: A 4-cube wide bookcase would need space for four 10.5″W cubbies, plus an extra 1/4″ per cubby to make sure they fit easily, plus five 3/4″W vertical separators. That would make it about 39″H and 47″W.
Overall: Since the cubbies are 10.5″D, the overall dimensions could be 47″W x 39″H x 12″D. Now, just buy some cubbies to fill it in!
This is a guide to help you decide what types of wood to choose for your cabinets, bookcases, or other furniture.
Maple
Maple is one of the hardest wood types for furniture or cabinetry. It’s often used for heavy-use items like dressers and dining sets, as it can take a beating. It is almost always used for painted kitchen cabinets since it does not have very pronounced grain, which can show through light-colored paints if you use other types of wood. If you want unfinished cabinets and plan to paint them, order Maple. It is also more affordable than many other hardwoods. This, combined with its durability, makes it ideal.
Maple is found primarily in the Great Lakes region. Its color ranges from cream to reddish-brown, but it takes dark stains especially well. So, maple wood can easily be stained to resemble more expensive wood like mahogany. Maple wood has a straight, fine grain with occasional bird’s-eye or fiddleback patterns. Hard maple usually has a lighter color while soft maple tends to be slightly darker.
Oak
Oak is a durable and long-lasting wood type. Because of the trees’ slow growth, the wood is extremely dense, adding to its quality. The wood adapts to a variety of finishes. This makes it ideal for both modern and traditional furniture. It’s also often used for Mission/Arts & Crafts furniture design.
Most oak lumber comes from the eastern and central United States. Many American antiques are constructed of oak wood. Oak furniture will last centuries with proper care. The color ranges from light brown to pinkish-red with a swirling or striped grain. Oak furniture is often known as a scratch- and stain-resistant wood, if properly finished.
Pine
Pine is popular with rustic and farmhouse design. It is a lightweight wood, making it great for families that move frequently. Pine is an inexpensive wood and is a good option for those who aren’t quite ready for the investment of other wood types. Pine paints well and painted pine furniture is often used for kids’ rooms because of the fun colors.
Pine is found throughout the Northern Hemisphere. Its color ranges from white to light brown with yellow or red tones, and it’s known for its beautiful knots. The knots are what add character and rustic charm to the finish. Pine wood furniture resists shrinking and swelling, maintaining its shape for years.
Cherry
Cherry wood is known for its extremely straight and uniform grain. The wood polishes well and has a beautiful finished look. Also known for its popularity use for antique furniture, cherry is last centuries with the proper care. It is considered a prized hardwood among craftsmen. Cherry wood furniture is often an investment that will pay off long-term.
Cherry is found in the eastern United States. Its distinctive color starts as a pinkish-brown and darkens to a deep red with a straight grain and some rippling. Like most wooden furniture pieces, cherry becomes more beautiful as it ages. Cherry is the best wood for furniture that’s designed to last for years and stay in your family.
Mahogany
Mahogany is a durable hardwood that’s often used for investment, intricate pieces of furniture. The wood species has a pleasingly fine, straight grain. Because of the trees’ large size, mahogany is produced in large boards. This makes it perfect for focal point furniture. Mahogany has a timeless look and adds warmth to the room. Any mahogany wood furniture will last generations with proper care.
Mahogany is native to Mexico, Central and South America, but it’s grown throughout the tropics and Africa. African mahogany has become more popular than South American mahogany. However, antique pieces are most often made of South American mahogany. Its color varies from pale to pink to reddish-brown with a straight grain. Mahogany is the best wood for furniture that is elegant and timeless, especially large pieces like dining tables.
Walnut
Walnut is a hard, strong and durable wood for furniture. It carves well and holds its shape for years. This makes it perfect for ornate furniture that requires a high level of craftsmanship. This wood is ideal for investment pieces and furniture you want to stay in your family for generations. Think Amish Heirloom furniture.
In North America, walnut grows from Vermont to the Great Plains and south through Louisiana and Texas. Its color varies from white to dark brown, and it’s known for its large burls. Common types include Brazilian walnut, Caribbean walnut, black walnut and North American walnut wood. Walnut’s grain is typically straight, but some waves appear closer to the roots. Walnut is the best wood for furniture that is ornate and requires a lot of detail.
Birch
Birch is an extremely strong and durable hardwood that grows abundantly in North America. The species’ beautiful appearance and blond color make it a great wood type for modern furniture. It has an elegant, clean-lines grain that complements simplistic interior design.
Birch grows in the Northeast and Great Lakes regions and along the Appalachians. Its color ranges from cream to light reddish-brown with a fine grain. The wood’s strong, durable nature makes it great for woodworking and detailed craftsmanship.
Bamboo
Bamboo is known for its eco-friendly nature and beautiful blond coloring. The species is actually a grass, rather than hardwood. Because of this, bamboo grows rapidly. It grows about 10-times faster than hardwoods do. Bamboo also resists swelling and shrinking.
Bamboo grows in every continent except Europe and Antarctica. Its color varies from very light to a warm medium tone, but naturally, it boasts a soft blonde color. Bamboo furniture is versatile for design but is most common in contemporary interior design. Bamboo is the best wood for furniture made for environmentally-conscious families and modern design.
Many kitchens or wall units include glass doors for places where you may want to display your kitchenware, photos, or other objects, but don’t want them completely exposed. Bookcases can also have glass doors to cover electronic components without interfering with the infra-red remote control signal. An alternative is wire mesh, which allows you to see what is inside, but provides a more decorative appearance.
To install the mesh, the glass was first removed and replaced with a custom-cut piece of wire mesh. Most glass doors have clips that hold the glass panel in place, but we use plastic material that is inserted into a slot along the inside edge of the door frame. The plastic strip can hold either a glass panel or the wire mesh, or probably any other kind of thin panel.
Plastic strip used to hold panel in door frame (back view of door).
The wire mesh used in this piece is a 1/4″ thick round wire that has been crimped and has an opening size of 1/2″, which makes it fairly easy to see through without making it too open.
Wire mesh is generally sold in sheets that are at least 36″ x 48″, so you would need to cut it to fit your door openings with a good wire cutter.
Wire cutter to cut 1/4″ wire mesh.
Adding a good quality wire mesh to a door isn’t cheap, but it can dramatically enhance the look of your cabinets or bookcases!
Bookshelves are often overlooked when it comes to designing the interior of a home. The truth is that the right bookcase in the right place can make a world of difference, increasing the beauty of an interior and decreasing the clutter. Here are a few suggestions for different types of book shelves to consider if you’re in the market.
Freestanding Models
You can’t beat a good freestanding bookcase for convenience. Not only are they great places to store books and knick knacks, but they can be attractive furniture additions to your living spaces as well. The beauty of freestanding book shelves is the incredible variety of styles available. Corner bookcases are wonderful for making use of those odd corners in the living room or den, and provide an attractive place to store and display books and other valuables.
Rotating models are also available, and are very handy when used as end tables to store books, magazines, remotes, and other things you want to have within arm’s reach when stretching out on the couch.
If you’re looking for something really distinctive, consider a doored bookcase, a close cousin of the china cabinet. These are great for displaying everything from grandma’s old dishes to that autographed copy of The Old Man and the Sea that you’re always telling everybody about.
The fact is that when you’re talking freestanding book shelves, there’s a model out there that will satisfy just about any space, taste and budget.
Built-In Bookshelves
If you’re feeling overwhelmed with the amount of furniture you already have, you’ll want to consider having built in bookcases installed instead. These can be custom designed to fit your living spaces, and often can be fitted in out of the way places or recessed into a wall where a freestanding model just wouldn’t work.
Some examples of places where built in bookshelves can really bring a room together include around fireplaces, doors and windows, beneath stairs or running up them, and in odd corners throughout the house. Bookcases have even been built in to serve as a barrier and divide a room into two distinct areas. If you have a space you think a custom built-in bookcase might be the ticket, Highlands Designs can make it happen.
Looking for some new kitchen design ideas for your remodel? We’ve created this handy infographic to help you out along the way! Find out the most popular themed kitchens, most popular kitchen materials, and how to create your favorite kitchen design theme.
Traditional Kitchen Theme: Use raised panel cabinets, granite countertops, marble backsplash, and maple wood flooring.
Transitional Kitchen Theme: Use flat paneled cabinets, marble countertops, ceramic backsplash, and ash wood flooring.
Contemporary Kitchen Theme: Use shaker style cabinets, concrete countertops, stone backsplash, and tile flooring.
Modern Kitchen Theme: Use flat/high gloss cabinets, quartz countertops, glass backsplash, and vinyl/high gloss flooring.
Rustic Kitchen Theme: Use inset/distressed cabinets, butcher block countertops, brick backsplash, and travertine or chipped flooring.
Industrial Kitchen Theme: Use a custom cabinets, stainless steel countertops, ceramic tile backsplash, and concrete flooring.
I truly love to see bookcases in homes because they are the perfect solution for adding storage and style to your surroundings. Books and collectibles on display add warmth and personality to any space, whether it’s a living or dining area, bedroom or home office. To any visitor, a bookcase will communicate what you read, what you collect, and what you love. Bookcases are a window into your passions and pursuits, and an opportunity for you to put your most favorite things on display.
The challenge for most people is how to style a bookcase well. How do you maximize both utility and aesthetic appeal, but also avoid monotony and clutter? Styling a bookcase is an art, but a job easily tackled if you study those done right.
Analysis of a well styled bookcase:
It Starts at the Back. Simple inexpensive bookcases become stunners when their backs are dressed up with paint, fabric or wallpaper. Eddie’s Billy Bookcase was brought to life with a pattern that accentuates the balanced display of books and collectibles.
When styled against a backdrop of robin’s egg blue, this collection from the home of model Coco Rochas has visual appeal, and showcases a love of books, antique coffeepots, vases, and glass bottles.
Think in Layers. Here is a shelf masterfully styled by Emily Henderson. Notice the balance achieved between the books alternating in placement from left to right with the ceramics poised on the opposite side. The middle shelf repeats the books plus ceramics combination, and also provides the opportunity to display smaller collectibles. Different heights and textures also add to the appeal.
Vary Book Placement. Did you know there are 7 ways to stack books? Karen fromThe Art of Doing Stuff teaches us how she styled hers in her IKEA Billy bookcases to break up the columns. Notice how she doesn’t just stick to books, she adds art and natural objects too. And don’t you love that reading chair?
Arrange Books by Color. Inside this IKEA Expedit, the books are grouped by color, and also displayed both horizontally and vertically. Practical baskets mix with glass bowls, vases and collectibles to form an aesthetically pleasing display on a brightly painted wall.
Hang Something. There’s no rule you have to keep it all inside. Why not add one more layer of interest? Consider using the framing of the bookcases to suspend a dramatic mirror, framed artwork, or sentimental photographs.
It’s OK to be Single. Smaller cubbies look simply perfect with a textured or sculptural object placed all by itself. Notice the use of a single vase or shell in the smaller spaces of John & Sherry’s bookcase, and the fantastic contrast with bold blue and crisp white.
Think Oddly. Objects tend to look better when gathered in odd numbers, and the basic design principle of the rule of threes is cleverly applied in this bookcase featured in Lonny Magazine. Notice how most of the books are stacked horizontally, but the bookcase becomes so stylish with the varied and perfectly placed decorative objects, prints, and forward facing book covers.
Varied groupings of three or five are always visually appealing. This bookcase from the home of Lisa Martensen is an example of a well edited display from her treasure hunts and travels all around the world.
Allow Room to Breathe. With airy shelving, it’s best to not overwhelm and allow for plenty of breathing room around objects. Deliberate use of open space keeps the eclectic collection on this bookshelf from appearing too cluttered.
With a little concentration, it’s possible to style a bookshelf well with both books and the things you love. The secret to doing it successfully is truly all in the placement and editing of your favorite objects.
