Impromptu Bookcase

 

On our past Florida trip, we spent one very cold afternoon stopping at a couple of nearby pawn shops to see what there might be to see. As we walked towards the entrance of the store, our daughter had looked at that bookshelf and thought it would be perfect for her new apartment which she will move into during the summer between semesters of college. I thought it would too but there just wasn't enough room to haul it back to Iowa with us with five people and all our luggage. Besides, it was a bit on the rickety side too.

But I am a woodworker.

So in between my LEGO project, my genealogy research on the albums belonging to my great great aunt and designing the new bedroom furniture I promised my wife, I spent some time working out a design for a bookshelf for my daughter as an apartment warming gift of sorts. I stayed close to the design though I will vary the joints a bit and make the shelves fixed instead of floating so that it will be more sturdy for all those college textbooks. I also plan to use some contrasting woods, likely red oak and walnut. Red oak is widely available at my local big box store and I have some walnut leftover from my coffee table project last year. It also happens to be the theme I'm shooting for with our new bedroom furniture so any excess wood here can pour into the next project. 

Weather permitting, I may even start working on this soon so that when the temperatures stay warm(ish) during the evening hours, I will have it ready for finishing.