Wednesday 11 December 2013

Art Deco Inspired Shelving

First of all, welcome new followers!  Today is a bit of a tangent and is about vintage inspired interiors.  My Baby has a vast collection of CDs, and myself a library's worth of books and DVDs.  The living room in our new home is rather large, so we decided that we needed an actual library to house our respective collections.  "I'll build some custom shelving", my Baby said.  "Can I have Art Deco shelving, please?" I requested, thinking that as we're in a 1930's house we should try and do something that would fit with the style.  My wish is his command.  Two weeks (of blood, sweat and tears) later...

art deco inspired shelving




 
I was thinking of buildings like this when we were sketching out ideas (images just from a Google image search of 'art deco building').  I knew I wanted some curves, and a stepped detail.  I think we've captured the 'essence' pretty well, considering they're shelves not apartments!

The project is halfway through - we still have to do a mirror set of shelves for the other wall, for the books and DVDs.  I think that will have to wait until January though, as I think my Baby needs a rest.

If you're interested in the construction details, then read on!
The shelves are in two sections (rather than making one huge L-shaped unit).  The shelves are made of planed pine (6" x 1") and the 15 horizontals are fitted into the 3 vertical supports on each unit with half-lap joints.  The joints were cut with a jigsaw, chiselled out, and then filed.  The ends of the horizontals were cut into quarter circle arcs using a jigsaw.  Sharp edges were all filed to soften them, and although the shelves stand on the floor, they have been secured to the wall with mirror plates to prevent them from toppling over.  A decorative stepped top lintel has been glued to each top of the shelving units.  The wood was all painted before assembly (with Sanctuary matt emulsion in 'Soothing') and lightly sanded.  The wood cost approximately £140, and we already had all other materials and tools needed.



What do you all think?  Do you like them??

21 comments:

  1. I love them! I wish I could have some for my house, I think I'd have to shelve the whole house though we have so much!

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  2. Aw, thank you, Chris will be pleased to know that. It's definitely spurred us on to have a good sort out - that's literally only a third of the CDs, that's what you get for living with a musician I guess! And my books and DVDs...we haven't even unpacked those yet...
    P xx

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  3. That is flat out awesome!!! Chris did a stellar job on these deco inspired shelves.

    ♥ Jessica

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    1. Thanks Jessica, I'm making sure he's seeing all this lovely feedback! xx

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  4. Wow! One, you weren't lying! That is quite the music collection! He did a marvelous job the the shelving and I really love them! Great way of transitioning architecture into shelving!

    xoxo
    -Janey

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    1. Thanks Janey, it was probably a bit weird wanting shelves to look like apartment buildings, but in my head it was a natural progression - glad you love them! xx

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  5. Whoah, thats a lot of cd's :) But it looks great, the shelf!

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  6. Wow! Your honey is so talented! Your home is still spectacular and welcoming. Love it!

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  7. Wow, that's impressive work - you have a very talented Baby there. It looks really perfect.

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  8. Wow, these look great. He's a very handy handy man to have around ;)

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    1. I read him your comment and he laughed out loud! He's loving this attention xx

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  9. Love the work. We recently had our bathroom re-modelled in a similar style

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    1. Oh wow, a bathroom would really be the next level! Ours does need doing, not for a while though... Thanks for stopping by! xx

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  10. Those shelves are gorgeous! You two did an amazing job designing and building them :)

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  11. The shelves are superb! I was interested because I need to shelve my whole flat to be able to shelve my books, and I really envy you these.

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  12. WOW!! That's so wonderful! What a great job! I LOVE this! Very inspiring!

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  13. Wow!! These are the best shelves EVER!! Wonderful and great job! I LOVE THEM! You can congrat the CD's collector! ;)

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