Built-In Bookcases

Most bookcases and display shelves are placed in a room wherever they fit. In this project, however, the bookcase is the room — or at least one wall of it. The nice thing about a project like this is that it takes advantage of an enormous amount of wall space that typically goes unused. A less obvious advantage of this bookcase is how incredibly simple it is to build and install. All of the casework is built using butt joints and screws. The shelves, all of which are adjustable, rest on shelf pins that snap into metal standards. To keep the size of the project manageable, the bookcase is built in sections that are tied together as they’re installed. The finishing touches are equally simple. A bit of crown molding, a touch of trim, and a coat of paint complete the picture.