Built In Bookcases

I am a fan of built in bookcases. They remind me of my grandmother’s library. My grandparents grew up poor, but did quite well for themselves, and had a big grand old house up high on a hill.

It was a wonderful house to play in, especially hide and seek, and one of my favorite places to hide was in the library with its beautiful built in bookcases. I could even squirm and fit on one on the lower shelf and no one ever found me there.
Still today, when I think of these bookcases, I’m reminded of old world grace and elegance. Of course modern houses have them too, and they are quite popular. Since they’re built in, you obviously can’t move them, so you need a pretty good idea of how you are going to use the rooms in your house.

Since they are built in, you have all the options and flexibility you want, perhaps too many options. I’ve known people to fuss for months over details before going forwards. Besides such obvious choices such as wood type, bookcase style, depth, and height and number of shelves, there are many more as well. My advice? If you have a great builder, ask their advice where you are not sure. Of course your taste is most important, but they will have seen and built a great many built in bookcases and will have insights you may not.

The choice of wood is a critical consideration. Although you will find some painted, and that was the style for a while, I don’t think you can beat natural wood. It radiates beauty.
You have three choices here. I strongly prefer solid hardwood. They are the strongest as well as the most expensive choice. Solid softwoods cost less than hardwoods, but more than the two options below

Hardwood plywoods are also popular. They come in 4x8 sheets and a very wide range of veneers are available such as the popular mahogany, cherry, hard maple, hickory, red oak, white oak, and yellow birch.

MDF or medium density fiberboard is the final, and least expensive, alternative. MDF paints well. It’s not exactly cheap crap, but many people consider it to be.

The permanence and grace of a built-in bookcase adds to a house’s character the way nothing else can. They can transform a room into a library, be the center of conversation, as well as holding books.