The idea is to put a 'shelf' all around the library area. I could put
books or decorative items on the shelf. Plus, it serves to visually
lower the ceiling. Plus I could put lights in there to create a
glowing feel. You can see that the path going to the MBR is a bit
clumsy so maybe there would have to be some additional wood up there
to make everything look neater. I thought this was a pretty good
idea... gives me a lower ceiling + book storage.
I liked the bench/shelf/platform thing, something you could sit on, leave books on and gives you access to higher areas of the shelf.
So I played around with adding one to the library....
What I liked about this is that it provided spatial definition while keeping the space open. One thing I've been thinking about is Sean who has just decided he likes sleeping on his own. I attribute this to a couple of things. First, obviously, he's getting older (6). But also, since I got the bunk bed he's discovered that he likes sleeping in the lower bunk--it's like a cozy cave. Then I realized that opening up the library space from what we have before gives him a clear view from his room into the MBR. So he can literally stand in his room and see me. So I've been experimenting with ways to define the library space without losing the sight lines and the open feeling of the library. Obviously, I would lose the sight line if I did something like the "ticket booth" configuration I designed earlier.
At any rate, what I liked about the platform is that it provided a bench/platform/table space, but it also became a kind of stage, like those kid's stages they have at Barnes and Nobles...
Then I started thinking about adding a sleeping platform. I ended up realizing that there's not enough vertical space there. But after playing around with it a bit, I found that the sleeping platform could make a good bookshelf. So here's where I ended up....
This configuration gives me a huge shelf (the former sleeping platform) to hold my small paperback size books. I could use both sides of the shelf and the lower platform would give me easy access to the books. Of course, for the part that goes over the 'hallway' I'd be out of luck. Other people could use the shelf for decorative items and objects. The shelf could also contain a reading light or illumination for the 'stage.' I do lose some vertical bookshelf space with this configuration on the S wall, however, but really, not too much.
***
The 'trees' vs. 'phone booths' thing refers to the two strategies
we've come up with for the library. The library is a very unusual
space, 10 x almost 7 feet. The problem: getting adequate book storage
in that space and also creating a wall to block off the entrance so it
doesn't seem a vast cavern.
The tree strategy means sticking something smack in the middle of the
space. The tree would obscure a bookcase and provide a virtual 'wall.'
Possibilities include everything from literal trees to fake trees to room dividers to the Eames shelving system (which Mark tells me was designed expressly for this purpose).
The 'phone booth' term comes from a picture I saw of a house with a
phone booth in the entry. I think you walk through the phone booth to
get into the house. At any rate, the phone booth is a big box that
sits against the wall. It is big enough that it creates a wall to the
space. By entering from the MBR side, you can access books inside the
'booth.' The phone booth could be anything from a drywall box to a room divider to literally, a phone booth.
From Christopher's Games.
Note: $900 at van dyke restorers in WHITE.
