A few months back I did a project in our formal living room. I had it set up as a lounge because it's opposite the formal dining and unlike a lot of people, we actually use these rooms because we entertain a lot. And even when we're not entertaining, we like to be fancy sometimes.
The rooms in the house all have 10' ceilings and I always wanted to build a floor to ceiling library wall in there. And we've also used it as a place to listen to vinyl, separate from the other sound systems in the house. So sometime in February I decided it was finally cool enough to work out in the shop, and do some work. Design must include space for amplifier, turntable, speakers, books. It'll be built with a large niche in the middle where the bar sits, but the next step is to take my parents' piano and put it in there. The final result is what we call the Vinyl Lounge.
I don't have a great before shot, but the room is about 12'x12' with a 10' ceiling. We have a couple of chairs on one side, a couch on the other, a coffee table in-between them, and then on the far wall, an antique buffet/sideboard type cabinet that we use as our bar.
Next step, I built up some stock Ikea billy bookcases to use as the basis for the wall and test fit them to get the actual width and height of the upper cabinets that I'll build. Yes this is a bit of an Ikea hack. No I don't like calling it that. Maybe I should though, if I do it on YouTube or TickTock I might make some money...
Next I built a 2x4 frame to support the run of upper cabinets that will go all the way across the wall. I also test-fit one of those upper cabinets to make sure my height measurements were working out. This is ultimately going to be a painted-looking project, so I went with cheap 1x12 whitewood. I managed to find some that was pretty clear. Using 3/4" ply and ripping to size would have been a little cheaper, and I could have gotten cleaner surfaces, but I honestly didn't want to drag out my table saw, as it's getting pretty old and the cuts just aren't that straight on it anyway. So, 1x12 it is.
Test fitting the other side on top of the left stack.
Now test-fitting all of the top run of cabinets. The outside cabinets are the same width as the bookcases. The inside are a couple of inches longer. I had the option of building two longer ones or three shorter ones, and although I typically prefer odd numbers in these cases, as they tend to look more pleasing to the eye, when I planned it out on paper, the resulting width of each bookcase if I built three, made them look really small and choppy. So I went with two longer ones. It could also be I just didn't want to build another bookcase...
Next, put on the backs of the cabinets and stain them and begin the install. I also painted the exterior surfaces of the Ikea bookcases to match the wall color, but in a satin sheen instead of matte. The entire bookcase will have face frames painted out in the same color. Not surprisingly, the real wood stained to a walnut color, looks warmer and richer than faux walnut woodgrain on the Ikea cabinets. But no matter, it's all going to get covered up with books and record albums and tchotchkes and shit.
Installing some of the pre-painted trim, and some 2x4 blocking at the top that will serve as a backer for the top trim piece and eventual crown mold.
Nest up, install some more face frame trim, and the vintage-looking library lighting. It runs off smart plugs and I can turn them off and on or dim them, either via Alexa voice or an phone app. I just chuckled at this picture and how the coffee table is getting more and more cluttered. At this point the project had taken a couple of weeks of working mostly just an hour or two per night, and I was tired of cleaning up each day...
I had to build out that middle shelf on the right stack-- the turntable and old amp were too deep for the 11.5" or so that the stock cabinets run.
And finally the finished product. We actually have a piano now where the bar is in this picture.
It's crazy how much more we use the room. Both of my teenagers like to go in there and read books, and they've even had music nights with their own friends where they'll spin records, play the piano, and just hang out. So glad I did it and although my wife was skeptical at first, she absolutely loves it now. The couch and chair are antiques from her grandmother that we had recovered in a more modern fabric, many years ago. And now she's really happy that they're showcased instead of just being in "that other room."