Bookshelf Building in the Office

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Bathe the dog. That’s really all I had left on my to-do list this past Sunday. But as it often goes around the UDH, accomplishing something that’s nearly impossible – like getting Charlie to sit still in a tub – is just the momentum I need to get a few more things done. And since my leaning bookshelf order for my new office design arrived early from Urban Outfitters (on sale, too), I figured I might as well spend my Sunday night assembling one of them and start my week off on a productive foot.

And then when that went up quicker than expected, I assembled the other. Gotta love this momentum thing.

I ordered the bookcases without seeing them in person and without grabbing a measuring tape to make sure they would fit. Don’t ask me why; I do it far too often (I just know I’m going to get burned someday by eyeballing these kinds of things!). But luckily, they are the perfect fit and exactly as I imagined (better, even). I’m glad I didn’t order a third, though.

As far as putting them together, they were probably one of the easiest times I’ve ever had with flat pack furniture (which I don’t consider true “building”, but for the price and convenience, I was glad to do instead of building my own this time around). The instructions were a single page (which sort of implied that you were an idiot if you didn’t get it right, and I kind of loved) and everything came well-packaged. So even though the boxes arrived pretty beat up, each piece was flawless (I probably spent more time unpacking each piece from its foam wrappings and tape than actual assembly). And I just love the high gloss on each shelf.

I now need to move the existing smaller bookshelf (you can see it on the right, which became a mess when trying to lift and move it for the new shelves) into the guest room to make room for the reading nook in the opposite corner. I’ve already assembled the chair that’s going there (more details in this design post), but since Ikea was out of the cushion I wanted, it’s currently seatless.

There’s plenty still left to do, but since these shelves are the first thing I see when walking into my office, I’m already in a brighter mood. Things next on the list (hopefully in the next two weeks):

1. Move the smaller bookshelf into the guest room (which means continuing on with my decluttering goals to make sure there’s a fresh spot for it)
2. Fill in the shelves to organize the rest of the office (already started)
3. Add some artwork above each bookcase (there’s about 2 1/2 feet above each one that is plenty of space for adding some art)
4. Order the cushion to complete the reading chair

Depending on how fast it takes for me to get the light fixture in and the window treatments figured out, I could have a room reveal as soon as next month (“soon” – as if this room didn’t take four freaking years to finish!). What goals did you accomplish over the weekend?