Recently, rain gutter bookshelves have shown up on several of the blogs that I watch. I love the idea of displaying children's books in such an inviting way. I get a lot of my books through the Scholastic catalogs sent home from school. It is a good way to get some excellent books for about $3 each, but the downside is that they are paperback and hard to keep track of on a traditional bookshelf. We have several great books that we hadn't read in a long time - out of sight, out of mind.
Family Room (The bags underneath hold all of our dress up clothes.)So we decided to go ahead with the rain gutter bookshelves and we love them. Now, with one quick glance we can see all of our reading options. It is also VERY easy to put books away. Emmarsyn spent some time pulling books out to read in her bedroom and put every single one back on her own - I didn't even have to suggest it. Besides the functionality, I think they look great. The big, empty wall in our family room has become a fairly dramatic focal point. (And a lot of nail and screw holes have been completely hidden!)
The price is great too - it was right around $5o for all the materials. Enough for the family room, each child's room and the floor puzzle holder in our toy closet.
If you are interested in making some, you can search for rain gutter bookshelves and find plenty of links. Click here for one of the best step-by-step tutorials that I came across. Or you can just ask Bruce. He has become an expert. (One tip - get your gutters at Lowe's. Home Depot only carries the kind with brackets that wrap under and in front of the gutter. While our brackets aren't completely hidden, I prefer the cleaner look of the Lowe's gutters.)
Matthew's Room (Spencer's room is currently under construction, but he will also get a shelf.)
Emmarsyn Enjoying Her Books
Rain Gutter Puzzle Holder in the Toy Closet
1 comment:
I haven't yet seen these book shelves....I love them!
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