I moved to my house exactly six months ago today, but only this past Saturday did I unpack the last box. I had asked two different carpenters about building in bookshelves in what I designated a library even before I moved in. Both carpenters ghosted me after taking measurements. (Great business practices, guys.)
So in January I went back to 57th Street Bookcase in Evanston, from which my mom and I had gotten bookshelves at various times going back to the mid-1990s. The bookcases arrived Friday, allowing me to transform this:
Into this:
(The coffee table came from 57th St as well.)
I spent a couple hours enjoying the finished room over the weekend. Even Cassie appears to like it better.
The new bookcases are cherry, so they'll darken over time. They should match the older ones in a couple of years.