Colonial Bookshelves and Mantel
Sometimes the opportunity comes along to set a style for a room. This moderately old Boulder home had a large living room with no particular style. The owner liked Colonial, but didn’t want to go overboard. Here is her house before our alterations.
In the space to the right of the mantle she wanted a bookcase, but there was a problem. At the upper right a part of the roof framing intruded into the space. A unique solution presented itself. I built a separate box for the top, and gave it the illusion of a shadow box. Now it is perfect for displaying pictures and collectibles.
Our solution was to replace her mantel, a slab of fir, with something eye-
The fireplace area was so large that the mantel had to be large just to compete with the brick. Yet it couldn’t be so large as to look massive. The solution was to add a large backboard above the mantel to highlight her seasonal decorations. There is still ample room above to hang her artwork
A colonial arch completes the effect. The other shelves are adjustable, and a little thicker than usual, so that they will not sag.
As a final touch, the existing stair to the kitchen was very narrow and dangerous. It was replaced with a full length, straight grained douglas fir stair, also in colonial style. Because the stair sat in front of a return air vent it was necessary to install vents at each end.