Thank You!!

I want to thank you all for your kind messages after last Friday’s post. You are so sweet and inspiring and I feel blessed to have this creative community to tap into. Thank you! I have gotten so many great tips and encouragement from you that my head is spinning with ideas! For example, Toby Alleyne-Gee suggested using sliding pocket doors instead of regular French doors and I find the idea genial!!! How come I haven’t though of it? We’ll be interviewing contractors in the upcoming weeks and we’ll keep the option in mind. Thank you so much, Toby!! For that and for all the other wonderful  suggestions.

Another great idea came from Linda. She suggested adding French doors and steps at the back, leading to a patio and outdoor living area. A great idea! Thank you, Linda! I am studying our floor plan and the possibly of adding an opening at the back. Would be so lovely! 

Francine gave me some great tips on number of shelves in the library. Thank you, Francine!!

Another great tip for designing the library shelves came from Jo in Chicago! 

Jo wrote:

1. Keep the library light and airy. If the intention is to unite the two rooms, having two different color schemes seems to defeat the purpose.

2. Vary the depth and height of the bookshelves in the library. I had custom bookshelves made all 12” deep. I realize now that I only needed about four tall and deep shelves for the big art and history books, and that 9” deep shelves would have been adequate for the majority of my books. Those extra inches take up space that would have allowed for more flow in the room.

I made a similar mistake with our current Ikea shelves. They are way too deep for our books and eat up an additional 4”-5” off the perimeter of the room. It might not sound like much but when the space is small, it can add up to up to 8”-10”, nearly 1 foot lost. Thank you for making that point for me, Jo! 

A number of commenters, including Jo, Melissa and Toby made a case for keeping a cohesive color scheme between the library and living room and I am convinced!  

Mary made a point that a dear architect friend of mine (hello, Marta!) made. That is, keep in mind the elevations, window heights and alignment of doors and windows. A clear view will make the house feel more bright and airy. Thank you, Mary!! 

Jane gave me a very practical tip, that is to design our living areas with use and comfort in mind. Our young daughter has friends over constantly so furniture should be chosen not only for aesthetics but also to make it easy to store toys, board games and numerous craft materials. It should also be nearly indestructible considering the hurricane-like playdates we host. Haha! Thank you, Jane! 

I am grateful to all of you who left such encouraging and sweet messages! Looking forward to sharing our journey with you!!