Gorgeous Office Bookshelves with a Built In Electric Fireplace

So many times when I am working on a home project, I ask myself  “why did I decide to do this”….and then I continue in to finish it, and love every thing about it.  Rarely do we work on a project and have everything fall together, and everything seem…in a word, easy?  And that is what this office bookshelf makeover did for us.  Between the new office bookshelves and the built in fireplace, it was one of the easiest projects we have done in a long time….probably since our goat shed.  I will explain. But first a sneak peek.

*This post is sponsored by Wagner Spray Tech.  All my views are my own and I only endorse companies and products I truly love.  Thank you for supporting my blog!*

 

There are certain projects that somehow just work well.  Every conversation is pleasant, and every mishap or choice just works out.  We joked that when we built our goat shed, we should build more because it was absolutely the most pleasant project we have ever done together.  We actually liked each other at the end!  And that is how this office bookshelf makeover turned out, we liked each other!

We planned and expected this to take us a lot longer to complete and I was NOT looking forward to it.  We set aside a Saturday to get all the construction done, thinking that it would take all day to measure, cut and assemble the shelves and create the alcove for our built in electric fireplace.

I digress.  I have been wanting to finish up this office for quite some time.  We originally built them only half down the wall because we had a long desk that went the full length of the wall.  When we got rid of that desk, I knew we needed to finish the shelves.  But, like a pro, we put them off for a really long time.  And I am glad I did because it gave me time to really decide what we wanted this space to be.

Currently it has been my art studio and office.  And it will still be this for a while until we get my office built in our backyard. But, it will also be serving as our music room, where the kids will be practicing their violins as well as a library/office where we can spend time with visitors or simply just to work.

So, to get back to the actual project there was some prep that needed to take place.  I cleared out the room, we measured the space.  We used MDF to make our shelves.  I personally like to work with this for shelves, its nice and consistent. 

First, I drew up my design.  I wanted this space to be cozy and inviting, and that is why we decided to add a built in electric fireplace.  The fireplace was also a bonus because it is always a bit cold on this side of the house.  Its nice to be able to turn it on and allow it to heat up the space instead of forcing our heater all through the house, when it isn’t needed.  The electric fireplace was very economical, and I will discuss that later.

I really wanted some longer book shelves that I could add baskets and other items that were too large for some of the other upper shelves.  

We centered the fireplace directly below the large shelf opening in the upper shelves to give it a look of a full fireplace and to make it look more built in.  

Once we had the office bookshelves built we finished up the fireplace built in by creating an opening where the fireplace would easily be inserted.  All we had to do was follow the instructions on the fireplace which gave us exact opening dimensions.  Once we had the opening framed in, we ship lapped all around the opening.  I decided this area would be painted a dark almost black, so that it would stand out against the white bookshelves.

I then was able to easily finish up the office bookshelves by puttying nail holes, and then use my new paint sprayer to quickly paint them with ease. 

One of the main reasons why I did not want to start this project was because of how hard it was to paint the first shelves we built.  I spent hours upon hours hand painting all the shelve in my office.  It was an overwhelming thought to do that again.  So, I was excited to be able to use my new Wagner Flexio 4300 gravity feed paint sprayer.  This is a great paint sprayer and I loved being able to use both sprayers it came with.

(And before you complain about my barefoot situation, I always paint barefoot!  If you have ever stepped in paint unknowingly and walked around the house leaving paint foot prints, you will understand!  Now I will always know if I come into contact with paint.)

This paint sprayer came with a convenient iSpray nozzle for fast easy coverage of large areas such as walls or decks.  It also cam e with a gravity fed detail nozzle, which is great for small spaces, such as cabinet detail work, or shelving.  The idea of being able to spray my bookshelves, without much overspray was music to my ears! 

And I cannot believe how well the gravity fed nozzle worked!  There was literally almost zero overspray!  I was able to get into the cracks and even spray the edges of the bookshelves without getting paint where I didn’t want it.

Of course, I still laid down plastic and protected all the areas around the shelves just to be safe.  But the prep was much less.

I was then able to use the iSpray nozzle to paint the walls directly to the side of the office bookshelves.  I took the same precautions for the walls and taped off the window as well.

Sadly, I did not get pictures of that.  I was in the zone and before I knew it, I was done!

But, I have shared my experience using other Wagner sprayers.  You can see those in these DIY project room makeovers:

A Treehouse Design Perfect for Kids and Adults!

How to Paint Stairs and Railings Like a Pro with Wagner Paint Sprayers

So, do you want to see how my office bookshelves with a built in electric fireplace turned out?  Lets have a look!

Tada!!!  It is a completely different space now!

Its cozy, and stylish and I cannot get enough!

The office bookshelves turned out beautiful!  The paint sprayer gave them such an amazing finish!

The surrounding walls look amazing too.

This fireplace is a game changer.  I now feel as if there is no reason why I can’t have a fireplace in every room!  It has adjustable heat levels, and you can change the flame colors and size!

It is the coziest place to sit and read now!  I love the way these office bookshelves turned out.

And do not worry, I will still be able to paint and work in here for the short term.

I filled the shelves baskets full of books and even my Cricut Maker supplies.

It also serves to store my art easel but also looks like a piece of decor on the shelf!

I like my decor to be dual purpose.  There is a place to store essentials, but in a clever and decorative way.

I am so, so very glad we got this done! I am also so very glad I was able to use my new Wagner Flexio 4300 gravity feed paint sprayer for these office bookshelves and my built in electric fireplace. It saved me hours of labor intensive hand painting many coats of white paint.  

I will definitely be using this space a whole lot, these new office bookshelves are legit.  Problem is, my kids have decided its a wonderful place to hang out too!

Thats okay though, I have extra time with my kids these days.  I will love them as much as I can. If we end up laying here by the fire, then so be it.

So let’s have another before and after look of these office bookshelves!

The built in electric fireplace anchors the office bookshelves.  I cannot wait to spend time in here painting and creating.

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