Nursery Week - That's What Daddy's Are For!

This is the project that I have been dying to share with you all week long... so of course I had to save the best for last! 


One thing we have received a lot of are books for our little girl. As a book lover myself I couldn't be any happier about this. What better to share with your little one than the joy of reading? Not only did we receive a TON of fabulous books from B's parents back at Christmas when we announced we were expecting, but my Mom also had attendees at my shower bring their favourite children's book... needless to say we have a ton of books and no place to store them. Enter my beyond talented Father. 


After my Mom told me he'd like to make something for our little girl, I produced this photo and asked if he could make something similar for the nursery...

Good ol' Martha Stewart! That woman knows exactly what's going on - doesn't she? Anyway, my Dad saw the picture and we talked it out, took some measurements and he got to work on the shelving. He even dropped by one night to borrow my scroll saw...

He decided that rather than building one piece like in the photo, it would be best to build four separate shelves that we could space and hang as we wished. He also added two dowels to each shelf to allow us to place both larger and smaller books on the shelves. When I arrived at their home this past Saturday I saw our beautifully finished shelves and couldn't wait to get them home. On Sunday, we did just that and B and my Dad were busy priming (Yes, that's right... they spent Father's Day priming Peanut's book shelves... aren't they just wonderful?). 

Last night, while I cleaned up the kitchen from dinner, B was outside spraying the shelves with white melamine paint. We decided to use melamine paint, since we knew that it would hold up best on shelves that would get a ton of use...

After letting them dry, B got them up on the peanut's wall late last night. We knew the perfect spot for them would be in the little nook behind her bedroom door. Yes, we went with white once again. We had briefly flirted with the thought of painting them the same turquoise as the dresser, until B pointed out white would be best so that the books would pop more, rather than the shelves. What a smart man my B is, huh?

Here they are looking all pretty on Peanut's wall early this morning...

There are only a few books on the one shelf, because we want to let them cure completely before we start loading them up. I just wanted to add a few to demonstrate how they will look. Once we tested out the books, B also brought up that we may want to drop them a little more to make it easier to get books in and out - especially the larger books in the back.  We'll have to think about that one.

Also - did you notice that B's painting found a home over her bookshelves? I am so glad it finally found the perfect home in her nursery. 

Overall, I think these bookshelves are fantastic and even better than what I had originally imagined! It really just reminds me how great Dad's are. Our Peanut is pretty lucky to not only have B has her Dad, but to have some really great grandpa's waiting for her arrival as well. 

If you're looking for some custom pieces my Dad is for hire (for real). You can email him directly for custom cabinetry and other projects. You can also email me if you have any questions about his work.